When Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer announced
that she would be buying tickets for underserved students in Pearl, MS to see Black Panther, she underscored the
importance of black children “seeing themselves as a superhero.” She bought
three screenings of the film at a Cinemark in the Jackson area, intended for
families “low on funds.” According to her Instagram post, she noted that fellow
Mississippi filmmakers Tate Taylor and John Norris followed her lead and
purchased screenings in the river town of Natchez.
Spencer’s philanthropy, for many, was an important act of
generosity towards the people of her home state. For others, let's just say it ruffled
a few feathers.
A number of people took to social media to express their
discomfort and disappointment in Spencer. The pushback reveals much about the
contemporary state of white discomfort with black empowerment, and more
specifically, the empowerment of black children. Here are just a few examples.
Exhibit A: Discomfort through denial.
Exhibit B: Black
Panther as disgraceful because it’s definitely the same as racial terror.
Exhibit C: Go figure?
The good people of Mississippi really have not ever been
known for racial progressivism, which is why none of the above comments should
come as a shock. The comment section of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger is always filled with painfully misinformed white people
who regularly voice their discomfort with black advancement and empowerment in
their neck of the woods.
Their commentary, however, shows a deep-rooted discomfort
with African Americans who break from their concepts of exactly where African
Americans’ places are in a white society.
Laurie Green’s analysis of the Memphis censorship boards in
the early-to-mid twentieth century comes to mind. Theatres were barred from screening boxing
matches in which a black man went punch for punch against a white man, fighting
as equals on the big screen.
Black Panther in
some ways falls in the same vein, an empowering image for a black community
under the weight of racial subjugation. If the image of a black man landing
heavy blows on a white man's body drew discomfort and censorship, how much more
frightening to white people is the image of an entire African nation whose technology,
weapons, and peaceful society exceeds that of any other nation?
The comments further reveal the contemporary presence of
racial paternalism. A wealthy black woman buys screenings for underprivileged black
children so that they may see a powerful figure that looks like them. This is
an image that has been drastically excluded from textbooks.
American history has been filled with powerful, resilient,
and brilliant black leaders that don’t make it into the classroom because the
curriculum is designed by white people, revolving around the achievements of
white men. When someone attempts to fill the gap left by a racialized
curriculum, they subvert the authority of a system which claims to know what’s
best for all children.
Memphis, a city with similar demographics and parallel
challenges to Jackson, placed number one in the nation for
increased ticket sales in the opening weekend of Black Panther, 81% higher than the average opening for a film. This
does not just mean that Marvel and local theaters are making a killing, it
means that black children in Memphis are seeing this empowering movie and seeing
a superhero that looks like them. And it also means that black parents, not
just Octavia Spencer, are rushing to the theaters so their children can know
what an empowered black society looks like.
Originally, I was going to write about the impact of Black Panther, especially in the context of Memphis. As you mentioned, Junior, Memphis placed the highest in the nation for opening weekend sales for the movie. According to Jeff Kaufman, the senior vice president of Malco Theatres, the number of screen the movie played on across the cinema chain was more than Malco had ever offered before. Yes, this means Black Panther surpassed films like Star Wars or Jurassic Park or even any other Marvel movie. Kaufman cited the reasoning behind this as the amount of interest both on a national and local level.
ReplyDeleteThe mass consumption in Memphis speaks volumes for the city’s investment in black culture, which comes from a long history civil rights within the city. Of course the city would show out in this incredibly pro-black film. Tying the plot of Black Panther in context to Memphis is especially powerful with Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) symbolizing a somewhat Malcolm X figure and T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwich Boseman) representing a Martin Luther King, Jr. figure.
All of the Facebook comments that you included as examples don't just show white discomfort, but also white ignorance. The idea that Black Panther is "just a marvel comic character" is ludicrous. It demonstrates a complete ignorance - a willful ignorance - of the history of race in America. Unfortunately, this view is widespread, if not dominant, throughout the white community. The white attitude of "colorblindness" seeks to reject all responsibility for past and present racial and economic injustices.
ReplyDeleteThe false equivalency of Black Power and White Supremacy, like in your "Exhibit B," is closely connected to the ideal of colorblindness. Again, it ignores the reality of race in America - the fact that whites are continuously validated in media portrayals of themselves and their achievements, while blacks and other minorities are almost always relegated to comedic sidekicks or villains.
This false equivalency also displays a profound ignorance of the ideologies behind both movements. White supremacy claims SUPREMACY - the idea that whites are biologically superior to nonwhites. It is fundamentally rooted in ideas of hierarchical oppression. Black Power, on the other hand, is a celebration of blackness (a term originally defined by whites as the quality of lacking whiteness). It is a reclamation of an identity that has always been defined and imposed by hostile outside forces. Unlike White Supremacy, Black Power does not hinge on the oppression of an "other," but on the empowerment of the self.
As far as I know, the only solution for ignorance is education. I don't know the best way of going about that in the current political climate, though, where dissenting opinions are just based on "alternate facts." Anyone have any ideas?
I totally agree with Jessica. To comment further on white discomfort I think Black Panther is not only a movie which shows capitalism that black capitalism is an important market force but it also teaches the importance of representation. I think part of the white discomfort towards Black Panther is a complete lack of understanding of the need for representation. White people are used to seeing themselves in practically every movie out there. So, Octavia Spencer buying tickets for Mississippi school children to see Black Panther as an educational experience is not something they understand the need for because it is not a need for them. The White people who realize how rare an empowering Black film is, have to be uncomfortable because it shows that the master narrative of Black equality is not true and is still an ongoing fight.
ReplyDeleteI just find it so interesting that there is always a back lash from racist white people whenever there is success or happiness in the black community; black people can never have their moment and we can never just express our gratitude and appreciation for something that is for US. You are exactly right when you say that this shows the discomfort that arises when black people rise from the oppressive position that we have been placed in by society. This film is extraordinary because of the underlying messages and the representation that I never knew I needed; it's a feeling that can't be explained and I'm honestly not even exaggerating. It highlights the tension between Africans and African-Americans, the important role of women, oppression, and so much more. It's mind-blowing that people are finding reasons to dislike this movie when it's doing so much for African Americans.
ReplyDeleteShavonne, I think you're spot on. I think it may just be the extraordinary-ness of the film that makes it so infuriating for so many. It works for Black Panther the same way it does for many other facets of our society, all the way up to presidential elections. Van Jones called the election of Donald Trump a "white lash" for the 8 years they saw a black man in the Oval Office. There was a tension in American society in seeing black children empowered by the sight of someone that looks like them in a position of such power and importance. In a way - albeit maybe on a smaller scale - the reaction to Black Panther exhibits the same ripple effect. Black joy and empowerment far too often unfortunately means white discomfort, from black presidents to movie theaters filled with black viewers.
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