Marvel’s Black Panther has proven to be an enormous success, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of all time as well as being hailed as a watershed moment for the representation of black actors on screen.
However, Marvel Cinematic Universe star Samuel L. Jackson isn’t sure that the movie will have a long term impact on Hollywood attitudes, particularly outside of the blockbuster action-adventure genre.
“I’m not positive that Black Panther is going to change the dynamic of black stories being told in Hollywood and being accepted all over the world,” Jackson tells Matt Pomroy. “It’s an action-adventure story and a lot of people like those, and they’ll work all over the world forever because everybody loves a hero. But not everybody loves a drama about somebody’s life experience — that’s why awards have a separate category for foreign films; they are perceived as being different. Once we stop perceiving them as different and just see them as good films and they get recognized in the same category, we’ll be laying markers.”
Jackson certainly has a point that action-adventure movies – and in particularly Marvel Studios movies – already have mass audience appeal, making for a much easier sell globally. However, only time well tell as to what kind of impact Black Panther has on diversity in Hollywood.
What do you make of Jackson’s comments? Let us know your thoughts below…
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After the events of Captain America: Civil War, King T’Challa returnsohome to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Black Panther sees Ryan Coogler (Creed) directing Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa alongside Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Sterling K. Brown as N’Jobu, John Kani as King T’Chaka and Nabiyah Be as Linda.
