For the past couple of weeks, all everyone has been talking about is the first big budgeted black superhero film, “Black Panther”. The 18th entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been breaking box office records week in week out, especially in the US. “Black Panther” has grossed more than US$ 561 million in the US and US$ 518 million overseas, making it the first black-led film to enter the billion-dollar club.
This past week, “Black Panther” was released in China to pretty solid box office numbers — US$ 66 million. However, it seems like the movie will most likely take a huge dive in its second weekend. The reviews have not been great. On a surface level, a movie having not great reviews is no big deal. Movies are subjective after all. But the REASON why the Chinese (from China) have been hating on the film is terribly discomforting. Online reviews in China indicate that a large portion of the Chinese crowd are actually fu*king racist!
Here are some comments that can be found on the Chinese website Douban:
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 theater, a bunch of black people was fighting in the night… I’ve never been in a theater so dark that I couldn’t find my seat.
The film is filled with black actors and actresses. Also, because the film’s colors are a bit dark, it’s nearly a torture for the eyes to watch the film’s 3D version in the theater.
But this isn’t the first time audiences in China have proven to be racist. In the past, John Boyega, who plays Finn in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, was removed from the poster of “The Force Awakens”.
Star Wars’ Finn (who happens to be black) and Chewbacca (happens to be Wookiee) get shafted in China. HT @asmuniz pic.twitter.com/ATpvcd51L6
— Ray Kwong (@raykwong) December 1, 2015
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Source: Quartz
