The world is still mourning the recent loss of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, after he lost his four yearlong battle with colon cancer. This has caused everyone, especially the Black community, to look back on Chadwick Boseman’s career (specifically his role as King T’Challa in Black Panther) and reminisce on how that role changed how we see diversity in movies.
The release of the Blank Panther in February 2018 was monumental not only for the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) but for the entire film industry. For those that are unfamiliar Marvel movies, the audience is first introduced to Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, released in 2016. Black Panther getting a standalone movie was very exciting for everyone, but specifically Black Marvel fans and even Black people who have never seen a Marvel movie.
Representation of minority groups in film and tv is very important to people now more than ever. For years and even decades, viewers have seen countless movies with White male leads, an all or majority white cast, and then one Black character thrown in, so it doesn’t look like the writers and casting directors completely disregarded the need for diversity. Black Panther, although it is far from the first movie with a majority Black cast, it is a movie within a multi-billion-dollar franchise. When Black Panther was released, Black people all around the world were crowding into theaters to see the movie. Even people that knew nothing about Marvel superheroes wanted a glimpse simply because there was finally a strong, noble lead role that looked like them.
When it comes to Black culture, Black people and their culture are often represented poorly. For example, when Africa is shown or portrayed on TV it is usually very impoverished, desolate and dry and when people see that enough times without being properly educated, they’ll start to believe that that is all Africa has to offer. Although there are very poor countries in Africa, there are poor parts of every country and continent. But just like every country has poverty, every country also has beautiful landmarks and vibrant culture. Black Panther finally allowed people to see African culture depicted in a beautiful way through the attire, music and language. African fashion is known for its vibrant colors and detailed patterns, so there was a lot of time and research that went into creating Wakanda because although Wakanda itself is fictional, the inspiration from Africa is very real. Ruth Carter, the costume designer for the movie did extensive research to make sure that the style of Wakanda was as realistic as possible and did not take away from the plot of the movie.
In 2020, four years after the movie release, Black people are still fighting to be seen, not just in movies but in real life. The Black Lives Matter movement has been gaining more attention and supporters following a string of tragic and unjust deaths of Black men and women at the hands of white police officers. This has just been a reminder that racism and false stereotypes are still huge problems in our world. That is why to some, diversity in tv and film may not be a big deal, but for Black people and other marginalized groups it means that they are one step closer to being represented and treated like they should be.
