The Power of _Black Panther_

A few days ago, I posted about my response to Marvel's Black Panther. In it, I embedded this tweet from Josh Gad:

There are cultural cinematic events that happen every so often. “Jaws” broke open the tentpole. “Star Wars” redefined the blockbuster. “Wonder Woman” gave us a heroine 4 the ages. And something tells me #BlackPanther is about to carry the torch & set the whole thing on fire again

— Josh Gad (@joshgad) February 12, 2018

I realize that Josh Gad was talking in terms of a cinematic revolution -- after all, the comparisons he draws are cinematic ones. The implication of it, of course, is that Black Panther -- and its attendant success -- will signal a new shift in cinema, perhaps marking the day when Hollywood (executives) realize that a movie like Black Panther -- an all-black cast, with a black director, and representation of African culture -- can return a blockbuster investment.

But what Josh Gad's tweet doesn't explicitly address, but what he alludes to, is that Black Panther isn't just a cinematic event, it's a cultural cinematic event -- that the ramifications extend far beyond Hollywood.

Case in point:

Story via The AV Club

Y'all.

That is a powerful statement of the impact.

And sure, the AV Club gets a little snarky with their comment about there being "only so many disappointing Toy Story-themed Disney World attractions you can blow your money on at one time" -- which isn't entirely fair, since as much as I hate when Disney "kills" my favorite old-school rides, part of the success of Disney theme parks is how they continue to evolve, but I digress -- but the story is there.

A cinematic cultural event, indeed.