black panther

theorists

audience

context

analysis

production budget = $200 million

marketing budget = $150 million

release date = 12 february 2018

production company = marvel studios

distributed by = walt disney studios motion pictures

gerbner = his theory is supported, as black panther is looking to alter the narrative of black representations in the media

aim = to attract an increasingly black audience, whilst also maintaining marvel's existing audience

demographic for opening weekend = 37% black, 30% white - shows that the film was successful in targeting its demographic

usual marvel audience = 15% black, 40% white

"all the stars" music video

film posters

film trailers

released 6 days before film

black female queen & exclusively black artists

"all the stars are closer" - stars connote dreams & black success, empowering black audience

clothing is a hybrid of modern & traditional african - for example, traditional african patterns with converse shoes

women in luxurious gold clothing & confident stance - highlights power & status, uplifting them

protagonist takes ownership over wakanda, addressing the mis/underrepresentations of africa

intertextual reference to huey p newton (leader of the black panther party), connoting black empowerment, as black panther party drove cultural change

representations of wakanda

  • both rural & urban
  • both traditional & progressive = hybrid of clothing (traditional african patterns with modern elements), & modern air transport with rural mountains
  • a world of technological change & advancement
  • seeks to address misrepresentations of africa in hollywood as being a place of poverty

dialogue

  • "i have seen gods fly...but i have never seen anything like this" drives notion that this is something new for marvel
  • "what happens now determines what happens to the rest of the world" if this film doesn't drive change, nothing will

disney

marketing

aims

  • attract audiences
  • make money
  • view film as a cultural event
  • challenge outdated stereotypes in a white-dominated industry/genre

marketing strategies include

  • film poster ahead of teaser trailer
  • full trailer released in october 2017
  • nyfw = costumes mirrored those of film
  • synergy with companies such as clarks (bp inspired shoe design) & lancome (makeup line used by film stars during its premiere)
  • awarded ghetto film school $50,000 & coogler spoke to students (personally reaching out to black communities)

film released during black history month in usa

the hashtags 'blackpanther' & 'blackpanthersolit' create a sense of community & a movement that sits behind the film - was the most tweeted about film ever in march 2018

criticism of marketing = although it's linked to social change, it is still a movie designed to make profit

integration

  • disney started as an animation studio targeting families & children, then integrated into live actions films reaching new audiences
  • then disney+ was released rivalling netflix & further horizontally integrating across tv market

disney as a conglomerate

benefits to disney

  • profits (don't have to share)
  • control (can change its mind regarding eg distribution)

benefits to audiences

  • security (films unlikely to be cancelled)
  • sequels (more scope for releasing them)
  • quality (past films of high quality so new ones will be too)

mainstream film = a film that is made by the major film studios on a high budget and targeting a universal, global audience

  • have visual appeal, high production values and are easy to market to audiences

regulation

regulated by the bbfc

gained a 12a certificate in the uk & a pg 13 by the mpaa in the us

given a 12a due to moderate violence, injury detail, rude gesture

hesmondhalgh

  • minimise risk = star power of michael b jordan & superhero narrative that is maintained throughout the franchise

livingstone & lunt

  • 12a & pg 13 ratings are only really applicable at the point of purchase, as when the film becomes available on digitally-convergent platforms such as youtube, it moves into a different regulatory space
  • some will be password-protected, whilst others will just ask for a simple tick-box age-verification process
  • individuals are therefore placed at greater risk of exposure to harmful content by the rise in digital technology

bbfc = entirely independent, but the mpaa is funded by the film studios that it's there to regulate