We’re still hyped from the new Black Panther trailer, aren’t we? I know I am! In case you haven’t seen it yet, here you go:
Instead of writing about the trailer from the perspective everyone else has been using, I’ve been trying to think of another way to address the trailer and some of the themes present. I definitely knew I wanted to address the magical panther walkabout sequence.
Then, I saw this tweet from The Color of Cinema.
BLACK PANTHER (2018) Dir: Ryan Coogler pic.twitter.com/wTCVhXCjMf
— The Color of Cinema (@CineSpectrum) October 17, 2017
I thought it was a perfect way to start off this post, which will show how Black Panther plays into the Pantone Spring 2018 color scheme. I’ve featured Pantone before in my Annihilation post, and I’ve featured color patterns and trends in my 2018 film trends article. Black Panther, like Annihilation, follows the Pantone New York and London spring trends to a T.
But the colors found in Black Panther also reference the color meanings in kente cloth. Black Panther is a film based on pan-African cultures, and T’Challa himself wears kente–the fabric of royalty in the Ashanti Kingdom (between 1701-1957) and the traditional fabric of the Ewe people, both of Ghana.
The different patterns of kente, along with the different colors used, all have specific meanings and are used for particular occasions, so I thought it would be cool to see how the color theories of kente cloth are also interwoven into Black Panther‘s color stories.
The panther walkabout
In part of the trailer, we see T’Challa on some type of sojourn into what has to be the land of the ancestors. There, in a very specific Lion King callback, he meets the mysterious panthers that mean so much to his people.
Using some of next year’s Pantone colors, we can see that the blues, purples, and lavenders present speak to what’s going to resonate fashion-wise around the time the film’s released.
The colors are described as “soft,” “romantic,” “energy,” “expressive,” and suggestive of “brighter…days ahead” and the “promise of a new day.” That references what these colors represent in kente cloth.
Pink is associated with “the female essence of life” and purple is connected to the “feminine aspects of life.” Purple in particular is also a color that is usually worn by women. Blue represents “peacefulness, harmony and love.” These colors perfectly represent this moment in the trailer, since we see T’Challa awed by what is a very spiritual, peaceful, reverent and nurturing sight.
It’s also important to remember that the panthers in this scene must be aspects of the panther goddess Bast, one of the Ennead (in real Egyptology, nine Egyptian dieties who were worshipped at Heliopolis; in Marvel lore, a group of interdimensional beings who were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians and lived in Heliopolis, forming the basis of Egyptian culture). It’s as if T’Challa is being welcomed into a spiritual, womb-like space. Yes, I said “womb-like,” because what else would meeting the mother goddess of your people be like?
The feminine is a highly important part of Wakandan society and in this film–it’s a groundbreaking move for a Marvel movie (or any movie, to be frank) to actually show how important the feminine is to the world, not to mention life itself.
It’s even more poignant that this focus on feminine power is happening a film directed by a black filmmaker and centered around African characters. This might be fodder for a separate article, but it would do Americans good to see fully understand the power of black women. As a black woman myself, this power isn’t greatly understood or valued by America, and sometimes not even by us black women–we ourselves can forget. It’s nice to see the black woman being celebrated.
Kente cloth picture credit: Wikipedia (1, 2)
The Dora Milaje
The Dora Milaje are the jewels of the Wakandan Empire, and it makes sense–not only do they protect the Black Panther, but they also act as the guardians of Wakanda’s sovereignty and the keepers of Wakandan values. If the Black Panther is the heart of the nation, the Dora Milaje are the blood.
As the blood, it makes sense that they’d be wearing red. But the shades of red and gold present in their wardrobes also reflects what their jobs signify to the country. In kente cloth, red is tied to the spiritual and the political, as well as “bloodshed[,] sacrificial rites and death.” Indeed, the Dora Milaje defend their country with their lives, and will kill to keep it safe. Silver, which is worn by most of the Dora Milaje except for Okoye, can mean “serenity, purity [and] joy.” Silver is also tied to the moon, which, in many cultures, is also associated with the feminine. Gold (which is worn by Okoye) signifies “royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spiritual purity,” and yellow signifies “preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, beauty.” These qualities are also present in the Dora Milaje, who are chosen to be ceremonial (or potential) wives for the Black Panther and must uphold queenly qualities, even though they are also the Black Panther’s bodyguards.
