Black Panther: Representation in front of (and behind) the Camera
Marvel's Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018) has undoubtedly changed the landscape for superhero films. Since its release in February, the film has amassed a worldwide box-office gross of over $1.2 Billion , proving that people will pay to see a film with a majority black cast, despite negative speculation. Not only does Black Panther positively and strongly represent black people on the screen, but does so behind it too. The film was written and directed by African-American men, as well as shot by Rachel Morrison, the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for her work on Mudbound (Dee Rees, 2017). Black Panther has been praised for its proud portrayal of a vast number of African cultures, dark-skinned women, and its inspirational narrative. In his review for Variety , Peter Debruge said : "C o-written and directed by Ryan Coogler, "Black Panther" is a radically different kind of comic-book movie, one with a proud Afrocentric tw...