This site uses cookies to improve your experience and to provide services and advertising.
By continuing to browse, you agree to the use of cookies described in our Cookies Policy.
You may change your settings at any time but this may impact on the functionality of the site.
To learn more see our Cookies Policy.
BLACK PANTHER WAS the unexpected smash box office hit of the summer, raking in over $1.3 billion.
The film’s resounding success ended the pernicious Hollywood myth that audiences don’t like movies with the lead roles played by actors of colour.
Advertisement
But there was still some creative differences to do with ‘race’.
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios
Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played the T’Challa/Black Panther revealed on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast that Marvel Studios wanted the Wakandan people of Africa to have British or American accents.
They felt that [an African accent] was maybe too much for an audience to take. I felt the exact opposite.
However, whilst the comfort of white audiences was foremost in Marvel’s mind, Boseman fought against the the studio creative vision for the characters.
Hahn Lionel / ABACA
Hahn Lionel / ABACA / ABACA
Like if I speak with a British accent, what’s gonna happen when I go home? It felt to me like a dealbreaker. Having gone through similar situations before where I was willing to, like, stand up for it I was like, well, here we go again. So for them I don’t think it was that deep, I think it was an opinion.
Bose and director Ryan Coogler were insistent that the film feel authentic, arguing that it was imperative for the Wakandans to speak with African dialects.
TPG
TPG
…this is such an important factor that if we lose this right now what else are we going to throw away for the sake of making people feel comfortable? So yes that was a huge thing — once we decided to do it, we went for it.
In the film, the Wakandans speak Xhosa, which is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is used by 19.2 million people worldwide and is characterised by distinctive ‘clicks’.
In February The New York Times considered how the Xhosa language being used in the film could be interpreted as a significant symbol against colonization:
[Xhosa]…is very much associated with the South African fight against white colonizers (sic) — even though that did not factor into the filmmakers’ decision to use it. It was Xhosa people who engaged in a century of fighting against European colonial invaders in the Frontier Wars. More recently, some of the country’s most prominent anti-apartheid crusaders were Xhosa, including Nelson Mandela.
PA Archive / PA Images
PA Archive / PA Images / PA Images
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Sunday 17 November, 2024
Sunday 17 November, 2024
Download our app
'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman reveals fight with Marvel Studios over the accent of characters
BLACK PANTHER WAS the unexpected smash box office hit of the summer, raking in over $1.3 billion.
The film’s resounding success ended the pernicious Hollywood myth that audiences don’t like movies with the lead roles played by actors of colour.
But there was still some creative differences to do with ‘race’.
Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played the T’Challa/Black Panther revealed on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast that Marvel Studios wanted the Wakandan people of Africa to have British or American accents.
However, whilst the comfort of white audiences was foremost in Marvel’s mind, Boseman fought against the the studio creative vision for the characters.
Bose and director Ryan Coogler were insistent that the film feel authentic, arguing that it was imperative for the Wakandans to speak with African dialects.
In the film, the Wakandans speak Xhosa, which is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is used by 19.2 million people worldwide and is characterised by distinctive ‘clicks’.
In February The New York Times considered how the Xhosa language being used in the film could be interpreted as a significant symbol against colonization:
DailyEdge is on Instagram!
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
black panther Chadwick Boseman COLONISATION creative differences Nelson Mandela xhosa