Black Panther: Marvel has a way of really affecting popular culture, says Lupita Nyong’o
Some film critics are calling it the best Marvel movie so far; others say it’s a correction after years of neglecting minority talent in Hollywood.
The predominantly black cast of superhero movie Black Panther hope its combination of African pride, beauty and kick-ass adventure will also mark a cultural shift in the movie industry and beyond.
The Disney movie, opening worldwide this week, tells the story of T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), the new king of the futuristic, wealth-laden African nation Wakanda, who is challenged by factions within his own country.
“Marvel has a way of really affecting popular culture,” said Lupita Nyong’o, who plays the Wakandan warrior spy, Nakia.
“Hopefully it changes the general idea of what being an African is. Too often times we see Africa as a place that is wanting, and here it’s a place that you want to go,” she said.
The movie, directed by Ryan Coogler and also featuring Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, Forest Whittaker and Daniel Kaluuya, arrives to stellar reviews after years of criticism about the under-representation of movies, actors and filmmakers of colour in Hollywood.
Analysts expect it to rake in some $150 million at the North American box office on its opening weekend, and the filmmakers …read more
