The power and influence of Marvel’s “Black Panther”

In mid-February, Marvel had globally released their newest superhero movie, “Black Panther,” and it is still causing a major buzz all over social media and traditional media alike. This film has become so much more than just the talk of breathtaking visuals, effects, and storyline, but rather has become the grander of the groundbreaking celebration of black culture.

Under the direction of Ryan Coogler, who also led the development of “Creed” and “Fruitvale Station,” this newly iconic director assembled a multitude of black talent both in front of and behind the camera. However, this film did not only just display the latest superhero journey; it also displayed the journey of black culture that both acknowledges and celebrates everything from traditional African society to African-American society, the beauty and power of black women, and the preservation of identity all within the confines of the fictional nation of “Wakanda.”

Soon after watching the completed film for the first time, actress and producer Adinett Nsabimana stated in an interview from Buzzfeed, “To me representation matters. ‘Black Panther’, I see myself. The only time I’ve ever been ever to see myself in films is either genocide movie or slavery movie. But now I can see myself as a queen.” Nsabimana is not wrong here.

Although there has been a slow rise of main speaking roles for someone of African descent to be in a film other than one with themes of genocide or slavery, research conducted from the University of Southern California in 2017 shows that African Americans specifically are only represented 13.6% of the time as characters in major films while an overwhelming 70.8% are white.

The same follows for behind the scenes while only 5.6% of directors are African American while the rest are white. Through the beautiful development of “Black Panther,” there was a definite successful change that will forever leave its mark on Hollywood as well as audiences worldwide.