The science fiction blockbuster and superhero genres have traditionally been dominated by white, male characters. In the 1990s, actors like Will Smith and Wesley Snipes did break ground playing black characters, but recent action films and especially superhero films have rarely featured African-American actors in lead roles.the film's cast, which features actors from Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tobago, South Africa, the U.K. and U.S., the soundtrack is Pan-African in scope. In the same way that the film's hero, King T'Challa, attempts to reconcile a fragmented Wakanda, Lamar took on a similar project, helming a collaborative effort that criss- crosses continents, hops genres and cross-pollinates perspectives.
Five African tribes war over a meteorite containing Vibranium. One warrior ingests a "heart-shaped herb" affected by the metal and gains superhuman abilities, becoming the first "Black Panther". He unites all but the Jabari Tribe to form the nation of Wakanda.
Producer is Kevin Feige is the president of Marvel Studios and David J.Grant.
It was directed by black director, RYAN COOGLER, who directed Creed, A successful spin-off from the Rocky film series featuring Michael B. Jordan, who plays Killmonger in BP. The scrip writer of Black Panther was Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole who were black and Jack Kirby and Stan Lee who is white.
Budget $200 Million, and the box office $1.344 Billion. Black Panther was extremely successful, broke records for the highest opening weekend in the USA, and also performed well globally. The film has grossed with 48% in non-US countries.
Marvel chairman and CEO Avi Arad announced Black Panther as one of ten films being developed by the new Marvel Studios. Marvel Studios received financing to produce the slate of ten films to be distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance, a blossoming (c. 1918–37) of African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history. Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to reconceptualize “the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced Black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. They also sought to break free of Victorian moral values and bourgeois shame about aspects of their lives that might, as seen by whites, reinforce racist beliefs. Never dominated by a particular school of thought but rather characterized by intense debate, the movement laid the groundwork for all later African American literature and had an enormous impact on subsequent Black literature and consciousness worldwide.
The Harlem Renaissance was a phase of a larger New Negro movement that had emerged in the early 20th century and in some ways ushered in the civil rights movement of the late 1940s and early 1950s. The social foundations of this movement included the Great Migration of African Americans from rural to urban spaces and from South to North; dramatically rising levels of literacy; the creation of national organizations dedicated to pressing African American civil rights, “uplifting” the race, and opening socioeconomic opportunities; and developing race pride, including pan-African sensibilities and programs. Black exiles and expatriates from the Caribbean and Africa crossed paths in metropoles such as New York City and Paris after World War I and had an invigorating influence on each other that gave the broader “Negro renaissance”
The renaissance had many sources in Black culture, primarily of the United States and the Caribbean, and manifested itself well beyond Harlem. As its symbolic capital, Harlem was a catalyst for artistic experimentation and a highly popular nightlife destination. Its location in the communications capital of North America helped give the “New Negroes” visibility and opportunities for publication not evident elsewhere.
The Posters
The first poster is about establishing T’Challa as royalty, showing him on his thrown in a massive room. That’s about it. He’s sporting the same basic outfit he was in CA: Civil War, meaning he’s recognizable as the character to audiences. It’s a great first effort, soon followed by another that put the Panther atop a mountain, standing on a giant panther totem as he looks out over his kingdom.
The Trailers
The first trailer opens with Klaw, seen briefly in Captain America: Civil War, asking what his questioner knows about Wakanda. He goes on to explain he’s the only white man to see it and live. As we hear this we see shots of the amazing country and its people, who fiercely protect its location and advances. That leads to Panther breaking up an incursion into his country. When we get a better look at Wakanda we see it’s full of amazing vehicles and other technology. That’s all intercut with footage of various fighting going on and we hear about how hard it is for a good man to be a king.
Online and Social
Marvel Studios’ official website for the movie opens with one of the trailers, which is definitely worth watching again, particularly if you haven’t done so in a while. After that’s done text emerges with the question “Tell me something…What do you know about Wakanda?” When you scroll down as prompted you come across a number of stills and GIFs, all of which can be shared on Twitter or Facebook. That scrolling is divided up into sections that cover the history of the country, the threats that have emerged, what it is they’re fighting over and the people who are vying for leadership or advising those doing so. It’s a cool way to expand on the mythology and introduce the characters.
At the top of the page – and persistent as you scroll – there’s also a more traditional content menu that starts with “Synopsis.” That’s followed by a “Cast” section that uses the character posters we saw above and which can be clicked on for more information. “Gallery” has a number of production stills. There’s a link to listen to the soundtrack album on Spotify in the “Music” section. Finally “Partners” has links to the companies who are helping to promote the film.
Advertising and Cross-Promotions
TV advertising kicked off with a commercial that emphasized the history of the character and how the Pantry was coming out into the rest of the world for the first time. Also, lots of cool action and effects. Further TV spots kept up the hip-hop musical theme and focused on the conflict between Killmonger and the Panther for the throne of Wakanda, showing how T’Challa has to defend his title and protect his people.
