Black Panther (2018)

[Jorge]

My African friend Titi is watching this today for the fifth time

[lennytheweedwhacker]

oh god

[stip]

My African friend Titi is watching this today for the fifth time

is he related to Dime?

[bart]

My African friend Titi is watching this today for the fifth time

That's weird, my Afrikaner friend has shown no interest at all in this.

[bada]

My Jewish friend Stip liked it.

[VinylGuy]

My Jewish friend Stip liked it.

He is not allowed to like it.

[stip]

As an atheist i am not sure if I am more or less oppressed than I would be as a jew

[stip]

weekend totals were upped to 201 million. 5th largest opening of all time

[stip]

good news for LV, one of those top 5 openings was not a Disney owned property

[stip]

I’m not denying anyone’s emotional experience. But I do think it’s dubious that emotional reactions are being given so much weight because the film is a corporate-backed, mainstream venture. That is capitulation to corporatized art in an unsettling way; social import really only matters when loads of money and hype are behind it. But, again, maybe that’s just what social progress looks like in capitalist America now.

I don't think Black Panther would have happened without years/decades of less 'encumbered' art and philosophy and activism behind it. Disney is not the vanguard of change. But they are one of the cultural gatekeepers of mainstream acceptance. Whether or not that's a good thing is a separate conversation. Controlling for the fact that they are, their backing behind the movie and the message is super important because of the mainstream legitimacy that comes with it. An arthouse movie with this message may be able to be even bolder. But its reach would likely be tiny. This is a massive movie with incredible reach that plants a flag for representation in the most culturally significant (in terms of reach) film genre out there right now. Again, you can bemoan that superhero tent poles occupy that position, but that's a separate conversation. They do, and so this matters.

There will eventually be an openly gay superhero who interacts with a gay partner in a blockbuster movie. And that will matter not because it will be subversive. It will matter because its representation in a film like that sends the signal that being gay is no longer, in itself, something that needs to be thought of as subversive. It will have reached that point on the back of more interesting and challenging works of art that helped move the needle, but that film itself will be able to take the victory lap.

I mean...this is exactly what I’m saying, except you’re framing it positively. The fact that we have not just accepted - but joyously, rapturouously accepted - this “milestone” of representation simply because it is given wide reach thanks to a global corporation that is essentially the gatekeeper of visible art is deeply frightening to me. We are swallowing what they’re selling because the hype makes us feel good.

Hasn't this kind of always been the case? Mainstream art reflecting shifting cultural ideals/movements and being celebrated for it? Maybe not on this scale, but this has been done before.

Not really when it comes to movies. This concept of the blockbuster is a relatively new development, and the landscape being dominated by one corporation is unprecedented.

intellectually I agree that the one company dominance is troubling

[wease]

weekend totals were upped to 201 million. 5th largest opening of all time

Since today is a holiday, will they include it in weekend totals?

[Jorge]

My African friend Titi is watching this today for the fifth time

is he related to Dime?

Probably not unless Dime is Nigerian

[Bi_3]

My African friend Titi is watching this today for the fifth time

is he related to Dime?

Probably not unless Dime is Nigerian

Technically:

[Jorge]

Africans are African but WE ARE AFRICA

[VinylGuy]

Africans are African but WE ARE AFRICA

OMG STIP CMON

[stip]

weekend totals were upped to 201 million. 5th largest opening of all time

Since today is a holiday, will they include it in weekend totals?

not sure how it works. is is expected to beat Justice League’s entire domestic run in one week

[stip]

Africans are African but WE ARE AFRICA

OMG STIP CMON

?

[bada]

I hope when my ancestry results comes back there some Nigerian in there. I'll rule this board.

[wease]

weekend totals were upped to 201 million. 5th largest opening of all time

Since today is a holiday, will they include it in weekend totals?

not sure how it works. is is expected to beat Justice League’s entire domestic run in one week

Dammit. I want my WASP money to count!!

[wease]

Africans are African but WE ARE AFRICA

OMG STIP CMON

We are the world.