ABSTRACT
The purpose of chapter 6 is to demonstrate how issues in popular film can be analyzed intersectionally. It demonstrates how to do this through a case study of the ground-breaking film Black Panther. Differing from others in the book, this case study uses survey and human-subjects research as its data source – illustrating how intersectional analysis can be applied to audience or research participants’ perceptions. The analysis of audience members’ perceptions of Black Panther show the film’s personal significance to viewers, but also demonstrate the limitations of the film. Although it presents a utopian version of Blackness in the near future, it does so by reinscribing the global dominance of white supremacy. This interpretation of the film was not lost on respondents to our survey – even as they found the film personally meaningful.
