C1 | Black Panther Flashcards
Marketing
Theresa Cross (Disney vice president of marketing)- 360° marketing
Marketing a film from ever angle to try and create appeal of the film to different kind of audiences
(Eg. Toys- children, Magazine articles- adults)
Black Panther Poster
*Black actors prominent
- main character is the largest/ at the top- in powerful position (wealth, authority?)
*futuristic technology/ blues- iconography (sci-fi action genre)
- T’Challa sat on a throne (representing Huey Newton, Leader of the Black Panther Movement)
*Marvel Studios logo visible
Different posters to target different audiences
—>marvel logo- presold fans
—>actors- their fans
Harlem Renaissance
*Cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theatre, politics and scholarships
*African American migrants moved to Harlem, New York 1918-1930s after the end of the civil war
——> discovered how African Americans were negatively portrayed there
*most influential movement?
Black Lives Matter
*started as a hashtag on social media (#BLM)
*grew into an international activist movement
*2013-present
*set up due to racial discrimination and police brutality against black people
Marvel Studios
Subsidiary of WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
—> Disney one of the largest conglomerates; one of big 5
Vertically integrated
—> distribute + produce products
—> Disney distributing= big budget + resources for detailed marketing campaign
Global conglomerate helps global distribution
Retained a lot of creative control
—> Disney agreed to have minimal despite owning it
Hasbro
Synergetic products (merchandise)
—> toys/ action figures for film
Targets younger + family audiences
—> BBFC rating 12a in UK
—> some audiences may be too young- longer interest for the film for those to watch when older
Targets adult superfans
—> collectable items
Advert included black children
—> appeals to films message
—> inclusion/ representation
Lexus
Car manufacturer
Two limited edition black panther themed cars
Targets adult male audience
—> Interest in status + tech
Kendrick Lamar
Created a soundtrack for film
Targets his fans + predominantly young black male audiences
Trailers
Released on television in cinemas and online
Edited to promote film
—> actors
—> narrative/ dialogue
—>special effects/ action
Emphasis on the film being part of the MCU
—> targeting presold fans You were ridiculous
Super Bowl
Trailer broadcasted in the advert break of the Super Bowl in the USA
—> one of the most expensive advertising slots in the world
Immense amount of publicity
—> targeting global mass audiences (mostly male)
Film Release
Black panther released in black history month in the USA (February )
—> release marketed as a cultural vent to celebrate black culture
February is considered a weak month to release films according to the Box Office
—> Hesmondhalgh: fickle audience + high costs= high risk
—> Disney being a distributor ensured lower risk of failure, wouldn’t suffer major losses
—> month’s importance > profits
—> less films being released at this time due to statistics- less competition
BLACKPANTHERCHALLENGE
unofficial marketing for film
Crowd funding to buy tickets for young black children to see the film
New York Fashion Week
Welcome to Wakanda
Fashion show
—> Wakanda inspired outfits
—> based around traditional African American culture
Global publicity
—> targeting female audiences
—> new target market audience for superhero films
Social Media
Audiences able to like/ comment/ share the trailer (YouTube)
—> audiences marketing the film
—> global advertisement
—> low costs
Hashtags (Twitter/ X)
—> #blackpantherchallenge
—> spread trends
—> most tweeted about film in 2018 (and of all time 35million+ tweets)
Livestreams + Q&A
—>Producer + audience interaction
Interviews/ Chat Shows
Audiences get to know the actors
—> grow admiration
—> marketing on a national scale
Targets older audiences
—> people who still tune into traditional media products
Comic-Con
Globally recognised event
—> celebrate interest in film, tv, gaming etc
Cast + crew made appearances
—> panel
—> targets superfans ensuring they spread the word
Snapchat filter
Targets a younger audience
Marvel origins
Making comics, graphic novels, animations, tv, films
—> diversified company
—> huge presold fanbase; will see whatever they release
Sell the rights of one of their characters to raise money for production work
—>retained rights to Black Panther
Repetition
—> similar films (prequels, sequels, shared universes)
—> Hesmondhalgh
—> Curran and Seaton: huge companies running the industry chasing profit + power= limited variety, creativity, quality
Reasons for Black Panther Being Low Risk
Shared universe
Presold audience
Global conglomerate involvement
Famous actors
Popular genre
Detailed 360° marketing campaign
Reasons for Black Panther Being High Risk
Lesser known marvel character
Predominantly black cast
Costs a lot to make
*trying to appeal to modern audiences
Tokenism
Making profit/ gaining publicity by proving Marvel’s diversity
Hollywood Racism
black actors were dismissed
white actors did blackface
black actors only getting stereotypical roles (eg. Drug dealers, criminals)
—>social realism
—>urban areas
traditional superheroes were white males
changed since BLM movement
Female Representation
Moving away from the ‘damsel in distress’ characterisation
Black Panther presents many strong female lead characters
—>attracts a female audience
Tackling Old Themes
Disney previously criticised for a lack of diverse characters
Trying to overcome criticism
—> making new characters of ethnic minority groups (eg. Moana, Coco)
Improving its reputation
BBFC
British Board of Film Classification
Black Panther in UK: 12A
—>can watch alone 12+
—>parental guidance needed for under 12
Disagreements about age rating
—> too violent/ aggressive?
—>violence fantasy based- qualified for lower certificate; we understand it’s wrong
Regulation
Challenges when distributing globally
—> regulators have different rules
Marvel has to make sure film isn’t too violent for some countries so the age rating isn’t increased
Livingstone and Lunt
Protection vs choice
—>UK: choice>protection
—>China: choice<protection
China’s Poster
T’Challa’s face covered
Made it hard to tell the characters were black
Disney defended to poster
—>not to hide ethnicity
—>showing off mask
Some believe that it was to hide their races
—> Asian countries find it difficult to distribute films with black lead characters
—> was to conceal race
