Film: Black Panther Typeit

Black Panther was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Despite achieving success with superhero franchises such as Spider-Man and X-Men in the early 2000s, the success of Marvel began to increase when Kevin  became president of the company in 2007. Iron Man was released the following year to big audiences and critical acclaim, essentially kick-starting what we now know as the Marvel Cinematic . Disney is now one of the leading American film studios due to its successful approach to integration. The following subsidiaries are just a few film studios now owned by Disney: Pixar (Coco, Toy Story 4); (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Solo: A Star Wars Story) and 20th Century Fox (Dark Phoenix, Spies in Disguise).

In 2009, the Walt Disney Company acquired the rights to Marvel. This appears to have been a very wise business decision considering that the Marvel films have now grossed over $22 billion in total (as of 2019). The relationship between Marvel Studios and Disney now highlights a integrated chain of production and distribution; therefore, the relationship between funding and promotion is affected in a way that can benefit both companies. However, business relationships between huge media companies like this can occasionally lead to a conflict of interests. In 2013, Marvel Studios signed a deal with the streaming service that enabled it to create several new television series focusing on some of the grittier Marvel superheroes, e.g. Daredevil, The Punisher and Jessica Jones. Meanwhile, in 2017, Disney announced plans to launch , an on-demand streaming service containing all media content owned by Disney and its subsidiaries. These services will inevitably become huge competitors in the already competitive market of streaming services. In 2018, plans to make any further TV shows with Marvel Studios were cancelled.

Black Panther is a useful film to study in relation to Curran and theory of media industries and , specifically their exploration of the ways in which media conglomerates attempt to maintain dominance over their industries. Films like Black Panther prove that ownership of the industry isn’t contested by new media because organisations can diversify their companies or create synergetic relationships that allow them to continue to dominate the film industry and make . It is evident by looking at the opening weekend figures that Marvel and Disney can maintain audiences despite the impacts of new digital technologies, e.g. smartphones, streaming services. However, in some respects Black Panther contradicts the theory by incorporating features that might be considered artistically and creatively risky for a major Marvel release. By featuring an -centric cast, employing a black director and placing heavy emphasis on African culture and heritage, Black Panther subverts expectations surrounding the kinds of film that mainstream audiences want to see.

The extent to which large conglomerates are stifling creativity in the film industry is hotly contested in the media. In October 2019, (the award-winning director of Goodfellas and The Irishman) publicly claimed that Marvel movies are ‘not cinema’. The director explained that the best films should strive to explore complex characters and issues and that Marvel films are closer to . Many journalists and filmmakers have criticised his position, claiming that he is being close-minded. Question whether you believe that companies like Disney and Marvel are destroying creativity in the film industry.