Michelle Obama won’t win any film trivia contests. In suggesting “Black Panther” is the first movie to feature black superheroes, the former First Lady is getting schooled.
“Because of you,” she tweeted the movie’s team, “young people will finally see superheroes that look like them on the big screen. I loved this movie and I know it will inspire people of all backgrounds to dig deep and find the courage to be heroes of their own stories.”
Congrats to the entire #blackpanther team! Because of you, young people will finally see superheroes that look like them on the big screen. I loved this movie and I know it will inspire people of all backgrounds to dig deep and find the courage to be heroes of their own stories.
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) February 19, 2018
But a white conservative commentator accused Obama of being clueless on black movie history — if not racist.
“It’s incredibly insulting to think this is the first movie to feature a black superhero or that young people can only look up to superheroes who [look] like them,” said Sam Janney in her Twitchy post.
“There were PLENTY of black superheroes before Black Panther, and honestly many of them were even cooler. See Spawn, Blade, Blankman.”
The Missouri Southern State Univetsity grad added: “Seriously, it’s like some of these people don’t realize there were movies before 2018.”
In any case, the blockbuster with a North America gross of $235 million over the holiday weekend is being noted by Fortune magazine for “dispelling industry concerns that a superhero movie revolving almost entirely around black characters [can] resonate with a general audience.”
“No studio can say again, ‘Oh, black movies don’t travel, overseas interest will be minimal,” said industry expert Jeff Bock.