Black Panther’s Golden Globes nomination is a huge step forward for superhero movies

Black Panther is the first superhero movie to be nominated in the Best Picture – Drama category at the Golden Globes. Will this be a new standard, or is it just an anomaly?

The phrase “Wakanda forever” holds no lies, because months after Black Panther hit theaters (even though it feels like years now), the movie is still rolling in praise and recognition — this time from a higher source than just fans and critics.

Thursday morning, Black Panther made it on the list of Golden Globes’ 2018 nominations. It’s outstandingly nominated for Best Picture – Drama, competing against BlacKkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, If Beale Street Could Talk, and A Star Is Born. But even more outstandingly, Black Panther is the first superhero movie to be nominated in that genre.

For some, this nomination should come as no surprise. Black Panther blew away the box office and remained in theaters for months on end.  Culturally, it meant so much for audiences to see a film that focused on the African diaspora. And the actors (Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Basset, Forrest Whittaker, etc.) brought their A-game and gave it their all. It’s an excellent recipe for a Best Picture movie, but Black Panther carries one noticeable stigma: it’s a superhero movie.

Given the Golden Globes 74-year-old history, and Black Panther being the first superhero movie nominated in the category, it’s clear to see already that film history has not favored the genre.

Superhero movies of the past have been hit or miss — often movies you’d associate with seeing in the $5 bin at Walmart. Harsh, but true. The cheesiness of the early ’90s Batman movies were enjoyable but arguably cringe-worthy today. And the run of Marvel’s earlier films (Daredevil, Elektra, Hulk) is pretty much forgettable at this point. So we get it, maybe superhero movies weren’t a cut above the rest in years past.

But today, Black Panther is a clear indicator that the genre is redefining itself for the better. Marvel Studios as a whole has been showing that the genre can be pushed to the limits to tell captivating stories through film. And Joe and Anthony Russo, Ryan Coogler and Taika Waititi are the stand-out directors specifically who have taken the genre to new heights.

Now, two big concerns remain.

The first being if the Oscars will follow in the Golden Globes’ footsteps. After scrapping the highly criticized Popular Film category (most likely where Black Panther would have wound up), it meant popular, everyday movies would either have to compete with the more dramatic choices that typically are up for nomination… or not even get a nomination at all.

Now that Black Panther is seriously competing in the Golden Globes, it’s very likely that the Academy will take a page from their book. Seeing as the nominees closely mirror one another each year, this could seriously be Black Panther‘s chance at getting an Oscar nomination. Disney made a huge push to get the movie Oscars recognition, so we’ll have to see if it all pays off.

The second of those concerns comes for the superhero genre as a whole. In a way, Black Panther feels like a huge anomaly given its cultural impact in film and society. In no way could this year’s superhero movies (Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Aquaman) remotely compare. This could mean after Black Panther, award voters could go back to seeing superhero movies as nothing more than $5-bin films.

The genre doesn’t seem to be heading that way, but ultimately, that’s up to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy. Since the HFPA has already opened its eyes and allowed the film to receive a Best Picture nomination, hopefully we won’t see any regression for the genre in the future.

The Golden Globes, hosted by Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg, will air January 6, 2019.