COMPONENT 1 INDUSTRIES & AUDIENCE
SET TEXTS STUDIED:
● Film cross media (I, Daniel Blake and Black Panther)IND
● Newspapers( The Times and The Daily Mirror)IND & AUD
● Radio (woman's hour)IND & AUD
● Video Games (Assassins Creed)IND & AUD
● Advertising and marketing( tide and superhuman)AUD
Black Panther
● The 17th movie in the marvel cinematic universe, the highest grossing film
franchise in history.
● Directed by Ryan Coogler (creed)
● It was released february 2018
What is Black Panther about?
The film shows us the fictional African Kingdom of Wakanda, which has avoided European
colonisation and achieved technological superiority through the use of a mineral called
Vibranium. T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) must fight a number of foes who oppose him
becoming king after his fathers death.
Production:
● Produced by Marvel Studios.
● Marvel Studios is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios.
● Walt Disney Studios is described as one of the largest conglomerates in the world.
● Despite Disney ownership, Marvel Studios reportedly had minimal creative
influence from Disney over their products and retained significant power and
independence in filmmaking decisions.
● Marvel started as a comic book company and is now a diversified company
involved in comic books, graphic novels, TV programs, films, and animations.
● Marvel owns the rights to many of their characters developed through comic
books; they retained the rights to Black Panther specifically because they intended to
make a film about the character.
● The film is the 17th within the Marvel superhero movie franchise and is part of a
shared universe with other Marvel movies.
● Marvel is described as being vertically and horizontally integrated, allowing them
to handle distribution and marketing in-house. However, they leveraged being part of
the Disney conglomerate for distribution.
● Factors suggesting the film was low risk include its basis on a successful
franchise/shared universe with millions of fans, being made by major companies
(Marvel/Disney), a high budget, famous actors, and belonging to the popular
superhero genre.
● Elements potentially making the film more risky or niche included Black Panther
being a lesser-known Marvel character and the decision to have an almost entirely
black cast, which is historically seen as a risk in the American film industry.
,Distribution:
● Disney was used to distribute the film globally. Being part of Disney provided
access to big budgets, experience, teams, and a global network, making global
distribution easier.
● Black Panther was distributed all over the world to many countries.
● Distributing globally requires considering different countries' regulations, which can
impact age certificates, the amount of violence shown (requiring potential re-editing),
and even marketing materials.
Marketing:
● Disney employs a "360-degree marketing campaign" philosophy, aiming for the
audience to encounter the film's branding and characters everywhere they turn.
● Marketing materials included a huge number of items such as posters, trailers, and
social media pages.
● They released merchandise, which helps engage various audiences, including
young children, families, and collectible-focused fans.
● They worked with a range of companies on synergetic products:
➢ Hasbro (toy company) for action figures and other toys.
➢ Lexus (car manufacturer) for two limited-edition cars tied to the campaign,
marketing the film every time the cars were marketed. This targeted male,
slightly older audiences interested in technology.
➢ Kendrick Lamar was asked to release a soundtrack, targeting his pre-sold
fanbase, particularly a young black urban male audience.
➢ New York Fashion Week for a "Welcome to Wakanda" fashion show inspired
by the film's clothing. This generated press and publicity at a major global
event and targeted traditionally female audiences, who are often overlooked
by superhero movie producers.
➢ Trailers were a traditional marketing method, released on television, in
cinemas, and online. They were edited to showcase exciting parts, actors,
special effects, and highlight the film's connection to the shared Marvel
Universe.
➢ The trailer debuted during an ad break of the Super Bowl, one of the biggest
global sporting events with millions of viewers. This placement was
expensive, suggesting the film was high-cost/quality, and reached a large,
mainstream, mostly male audience.
➢ The film was released during Black History Month, which was a strategic
choice allowing marketing to be tied to black history and cultural heritage.
This led other organizations supporting Black History Month to mention the
film, adding to its promotion.
➢ Crowdfunding sites were set up by people worldwide to help young black
children see the film, reflecting the perceived importance of seeing a
predominantly black cast in a major film. While not official Disney marketing,
this generated significant unofficial publicity as it was covered in
newspapers and online news.