T’Challa doesn’t ever call on the Dora Milaje to serve him as a harem; for him, they serve their purpose as bodyguards and trusted companions. I think that’s great, and I’m glad that wasn’t changed for the movie, because it allows the film to strengthen its thesis on the power of black women–in this case, the Dora Milaje are how the film illustrates the maternal strength of black women. While Ramonda is the Queen and mother of T’Challa and Shuri, its the Dora Milaje who are, to me, the mothers of the country. They shield T’Challa with that same type of fierce motherly protection. T’Challa’s surrounded by the maternal constantly, and it’s this force that I feel keeps him the safest, not his powers as Black Panther.
Kente cloth pictures: Wikipedia, Eden Pictures (Flickr Creative Commons)
The colors of the Dora Milaje are also in vogue for Spring 2018, and the descriptions of the colors also invoke the majesty of this elite group of women.
“Bold,” “confident,” “courageous,” “earthy,” and “strength” are all words that can apply to the Dora Milaje just as easily as they have been applied to these four colors.
Ramonda and Shuri
In the trailer, we see Ramonda and Shuri dressed in white. More specifically, Shuri is dressed in all white, while Ramonda is dressed in shades of white and various creams and taupes.
White is associated with happiness; when used in kente cloth, it is associated with “purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions.” With white being a festive color, it makes sense that these two characters are wearing white when reuniting with T’Challa.
Kente cloth picture credit: Wikipedia
Shades of white, taupe and off-white are also big fashion colors for next spring. Pantone has described these colors as “gentle,” “delicate,” “ephemeral,” “comforting,” and “classic.” Fitting words for a color that is steeped in spiritual positivity and the festive mood.
I end this post with a question.
What’s with Nakia’s green wardrobe?
I’ve done some thinking on this. First of all, Nakia’s shades of forest green aren’t in season for next spring, so connecting them to Pantone’s seasonal predictions doesn’t make sense right now. Neither does the traditional meaning of green when used in kente cloth. Green is supposed to be associated with “vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth [and] spiritual renewal,” and that would make sense if, in the comic book lore, Nakia was a spiritually fertile character. However, in the comics, Nakia turns into a villain due to her obsession over becoming T’Challa’s wife (in the comics, he already had a fiancée, American-born Monica Lynne). So that doesn’t make sense either.
The only thing that makes sense to me is that Nakia’s character must have been rewritten for the film. With so much going for the film in the way of strong, well-rounded women, a character who’s defining characteristic is that her life’s choices hinge on whether or not T’Challa loves her wouldn’t fit. My guess is that Nakia has been remade into T’Challa’s actual fiancée, therefore writing out Monica (at least for now). If Nakia has to go bad, I’m assuming she’s given some reason with more substance other than “T’Challa broke up with me.”
I’m on the fence if she will actually turn into a villain at some point, but seeing how Marvel likes to telegraph their bad guys and gals in green (as ComicVine points out), it seems like there’s a strong possibility Nakia could go rogue and turn into her villain alter ego, Malice.
What do you think about Black Panther‘s color narrative? Give your opinions below!
(*All images except for kente cloth images are screencaps from Black Panther trailer. All kente cloth color meanings are from Wikipedia.)
The teaser trailer for the 2018 sci-fi thriller Annihilation has made its mark, hyping up Tessa Thompson and Gina Rodriguez fans even more than they have been ever since the first pictures of the two in character came out earlier this year.
I have to say, Natalie Portman looks quite dead in this trailer, and I’m sure that’s by design, but it’s also unnerving. Portman’s dead face isn’t what this article is about, though. This article, is in fact, a color theory article. Did you know that Annihilation does have something in common with some of the Pantone Spring 2018 colors? And why does that matter to you? Because these colors are responsible for that uneasy feeling you had while watching some of these scenes!
Let’s take a look at this moodboard of the planet our lady explorers are visiting, Area X.
You’ll notice that throughout this set of photos, particularly the second and fourth ones, there are muted pink, purple, light blue, teal, and dark blue tones. These colors set the tone for most of the trailer, and it would seem they set the tone for most of the film.
In Annihilation, these colors are beautiful, yet clearly ominous. However, in another application, these colors are actually happy tones.
Six of Pantone’s Spring 2018 colors feature many of these exact colors, but in their vibrant, normal applications. These in particular are colors that play right into Annihilation‘s color scheme.
