Across the world,
Black Panther has been a massive success. As shown by its hefty income of over a one billion dollars, which it made in under a month. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is currently sitting at 97%, which indicates nearly universal praise for the movie. However, the movie recently opened in China, and while it did decently at the box office, its reviews aren't quite painting the same picture as they did elsewhere. As clearly shown by the website
Douban, which is more or less the Chinese equivalent of IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes, which rates the movie at a 6.8/10.
Here's a couple of the, less than flattering, reviews:
• Still too routine, but the protagonist changed to black. Another piece of work that expands the layout is limited, and the action scenes and story highlights are limited. Some political ambitions have been inserted in the middle. Actually, it is boring.
• Black Panther is black, all the major characters are black, a lot of scenes are black, the car-chasing scene is black—the blackness has really made me drowsy.
• When I entered the theatre, a bunch of black people was fighting in the night… I’ve never been in a theatre so dark that I couldn’t find my seat.
• The film is filled with black actors and actresses. Also, because the film’s colours are a bit dark, it’s nearly a torture for the eyes to watch the film’s 3D version in the theatre.
University Lecturer in Shanghai Mark Daniels explained why the film is being recieved as such. Daniels told Sixthtone that people in China are not often exposed to diverse cultures, especially African cultures, and that may be reflected in the response to the film in China.
I find that a lot of stereotypes in China come from a limited exposure to diversity, so assumptions are made reflexively. Hopefully this film sparks interest in Chinese viewers to learn more about the history, people, and cultures of those from Africa.
As it stands, Black Panther is unapologetically African in its setting, its clothing and its characters. Although that may be a little bit foreign in some marketplaces, the latest Marvel flick is still making money overseas, even in China.
What do you think about China's response to
Black Panther? What do you think about the film's African representation?