Social media was a powerful tool:
, ■ The trailer was posted on YouTube, gaining over 19 million views in
the first 24 hours. YouTube's global platform with like/share/comment
features allows the audience to market the film for free by spreading
the word.
■ They used Twitter with hashtags and posts. Black Panther became
the most tweeted about film of 2018 and later, the most tweeted
about film ever, with over 35 million tweets.
■ They used live-streaming on Twitter with cast and crew doing a Q&A
session with fans and journalists globally, building anticipation.
■ A Snapchat filter was released, targeting a young audience using the
platform.
Actors appeared on chat shows and breakfast shows on television, marketing the film to
national audiences and slightly older target audiences who still watch traditional media.
Actors attended a panel at Comic-Con, a major event for comic-book fans. This targeted
superfans, who are likely to spread positive word-of-mouth about the film.
Regulation and Reception:
● In the UK, the film was given a 12A certificate by the BBFC. This allows those 12
and over to see it alone, and those under 12 to see it with an accompanying adult.
● There was some controversy regarding the 12A certificate due to the amount of
violence in the film, including stabbing, shooting, fighting, and stunts. Some argued it
was too low, particularly for adults bringing younger children who might not expect
such content.
● The BBFC justified the rating by stating the violence was consistent with other films
in the Marvel franchise. They also argued the fighting was fantasy-based (CGI,
stunts) and occurred within a narrative with a strong moral code, where violence is
often shown as wrong or in self-defense, rather than for its own sake.
● Different countries have their own film regulation systems with varying rules, making
global distribution complex. Films might need re-editing or recutting to meet stricter
regulations in some countries.
Diversity and Representation:
● Black Panther was notable for having an almost entirely black cast, which is rare in
the American film industry and historically considered a risk.
● The film offered a variety of positive roles for black actors and actresses, depicting
them as superheroes, kings, queens, and leaders. This was seen as a significant
departure from historical roles available to black actors, which tended to be more
restricted to social realist, gritty, or overtly comic parts.
● The film also featured strong, dominant, and powerful female characters and
actresses, showing leadership qualities and being equally (or more) strong than male
characters. This reflected a shift in superhero films seen with movies like Wonder
Woman and Captain Marvel, moving away from older gender stereotypes like the
"damsel in distress".
SET TEXTS STUDIED:
● Film cross media (I, Daniel Blake and Black Panther)IND
● Newspapers( The Times and The Daily Mirror)IND & AUD
● Radio (woman's hour)IND & AUD
● Video Games (Assassins Creed)IND & AUD
● Advertising and marketing( tide and superhuman)AUD
Black Panther
● The 17th movie in the marvel cinematic universe, the highest grossing film
franchise in history.
● Directed by Ryan Coogler (creed)
● It was released february 2018
What is Black Panther about?
The film shows us the fictional African Kingdom of Wakanda, which has avoided European
colonisation and achieved technological superiority through the use of a mineral called
Vibranium. T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) must fight a number of foes who oppose him
becoming king after his fathers death.
Production:
● Produced by Marvel Studios.
● Marvel Studios is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios.
● Walt Disney Studios is described as one of the largest conglomerates in the world.
● Despite Disney ownership, Marvel Studios reportedly had minimal creative
influence from Disney over their products and retained significant power and
independence in filmmaking decisions.
● Marvel started as a comic book company and is now a diversified company
involved in comic books, graphic novels, TV programs, films, and animations.
● Marvel owns the rights to many of their characters developed through comic
books; they retained the rights to Black Panther specifically because they intended to
make a film about the character.
● The film is the 17th within the Marvel superhero movie franchise and is part of a
shared universe with other Marvel movies.
● Marvel is described as being vertically and horizontally integrated, allowing them
to handle distribution and marketing in-house. However, they leveraged being part of
the Disney conglomerate for distribution.
● Factors suggesting the film was low risk include its basis on a successful
franchise/shared universe with millions of fans, being made by major companies
(Marvel/Disney), a high budget, famous actors, and belonging to the popular
superhero genre.
● Elements potentially making the film more risky or niche included Black Panther
being a lesser-known Marvel character and the decision to have an almost entirely
black cast, which is historically seen as a risk in the American film industry.
,Distribution:
● Disney was used to distribute the film globally. Being part of Disney provided
access to big budgets, experience, teams, and a global network, making global
distribution easier.
