People of color often struggle to receive the type of representation they deserve in mass media and other areas of public life. White people like myself, not so much.
Forty-four of our country’s 45 presidents were white. Ninety-three percent of Oscar winners for leading roles were white, and 96 percent of Emmy winners for leading roles in drama or comedy were white. Do not be fooled. When an individual, film or any other form of art becomes the first of its kind to achieve a great amount of success, it deserves to be respected regardless of
one’s opinion.
When people of color are given roles in media, they are often typecast roles that repeatedly follow similar narratives. Therefore, it should be no surprise that black Americans were the largest demographic to view “Black Panther,” the first superhero movie to have a black director and predominantly black cast, during its opening weekend. The black community has been waiting for this film and this level of representation for far too long. It must be understood that this is not just a movie, this is a moment.
Earlier this year, Oprah Winfrey delivered a speech at the Golden Globe Awards in which she reminisced about watching Sidney Poitier become the first black American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor.
“I’d never seen a black man being celebrated like that,” Winfrey said. “I tried many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl.”
The same feeling Winfrey expressed will likely register with many of the black American children who are taken to see “Black Panther.” A movie of its kind has never been made before, but because this one was, it has opened the door for the production of other films that tell black stories.
“We got to do our part to keep pushing things forward,” said Ryan Coogler, the director of “Black Panther,” at Vulture Festival L.A. in November 2017. “To see a movie where somebody looks like me that is a king and knows their ancestry and has an army of incredible folks around them and who believe in them? I don’t know what that would have done for me when I was 10 years old.”
Films like “Black Panther” ignite an important conversation about diversity and encourage film studios to make films that provide a spotlight to a plethora of cultures.
“We can take those values, which we deem important societally, and actually change peoples’ behavior — get people to be more accepting of the multiple differences and cultures and races and all other facets of our lives and our people,” said Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion.
“Black Panther” is only the beginning of Disney’s new directive. Disney recently released the animated film “Coco,” which is voiced by an all-Latino cast. Disney is also developing live-action versions of “Mulan” and “The Lion King,” with casts that are largely Asian and black.
The breaking of barriers is not solely occurring in the film and television industry either. Black American artists Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley recently unveiled their official presidential portraits of former U.S. president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama. Many began to critique their works without acknowledging the significance behind them.
Sherald and Wiley were each selected by the Obamas and became the first black American artists to paint official presidential portraits. Everyone has their own opinions and tastes when it comes to art. However, when artists break significant cultural barriers, that accomplishment deserves to be acknowledged much more than the quality of the paintings.
The next time you hear about someone becoming the first of their race, creed, color or culture to accomplish a phenomenal feat, pay them respect. It is not only the individual that feels a sense of achievement, but everyone they represent as well.
Seth Nieman is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from McComb, Mississippi.
