Why Black Panther’s best picture nomination matters

 


Marvel Studio’s film Black Panther released in 2018 was not only the highest grossing film of the year, but also managed to make history on many other accounts. To start with, it was the first movie with a predominantly black cast plus a black director to go as viral as it went, becoming a sensation the world over. That’s an indication that Hollywood is becoming more diversified and inclusive more than before. In the world of superhero films, Black Panther became the first ever superhero film to be nominated for the Best Picture category for the Oscars.

Over the years, superhero films such as Superman and Batman have gotten nods on the academy, with nominations on categories that were always on the technical side of matters. In fact, that’s the most these comic inspired films have ever hoped for, with none ever getting a nomination to the prestigious, most desired Best Picture slot. The Best Picture category takes a lot of considerations which basically makes a film the best in every other aspect and superhero films just never seemed to be getting all the boxes checked. Alongside the Best Picture nomination, Black Panther also landed six other nominations which are; Best Sound Editing, Best Production Design, Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score.

Given how popular the movie got, all those nominations are definitely not a surprise, and audiences worldwide are expecting to watch the film gather several awards on the 24th of February when the Oscars happen. Of all these nominations however, the Best Picture slot is the one everyone will be looking at, holding their breath. Black Panther gaining the nomination is a big milestone of its own kind, even without looking at the prospect of its odds to bag it. It’s up for the award alongside other great movies released within the year, so competition is tough.

As mentioned above, Black Panther getting the nomination is a big deal because no other comic book inspired film ever got that far. Next, the movie had such a huge influence on pop culture in the year 2018, and #foreverwakanda is definitely something a lot of people want to go big at the Academy Awards. Being a movie that largely involves a demographic that hasn’t quite got great representation in just not Hollywood but also at the Oscars, this is one to watch out for.

Over the years, the Oscars have been under heat for not being as inclusive or diverse, so having Black Panther nominated in the most prestigious category portrays the Academy in a new light. On another perspective, it revives a bit of the excitement towards the awards that has been dwindling over the years. Recently, the latest controversy revolving the awards was the idea to introduce a Most Popular Category, which is undoubtedly where Black Panther would have found itself shoved over to, but audiences worldwide reacted negatively to that idea and it was shelved. Many felt it was a way to keep great movies out of the real thing, the Best Picture Award.

Black Panther no doubt being the most popular film of 2018, it remains to be seen whether it’s got what it takes to bag the biggest award in the house. If it does, it will have made history one more time.

Recommended For You

The best X-Men characters

When you’re dealing with something as massive as the X-Men, it can be tough to decide exactly who are your