● Black Panther was distributed all over the world to many countries.
● Distributing globally requires considering different countries' regulations, which can
impact age certificates, the amount of violence shown (requiring potential re-editing),
and even marketing materials.
Marketing:
● Disney employs a "360-degree marketing campaign" philosophy, aiming for the
audience to encounter the film's branding and characters everywhere they turn.
● Marketing materials included a huge number of items such as posters, trailers, and
social media pages.
● They released merchandise, which helps engage various audiences, including
young children, families, and collectible-focused fans.
● They worked with a range of companies on synergetic products:
➢ Hasbro (toy company) for action figures and other toys.
➢ Lexus (car manufacturer) for two limited-edition cars tied to the campaign,
marketing the film every time the cars were marketed. This targeted male,
slightly older audiences interested in technology.
➢ Kendrick Lamar was asked to release a soundtrack, targeting his pre-sold
fanbase, particularly a young black urban male audience.
➢ New York Fashion Week for a "Welcome to Wakanda" fashion show inspired
by the film's clothing. This generated press and publicity at a major global
event and targeted traditionally female audiences, who are often overlooked
by superhero movie producers.
➢ Trailers were a traditional marketing method, released on television, in
cinemas, and online. They were edited to showcase exciting parts, actors,
special effects, and highlight the film's connection to the shared Marvel
Universe.
➢ The trailer debuted during an ad break of the Super Bowl, one of the biggest
global sporting events with millions of viewers. This placement was
expensive, suggesting the film was high-cost/quality, and reached a large,
mainstream, mostly male audience.
➢ The film was released during Black History Month, which was a strategic
choice allowing marketing to be tied to black history and cultural heritage.
This led other organizations supporting Black History Month to mention the
film, adding to its promotion.
➢ Crowdfunding sites were set up by people worldwide to help young black
children see the film, reflecting the perceived importance of seeing a
predominantly black cast in a major film. While not official Disney marketing,
this generated significant unofficial publicity as it was covered in
newspapers and online news.
Social media was a powerful tool:
, ■ The trailer was posted on YouTube, gaining over 19 million views in
the first 24 hours. YouTube's global platform with like/share/comment
features allows the audience to market the film for free by spreading
the word.
■ They used Twitter with hashtags and posts. Black Panther became
the most tweeted about film of 2018 and later, the most tweeted
about film ever, with over 35 million tweets.
■ They used live-streaming on Twitter with cast and crew doing a Q&A
session with fans and journalists globally, building anticipation.
■ A Snapchat filter was released, targeting a young audience using the
platform.
Actors appeared on chat shows and breakfast shows on television, marketing the film to
national audiences and slightly older target audiences who still watch traditional media.
Actors attended a panel at Comic-Con, a major event for comic-book fans. This targeted
superfans, who are likely to spread positive word-of-mouth about the film.
Regulation and Reception:
● In the UK, the film was given a 12A certificate by the BBFC. This allows those 12
and over to see it alone, and those under 12 to see it with an accompanying adult.
● There was some controversy regarding the 12A certificate due to the amount of
violence in the film, including stabbing, shooting, fighting, and stunts. Some argued it
was too low, particularly for adults bringing younger children who might not expect
such content.
● The BBFC justified the rating by stating the violence was consistent with other films
in the Marvel franchise. They also argued the fighting was fantasy-based (CGI,
stunts) and occurred within a narrative with a strong moral code, where violence is
often shown as wrong or in self-defense, rather than for its own sake.
● Different countries have their own film regulation systems with varying rules, making
global distribution complex. Films might need re-editing or recutting to meet stricter
regulations in some countries.
Diversity and Representation:
● Black Panther was notable for having an almost entirely black cast, which is rare in
the American film industry and historically considered a risk.
● The film offered a variety of positive roles for black actors and actresses, depicting
them as superheroes, kings, queens, and leaders. This was seen as a significant
departure from historical roles available to black actors, which tended to be more
restricted to social realist, gritty, or overtly comic parts.
● The film also featured strong, dominant, and powerful female characters and
actresses, showing leadership qualities and being equally (or more) strong than male
characters. This reflected a shift in superhero films seen with movies like Wonder
Woman and Captain Marvel, moving away from older gender stereotypes like the
"damsel in distress".
