The film Black Panther is performing savagely at the box office, breaking records every which way it can. What is causing this super hero-like performance (Saw what I did there?) that is reminiscent of when classic films like Gone With the Wind, The Sound of Music and Avatar ran in cinemas for unprecedented weeks? That’s quite an elite group for the new kid on the block to be associated with, but deservingly so. I am sure marketing scholars the world over are analysing this phenomenon. I am no marketing expert, but I do have my theory.
An allure is a predominantly Afrocentric cast for the first time in a film with a Hollywood blockbuster budget. There is also the great wave of popularity for the super hero movie genre at present that this film is riding. It obviously got a big wave to ride on. Another aspect is the teaser we got when the Black Panther character appeared in the very successful Avengers: Civil War movie. And of course there is the well-greased marketing machine. These all play a part in the incredible success of this film, however, I think of the socio-political element as being a major factor as well.
In the history of cinema, we have seen films that subconsciously hooked audiences because the underlying theme paralleled a social concern. King Kong (1933) premiered during the Great Depression. The social condition was a monster created by Wall Street that caused the economic crash. The movie allowed the people to face that monster and Kong’s death provided some appeasement to the daily dire straits. Godzilla (1954) features a fire-breathing behemoth terrorising Japan after an atomic bomb awakens it from its centuries-old sleep. This film debuted some ten years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Again, a monster on the screen is actually a metaphor for a real life communal discomfort. It allowed the Japanese people to confront their living nightmare. Across the Atlantic, the Americans produced Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) which told a frightening tale of an alien invasion where the space travellers captured humans and replicated their bodies, using these as camouflage as they gradually took over the population. This film came out during the cold war between the Eastern Bloc and the democratic West. The fear of communism infiltrating America was high and this movie connected with that fear. I am yet to see Black Panther (2018), however, there is no doubt that racism is the monster that this film subtly addresses.
Glamorously shot and showing the image of people of African descent with a beauty rarely (if at all) seen on the screen, the predominantly black characters proudly hold positions of great political and economic power. The success of this movie goes against the decades-old beliefs of studio executives where “black” is concerned. They thought that featuring black people in the promotion of movies would not encourage white audiences to attend, so they would minimise they presence in the promotional posters as was done with Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard (1992). In the poster her face is hidden, negating her race.
What about the film Home (2015), Dreamworks’ animated movie featuring their first black character, Tip (voiced by pop singer Rhianna)? Only in black neighbourhoods did the promotional material feature images of Tip. Elsewhere, images of the other main characters, the alien and the cat, prevailed, with no hint of a black presence, not even the name of megastar Rhianna.
Even in oversea markets, the black presence is minimised in the promotion of films. In China, the image of the black actor John Boyega was shrunken in their version of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) poster.
In Italy, the posters for 12 Years a Slave (2013) featured only white actors, including Brad Pitt who had very little screen time.
Marvel Studios took a huge gamble and it is paying off big time.
For the psyche of those belonging to the African diaspora, angered by seeing so many videos on social media of unwarranted police killings of blacks, violations meted out against people of colour and the general putting down of an entire race, this movie is a boost of pride on a communal level. To the non-black detractors, it proves that once a stories with universal themes is well told, it can have general appeal.
Black Panther has conquered a monster called racism. He is a super hero on and off the screen.
