Black Panther (I&A) Flashcards
Who directed Black Panther?
Ryan Coogler (who also directed Creed)
When was Black Panther released?
February 2018 (US Black History Month)
What award did Black Panther win/get nominated for?
Won - 3 Oscars for Costume, Production Design and Original Soundtrack
Nominated - ‘Best Picture’ Academy Award (one of the only superhero films to be nominated)
Historical context of Black Panther
15th-20th century - European powers colonised African countries and exploited them for resources and slave labour
The Black Panther Party (1960s-80s) was a political activist group established to monitor and protect against police brutality.
Representation of Africa/Black people in media
Sci-fi and superhero genres have traditionally been dominated by white, male characters.
In Marvel movies, non-white characters are usually side-kicks and there are very few superhero films with a female lead.
Most US/European news portray Africa as under-privileged and developing and films are very sympathetic towards it.
Oscarssowhite
This hashtag was trending in 2016 and it drew attention to the lack of diversity in the films nominated for the Oscars that year.
Afrofuturism
A cultural aesthetic that combines science-fiction, history and fantasy to explore the African-American experience.
Political contexts of Black Panther
blacklivesmatter campaign used social media to spread awareness that has often been ignored by mainstream media.
Obama was president from 2009-2017 and he was the US’ first African-American president. He created many initiatives to help minority groups.
In contrast, Trump vowed to reverse many of these initiatives.
What company produced and distributed Black Panther?
Marvel Studios (vertical integration)
Which was the first film fully owned by Marvel?
Black Panther
What marketing technique did they use for Black Panther and why?
360-degree consumer experience to make it a ‘cultural event’ and raising its profile into something more politically resonant and to ensure the audiences are familiar with their films.
What was included in the Black Panther marketing campaign?
- teaser trailer and poster
- trailer was shown between NBA games on Disney owned channel ABC (received 89 million views over night)
- car collaboration with Lexus shown during the Super Bowl
- Disney organised the first half-time show during the College Football National Championships and a new trailer dropped (the game was also showing on ESPN, a Disney owned channel)
- soundtrack was by Kendrick Lamar (Interscope Records)
- ‘Welcome to Wakanda’ catwalk at New York Fashion Week
What is a mainstream film?
A film produced for profit designed for a mass amount of audience - this takes a lot more to make than an independent film
Predictable plots
How much did Black Panther gross?
$1 billion world wide
Did Black Panther gain diverse audience?
Yes. The most ever for a superhero film.
How did BP gain a more diverse audience?
- Association with Hasbro Toys (the advertising was children of all ages, races and genders) - focusing on the non-white superhero fans
- Representation of non-white characters in the film
Who made Black Panther?
Marvel Studios (a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios)
(Black Panther) Vertically integrated
Marvel is vertically integrated meaning that it can distribute as well as produce its products
Meant they had a large budget and resources to create a detailed marketing campaign.
Disney is a global conglomerate so helped distribute film globally.
(Black Panther) Hasbro Toys
The advertising included children of all ages, genders and races.
Targets young children, families and superfans interested in collectible items.
(Black Panther) Lexus
Advert shown during the Super Bowl.
Lexus released 2 limited edition Black Panther themed cars.
When the car was marketed, so was the film and vice versa.
A Lexus car was shown in the film during an action scene.
Targets men, older audiences, people interested in technology and mainstreamers.
(Black Panther) Soundtrack
Kendrick Lamar created the soundtrack.
Lamar has a young, black male audience (would target them). Pre-made fanbase.
But, some tracks feature explicit language which would target an older audience.
(Black Panther) Super Bowl
The trailer was broadcast in the ad break in the US Super Bowl
Black Panther Party
1966-82
Monitored behaviour of police officers and challenged police brutality against black people
(Black Panther) what marketing technique did Disney use?
360-degree consumer experience
(Black Panther) NBA
Trailers were shown between NBA games on the Disney-owned TV channel ABC
(Black Panther) Official trailer
Released in October 2017
17 million views
Featured track by Vince Staples - African American poet and musician (‘The Revolution Will Not be Televised’ - slogan used in 1960s US black power movements)
(Black Panther) College Football National Championship
Disney organised the first half-time game where Lamar performed. It was also streaming on the Disney-owned channel ESPN (watched by 28.4 million people)
A new trailer dropped during the game and started selling advance tickets - 30% of tickets.
(Black Panther) NY Fashion Week
- Welcome to Wakanda catwalk show
- featured in numerous fashion magazines
- targeted women (opening weekend = 44% of ticket buyers were female)
(Black Panther) diverse audience
-Drew the most diverse North American audience ever for a superhero film
- created strong role-models for children due to under representation of strong black people in the media
(Black Panther) Curran and Seaton - power and media
- media concentration (e.g. Disney) limits variety, creativity and quality - format driven movies
(Black Panther) Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory
- Franchises (e.g. Marvel) minimise risk and maximise profit as they have a pre-sold audience
- however, it can be argued they took a risk with this film as it deviated from their typical film - white superhero.
