Live at 6 | Black Panther More Than A Record Breaker

Anna Azallion – Syracuse, N.Y. (CitrusTV) – The latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe pounced into theaters on February 16th. Since then, Black Panther has broken records and started a conversation both nationwide and on the Syracuse University campus.

Oloruntobi Dare, President of the SU African Student Union, liked the movie and thought it accurately represented the nations in Africa.

“The cast was made of Caribbean actors, actors with African descendents and it just told a story that just hasn’t been told — I believe — in hollywood before,” he said.

The movie has raked in over $500 million at the box office worldwide and broken several records including biggest February opening weekend and biggest opening weekend for a black director.

Makana Chock, a professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said the movie is doing well for several reasons. She believes it’s an objectively good action-adventure movie with all the elements. The cast is another vital ingredient.

“It’s an African American movie about an African, told by African Americans,” she said.

The Syracuse University NAACP recently had a general body meeting to discuss the movie and what it means for future generations. Vice President Haile Rice talked about what they discussed.

“I think we all pretty much said that the representation and the different roles that they had,” she said.

Rice said having a black woman playing the role of head of technology — Shuri — had an impact on her because she’s a black woman in STEM. Dare had a similar view.

“I hope that kids that do see this will see that you know superheroes can be not just men in catsuits but women as well in the laboratory,” she said.

The SU African Student Union is continuing the conversation next week with a Town Hall meeting on Wednesday. The meeting will be open to everyone and focused on discussion.