This Bristish actress is on Channel One News to promote her new movie Black Panther. She mentions a few things about Black History Month as a smoke screen for her promotional efforts.
From Jim Metrock:
To understand what the marketing geniuses at Channel One did today on its in-school TV show, you have to understand the current “war” between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Expanded Universe.
Two movie studios have their own cast of superheros (Marvel: Spiderman, Black Panther and DC: Superman, Batman) and both want supremacy at the box office.
Today, Marvel scored a huge victory by getting American taxpayers to pay for a massive advertising blitz in public schools across the nation.
Channel One News is a youth marketing firm that has brought movie commercials into schools since its creation in 1990.
What is unbelievably disgusting about this movie promo, is Channel One’s attempt to make this look like a tribute to Black History Month.
What the kiddie marketers at Channel One are doing is called the “Jack-Black-Tribute-to-Panda” ploy. Channel One once had the actor Jack Black open their show as he stood in front of a “Kung Fu Panda” movie poster. When I called them, Channel One told me this was most definitely NOT an ad for Black’s Kung Fu Panda movie. He was there to give a quiz to students. Channel One told me they use movie stars solely to focus the attention of students on worthwhile stories or quizzes.
What was the subject matter of Jack Black’s quiz?
Pandas. Yes, no joke.
When was Jack Black’s Panda movie coming out? No surprise here. It came out two days after appearing on Channel One News.
That’s what kiddie marketers do.
What Channel One News did today demeaned the whole concept of Black History Month.
Judge for yourself. Check out the video: https://youtu.be/TftvoaINSz0
Screen shot from Channel One News: Why are schoolchildren seeing this movie promo on this classroom TV?
From the transcript for Channel One News, February 28, 2018:
Letitia Wright: Hey, my name is Letitia Wright, and I play one of the characters in Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther.” Channel One News starts now.
Emily: Thank you, Letitia Wright! All right, today we take a look at how “Black Panther” is making movie history — that is coming up. Hey guys, I am Emily Reppert.
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We are wrapping up Black History Month with a new movie already making history — “Black Panther.” It is a huge success, currently demolishing box office records worldwide. But the groundbreaking film is about much more than that — it is a cultural movement. Arielle Hixson caught up with one of the stars of the movie about how the film is inspiring young people from all walks of life.
Arielle: It is a major hit, pouncing into the hearts of viewers worldwide with the fifth largest opening weekend of all time: “Black Panther,” the story of a Marvel superhero with a history of breaking barriers — and now a future elevating African Americans in film.
Why is it important for Black History Month?
Wright: Seeing as we have a month to just really reflect on the great things that a lot of positive figures in the black community have contributed from generations before, I feel like this film is also now a contribution to all of the things that people are going to reflect on for years to come. So the future generations are going to look at this film as a monumental moment.
Arielle: Letitia Wright plays Shuri, the genius teen sister of Black Panther and the brains behind the technology found in the fictional country of Wakanda.
Shuri: Look at your suit! You’ve been taking bullets, charging it up with kinetic energy.
Arielle: Shuri is a princess, but she is not the typical princess.
Wright: Exactly. She’s positive; she just wants to use her mind as a weapon and also to help, you know, create new technology and new gadgets and new things for her country to improve, so I would say she’s a cool character.
Arielle: And very witty too.
Wright: Yeah, very. She’s — her clapback game is very strong.
Arielle: In the past the average comic book didn’t feature many multicultural characters.
Evan Narcisse: The large swath of comic book history in terms of characters is largely Caucasian, largely white.
Arielle: “Black Panther” first came out in 1966 but didn’t have a major break in a blockbuster film until now, 52 years later.
Narcisse: Superheroes are supposed to reflect the best aspects of our culture, ideals, personalities. It’s great to see a primarily black cast built around a black lead character that’s showing a vision of, you know, all the things we love about superheroes and science fiction, you know — an imaginative project built around what people can accomplish when there’s no boundaries, when there’s no limits of prejudice and racism holding them back.
Arielle: A recent study claimed that when audiences see big-screen representations of themselves, those images can significantly impact their self-image, which is why characters like Shuri and several other strong characters in the film are groundbreaking in today’s pop culture.
She is kind of a role model for young girls — for young black girls and just for America’s youth in general. Why do you think that is important, to have a young, strong, brilliant character?
Wright: When you see images of yourself or characters, with your — whether it’s your skin color or the same gender as you, that can really implement so many positive
things within yourself. So a lot of young people can take that away and use it, you know, positively for their futures.
Arielle: It is also a game changer for Black History Month, which oftentimes sheds a light on negative events in American history.
Narcisse: You know, a lot of times, when we talk about black history, it’s through the lens of suffering or injustice or pain. “Black Panther” is about accomplishment by virtue of an unchained culture, and they haven’t been limited by things like slavery or colonization. It celebrates African culture and achievement.
Arielle: Even in its costumes, taking inspiration from real African fashion.
You can say “Black Panther” has already broken the mold, igniting a monumental legacy for years to come.
Wright: Just the love and support from not just the black communities but all the different ethnicities coming together to support this film. White, black, Asian — like, everybody’s just like, we’re grabbing a ticket, we’re gonna go see it. So it makes this Black History Month, and this month in particular, this year, just very special.
Arielle: Arielle Hixson, Channel One News.
Emily: Great story, Arielle!