An extended TV spot aired during a college football game in early January that showed a bit more, from T’Challa’s assumption of the throne to Killmonger’s plans to stage a coup. There’s more of an emphasis here on the women in the story, from the king’s mother Ramonda to Nakia and Okoye. Another aired during the Grammys and was therefore heavy on the music from Kendrick Lamar (who got snubbed, according to many, at the ceremony) and SZA.
Promotional partners for the movie included:
- Lexus, which released details of its partnership with the studio in advance of a big event being held at San Diego Comic-Con last year. That deal included a graphic novel in which the carmaker’s latest models play an integral role. It also included a co-branded Super Bowl TV spot to show off the LC500 model that debuted at SEMA last year and was also shown at the Detroit Auto Show in January. That commercial was also used as a paid ad on Twitter, YouTube and elsewhere.
- Disney promoted the movie through the Noovie pre-show package fro National Cinemedia with clips, behind-the-scenes footage and more.
- Brisk, which offered co-branded packaging and produced a video spot featuring Jordan talking about how opportunities come from putting in the hard work behind-the-scenes, before the finished product is ever seen. That spot is kind of great and might be the best co-branded media I’ve seen in quite a while because it feels authentic. The drink brand alma ran a sweepstakes.
In advance of the movie’s release Marvel put a “Start Here” sampler comic featuring Black Panther on shelves to draw the attention of anyone who might come in looking to find out more about the character or want to dive deeper into his history. While it had just canceled one high-profile Panther book it launched a couple more, one that looked at T’Challa’s early years as a young prince and one that also went back to his youth but with more of a “flashback” focus. The latter is a digital-first exclusive written by the co-writer of Creed, directed of course by Coogler.
Media and Publicity
Well before the movie entered production, much less began it’s official marketing, there was plenty of conversation from the film’s producers and others about how it was going to be groundbreaking and important and all that.
More about the movie was revealed when the cast appeared as part of Marvel’s big Hall H presence at San Diego Comic-Con, including confirmation of certain characters and cast members.
Boseman, while promoting other movies he had at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, also dropped a few hints as to the evolution of Black Panther in the upcoming solo outing. He also appeared on “Kimmel” right after the first trailer premiered, seemingly because of that trailer debut and not for any other project he was promoting.
This movie was one of those that were highlighted to journalists who attended a behind-the-scenes look and tour at Marvel’s upcoming slate.
The movie got some premium promotional placement on the annual special issue of Entertainment Weekly it puts out to preview San Diego Comic-Con. That feature story included new photos, insights into some of the characters and their motivations and lots more. At Comic-Con itself the cast showed up to talk about the movie and show off footage that was exclusive to the audience there and not released online.
In the final days of the campaign, there was one more burst of publicity. Coogler casually mentioned that Donald Glover had given the script a once-over early in pre-production and offered some feedback. There was also another huge feature with the director and most of the cast where they talked about the responsibility they felt to get the story right and accurately portray the characters. Meanwhile Wired profiled the cutting edge technology on display from the geniuses of Wakanda. Twitter then revealed this was the most-Tweeted about movie of 2018, which is saying something.
Africa presented a profound paradox to Larmar a city major label debate brought worldwide success but left him grappling with the desire to remain true to his Compton roots while reaching new heights. With Black Panther The Album. The features actors are from Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tobago, South African, the U.K and U.S, the soundtrack is pan-africans scope. The cultural movement of ‘Afrofuturism’ refers to a movement in literature, music, art, etc., featuring futuristic or science fiction themes which incorporate elements of black history and culture - the ‘reimagining of a future filled with arts, science and technology seen through a black lens’.
Ownership is Disney Conglomerate. A company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, films, and the internet. Media conglomerate strive for policies that facilitate their controls of the market across the globe. Disney is now one the world’s foremost entertainment conglomerates with interests in a wide range of entertainment ventures. This global reach has an enormous impact on the types of products we consume (there is pretty much always a Disney product in the cinemas) and the way their products are promoted.
Funding and planning - ?
Barack Obama (2009-2017), America’s first African-American president, created many initiatives that aided minority and women’s groups: from universal healthcare, to college and entrepreneurship access funds for the underprivileged.
Black Panther was released to coincide with the start of Black History Month in the United States. This proved to be an inspired choice, but it wasn’t without risk. February is a traditionally weak month in terms of box office numbers, but Marvel and Disney took a gamble that paid off spectacularly. The film was seen as groundbreaking with regard to casting and cultural representation, going beyond the limits of genre to create positive role models for younger generations. The very name of the film is inspired by the actions of the Black Panther Party. The Black Panthers were a revolutionary group, initially founded in California in 1966 to protect African American citizens from acts of police brutality.
No comments:
Post a Comment