How can ‘Black Panther’ earn an Oscar

‘After 12 Years a Slave’, could another ‘African-American themed’ film win Best Picture?

When Mahershala Ali’s Moonlight won an Oscar in 2017 after the La La Land mishap, it made the film the second one to earn an Academy award with an all-black cast and crew, joining 2014’s 12 Years a Slave.

Now, as the film fraternity gears up for the upcoming award show, could yet another African-American themed film with a superhero twist – something that the Academy rarely honours – do the same?

Marvel’s Black Panther which released in January 2018 and earned over $1.35 billion worldwide, has been pitched for an Oscar nomination, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

Cast member Chadwick Boseman poses at the premiere of "Black Panther" in Los Angeles, California, US, January 29, 2018. PHOTO: REUTERS

Currently still in its early days, Black Panther’s strategists are still working towards getting one. In the recent past, members of the Academy have made significant efforts to reclaim their image after the #OscarsSoWhite movement shamed them for not nominating actors of colour. Ever since, the jury has brought about 2000 new members and 16% of the total is now made up of people belonging to different ethnicities.

The Chadwick Bosemen-starrer has already garnered a lot of support from the Academy members. While the African-American affiliates won’t necessarily choose a film with racial themes – who now form a solid community - every best picture campaign is being sustained by a voting bloc.

PHOTO: FILE

One award strategist said, “I went through some of the branches and it's a pretty big number of African-Americans. They let in 928 new members this year. Of the 104 new members in the actors' branch, 23 were of African descent. Other branches might not be as high but the total Academy membership that's African-American is probably around 1,000 now."

And with a total of 9000, it’s significant. Regardless, any consultant who hopes to push another best picture has to face a battle.

For Black Panther to make it past all of that, it needs to not only outshine other potential nominees such as A Star is Born, Roma or The Favourite, but also surpass films from non-white film-makers.

Films like Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give and If Beale Street Could Talk all revolve around the Black Lives Matter theme, which is why the Ryan Coogler project needs to first underline its contemporary relevance.

PHOTO: MARVEL STUDIOS

Next, the director needs to “get out there”. President of the African-American Film Critics Association, Gil Robertson said, “He represents the next evolution of directors in the industry. He's very personable and the Academy will respond favourably to him.” Coogler’s speech at the Hollywood Film Awards demonstrated his film sense as he recalled seeing a Hispanic boy asking for a Black Panther costume. He explained, “That kid felt powerful dressing like an African superhero.”

Following suit, the film needs to push its production, sound and costume design. Getting a museum to arrange an exhibition of Black Panther’s design elements could greatly help.

Most importantly, the film should do everything that clarifies that it wasn’t just important to African-Americans but was also a huge step for women empowerment. Bringing out Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright and Angela Bassett could prove beneficial in earning an Oscar nomination as 31% of the Academy members are female.

Amidst the on-going #MeToo movement, women could help pave the way for Black Panther to victory.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.