Reading the descriptions of these colors, you can see several key words–“soft,” “romantic,” “soothing,” “quiescence,” “subtly alluring,” “distinctive,” “complex,” “reassures,” “bold,” “fascinates,” and “intrigues.” These descriptions convey a feeling of contemplation, mystery, and beauty. As an aside, these colors also showcase a hint of nostalgia–the description of Arcadia, for instance, states the color is “hinting at retro yet at the same time modern.” These colors were probably their most popular during the ’80s and early ’90s, when everything was Miami Vice and Art Deco. For so many of us in our adulthood now, that was the time of our childhoods. It’s interesting that this colorful thread of nostalgia finds its way into Annihilation.
It’s not clear if nostalgia will play a part into the film, if at all–it seems like some of the scenes with Oscar Isaac are flashbacks to the “adventure,” if you will, that landed him in the hospital–but what is clear is that the soothing, soft, alluring, and even romantic qualities of these Pantone colors are being turned on their heads and used in their most disturbing forms.
Ars Technica’s tech culture editor Annalee Newitz gave a succinct and accurate description of the look of the Annihilation trailer:
“Somehow, director Alex Garland (Ex Machina) has evoked that same sense of dreamy, horrifying awe [from Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach novel trilogy], in the first trailer for the film…[W]e see the bizarre features of Area X seething around her as if the entire ecosystem is somehow haunted.”
In essence, the Pantone colors featured in Annihilation work exactly as they’re supposed to work–they titillate the senses, they weirdly reassure by alluring you into believing you’re seeing something dazzling. They are, as Newitz wrote, dreamy colors, befitting the psychological horrorscape that the original novel immerses the reader in. However, that alluring quality is just a setup–the entire planet is a trap, and the way these colors show up–in the mysterious plants, the dusky sky, and most especially in that filmy excretion-like stuff–make it clear that the planet is using these colors, much like a Venus flytrap, as the sweet nectar that baits its next victims.
Take a look at some more moodboards from the Annihilation trailer, which, of course, includes many of the Pantone colors listed here and at Pantone.
Orange and yellow are big themes for many 2018 films, which I’ve discussed at my 2018 film forecast article.
There’s a lot of atmospheric stuff going on in this trailer. Overall, this planet looks like the last place you want to be.
Annihilation comes out February 23, 2018.
Disney/Pixar’s Coco is a film many of us have been waiting on for a while, and the trailer is finally out! Check it out for yourself.
Now that you’ve seen the trailer, let’s get into some discussion. First, this film is making Disney/Pixar history as being the first film the joint companies have made about Mexican culture. But while the trailer looks magical, as all Disney trailers tend to do, some potential audience members are calling foul on some aspects, particularly the fact that the film is yet another piece of media centralizing Mexican culture around Dia de los Muertos.
Dia de los Muertos is probably one of the most gentrified, appropriated holidays in recent memory, with too many Americans wrongly assuming the holiday is “Mexican Halloween.” There are way too many folks appropriating the sugar skull look just for aesthetic reasons.
There’s another reason some folks are already irritated with Coco; there are some shots that look very similar to Jorge R. Gutiérrez’s The Book of Life. For instance, there’s a skull woman in the trailer, kinda similar to La Muerte and Manolo’s dead twin relatives Ardelita and Scardelita Sanchez:
And the city of the dead looks really similar.
Of course, the stories are different, aside from the Dia de los Muertos aspect. But still, the similarities have been noticed by many who have watched the Coco trailer and have seen The Book of Life. However, there are plenty of fans who are psyched for the film, including Jorge R. Gutiérrez himself, who tweeted that he’s “looking forward to seeing the film!”
What do you think about Coco? Are you going to see it when it premieres November 22? Give your opinions in the comments section below!
Hot off his Sexiest Man Alive recognition and his success with Moana, Dwayne Johnson is heading back to the movie theater next year with Baywatch. The film, also starring Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario, pokes gentle fun at the original Baywatch TV show, complete with slow-motion running, over-the-top rescues, and the show’s overt focus on flopping boobs.
The premise of the movie is shaping up to be yet another buddy-cop type comedy, with the old school, seasoned vet (Johnson) begrudgingly taking on a young hotshot who is reckless, but still has the skills needed for the job (Efron). It’s a formula we’ve seen before. It’s also a formula that would be even more tired than it is now, but with Johnson’s charisma and charm, the film still manages to wring out some life from the genre.
There are also some surprises in store with this trailer, like a quick look at Priyanka Chopra’s HBIC-looking character, and a sly joke about racial privileges.
Check out the trailer below and see what you think! Baywatch comes to theaters May 2017.
