In recent years plenty of people have weighed in on the question of the artistic merit of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Ever since Martin Scorsese dubbed Marvel Studios blockbusters as “not cinema” back in 2019 whilst trying to make a larger point about big-budget filmmaking, the internet regularly seems to want to declare war over often innocuous quotes by filmmakers, actors and the like who criticise Marvel’s approach.
Every now and then though, you’ll get a thoughtful and considered answer from someone who has been on both sides of the filmmaking coin – someone who has been involved in both large scale and more personal projects and understands not just their differences but also their different merits.
This can be seen today in an interview with Lupita Nyong’o out promoting “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”. Speaking with THR, she offered her considered take which says the film industry should put a focus on consumer choice as a variety of options is what’s healthy for cinema overall:
“I think to be culturally prosperous, to be artistically prosperous as a people, is to have options. I personally love a good Marvel movie, but it doesn’t take me away from really wanting the little character-driven film. I believe in the fight for those things to be kept alive because the one thing we always want, the ultimate privilege, is choice.
It becomes a philosophical question about what is art and what is its purpose. I believe that art plays a role in moving the people that experience it, and a lot of people are moved by Marvel. Is you being moved by this thing less important than me being moved by Picasso?”
Nyong’o has various projects on the way including a Netflix animated musical based on her number-one best-selling children’s book “Sulwe,” she’ll play Trevor Noah’s mother in the film adaptation of his memoir “Born a Crime,” and she’ll reunite with her “Little Monsters” director Abe Forsythe for his new sci-fi comedy.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” opens in theaters on November 11th.
