This dichotomy serves as the foundation on which the film’s main story arcs are built. Vibranium has allowed Wakanda to make medical and technological advances thousands of years ahead of even the most advanced western nations, but to the outside world, Wakanda appears to be a third-world nation of farmers. Wakanda is a land steeped in ages-old ritual, but embraces the technological and scientific frontiers of the future, thanks in large part to their abundance of an incredibly powerful natural resource called vibranium. One of these dualities is tradition versus innovation. In a piece Coogler did for Vanity Fair, he talks about how the movie explores contrasts and dualities. As director Ryan Coogler points out in several interviews, he and his whole team had to do extensive research on the continent in order to gain a deeper understanding of the world he would help to create. In speaking with Pitchfork, Göransson said his first task when preparing to compose the music for this film was to travel to Africa and research the music, culture, and instruments of the various African nations himself. After seeing the film (three times), I can definitely say that Ludwig Göransson’s score truly succeeded in bringing the world of Wakanda to life by creating memorable themes for major characters as well as events throughout the movie. With music from Run the Jewels, Vince Staples, and Kendrick Lamar, the dynamic world of Black Panther was framed in a very modern context from the get-go. Film music today is executing at such a high level of quality that the competition for creating lasting impressions through a musical scoreis an important aspect to consider. ![]() With the exception of The Avengers’ theme, most of the musical character cues (leitmotifs) change from film to film, and the main musical themes in the movies are rarely ever used as marketing materials - something they rightly emended in the lead up to Black Panther’s release. One of the main issues facing Marvel’s music is its lack of thematic continuity. The most memorable theme music from an MCU score is probably that of The Avengers, which was revisited and reappropriated in the 2015 sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron. Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and other episodic series have all relied heavily on licensed songs from popular artists. That being said, though, it’s hard to think of a Marvel original score that really stands out. With Luke Cage being the MCU’s first attempt at spotlighting a character who deals with the complexities of the black experience, it was great to see how African-American literature and music was woven seamlessly into the overall narrative. For example, Marvel’s Luke Cage used both classic and current hip-hop tracks to bring the environment of modern-day Harlem to life. Their Netflix series tend to do a better job of integrating music in a more meaningful way. In fact, with the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy, most of the music appearing in their films goes unnoticed and fails to follow essential plot points in the story. Unlike in other blockbuster adventure franchises like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or Jurassic Park, music has never really been an integral part of the storytelling process in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU). While reading on, take a listen to Göransson’s original score, and picture yourself traveling by helicopter, or by vibranium shuttle, over the valleys of Wakanda. ![]() Jordan, Danai Gurira, and many others, as well as the emerging star composer Ludwig Göransson. ![]() To do this, he enlisted the help of a stellar cast of actors such as Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Director Ryan Coogler was tasked with bringing the futuristic Kingdom of Wakanda, the homeland of the film’s various protagonists, to life on the big screen. The film has been hailed as one of Marvel’s most socially relevant and poignant films to date. Marvel’s Black Panther, the long anticipated film about a fictional African king and superhero, was released only a couple weeks ago and has already set box office records. If you haven’t seen the movie, you may want to stop and bookmark this page to read the article once you’ve seen it. Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for the movie Black Panther. ![]() Guest post by Charles Burchell from Soundfly's Flypaper
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