As the dim theater lights began to rise and the credits began to roll, a young boy sat in front of me leaped out of his seat and roared with cheers as the rest of the theater followed. All around me, I heard the audience turning to those next to them booming with excitement over the film, Black Panther.

With the newest Marvel movie Black Panther having hit theaters nationwide February 16th, 2018, people haven’t been able to stop raving about it. Aside from the booming box office numbers and thrilling action sequences that the film obtains, Black Panther has given us the first superhero movie with a primarily African American cast as well as lead African American superhero.

With this huge milestone being awarded, it leaves the question of how this movie will affect African American society? When Activist for Change leader, Joey Ribera was asked how he felt that the film influenced African American society, he stated, “I feel like it has definitely had a positive impact on African American community, not only because it has a positive betrayal of African Americans in media which oftentimes isn’t something you see, but also because it highlights African Americans doing good deeds for their society which I think is really cool.”  Ribera’s statement highlights how Black Panther has created an ongoing positive connotation within the African American community. This just proves how important it is for the movie industry to have multicultural cast.  

This movie could impact future films and who they decide to cast. Ribera also stated, “I think the industry will now shine a light on people who often aren’t represented in films such as African Americans…but also other cultures as well that aren’t necessarily represented for example the Mulan Disney film, they’re actually having a full foreign cast of people that actually fit that culture rather than have someone who is often portrayed try to fit that role”.  This film has shown the movie industry that you can make a movie with a diverse cast and it can still have great success.

Black Panther has proven to be a cultural phenomenon. It has stirred up conversations that have rarely been discussed before involving positive connotation on multicultural casts in mainstream movies. It has empowered the African American community because they have finally gotten to see the representation they deserve on screen. Black Panther’s influence has now raised the question of how Hollywood will cast future films.