Black Panther [Mīkstie vāki]

"Black Panther was the first Black superhero in mainstream American comics, and his titular film was the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with a predominantly Black cast. The film broke box-office records and was nominated for numerous awardswhile also confirming director Ryan Coogler as a rising auteur. Scott Bukatman, a senior scholar in film and comics, examines the character, the film, and the director to understand why this is an essential film. While briefly tracing the history of Black superheroes and the overall history of the MCU to provide context, Bukatman delves into Afrofuturism with the film's (and comic's) depiction of the high-tech African country of Wakanda, the philosophical debate of isolationism that is at the heart of the film, and the larger issues of the African diaspora, showing how the film does not present a consistent ideology but instead raises real-world political questions with a character originally created by two white men in the 1960s. He also examines the role of women in the film and the importance of the characters Shuri, Okoye, Nakia, and Ramonda. Further, he addresses the cultural impact of the film and the mixed reception it received among some critics, while discussing its role as a fantasy of social liberation and social justice. He also takes time to discuss the late star, Chadwick Boseman, and his career as a whole within the context of this film"--

Black Panther was the first Black superhero in mainstream American comics. Black Panther was a cultural phenomenon that broke box office records. Yet it wasn’t just a movie led by and starring Black artists. It grappled with ideas and conflicts central to Black life in America and helped redress the racial dynamics of the Hollywood blockbuster.

Scott Bukatman, one of the foremost scholars of superheroes and cinematic spectacle, brings his impeccable pedigree to this lively and accessible study, finding in the utopianism of Black Panther a way of re-envisioning what a superhero movie can and should be while centering the Black creators, performers, and issues behind it. He considers the superheroic Black body; the Pan-African fantasy, feminism, and Afrofuturism of Wakanda; the African American relationship to Africa; the political influence of director Ryan Coogler’s earlier movies; and the entwined performances of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa and Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger. Bukatman argues that Black Panther is escapism of the best kind, offering a fantasy of liberation and social justice while demonstrating the power of popular culture to articulate ideals and raise vital questions.