Afrofuturism in Films: How Does "Black Panther" Invite a Reimagining of Blackness to Mainstream Media?

Leyla Beyer

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Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Cultural Studies - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0, Free University of Berlin (Englische...

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Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Cultural Studies - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0, Free University of Berlin (Englische Philologie), course: Institut für Englische Philologie, language: English, abstract: In most of the mainstream film media - especially in mainstream science fiction - Blackness is related to rather dystopian topics and explores the difficulties that minority groups are facing in the present day. However, the Afrofuturistic message of a future in which Black people use technology to become leaders is disappointingly scarce. It was not until recently (2018) that Black futurism in the mainstream has attracted eminent attention by the release of Marvel's 'Black Panther', the first mega-budget film directed and co-written by African Americans, with a Black hero, and predominantly Black cast. But how does 'Black Panther' invite a reimagining of Blackness to the mainstream media? In this paper, I argue that the film 'Black Panther' brought a movement to the mainstream media by creating an alternative to colonialism and exploring an Afrofuturistic narrative of a country that had never been colonized and oppressed. To understand Afrofuturistic themes in 'Black Panther', corresponding aspects in the film were analyzed. An underlying objective of this investigation was to emphasize the importance of films influencing the public perception with empowered and positive portrayals of the Black future.