Black Panther has been generally venerated as a fundamental bit of Black cinema, setting a point of much-needed diversity in Hollywood. However, Diddy doubts that Hollywood would continue to give African-Americans opportunities like these.
Brother Love shared his thoughts on Marvel’s first majority-Black cast, and the barriers people of color face regularly in entertainment.
“Black Panther was a cruel experiment,” Combs said. “We live in 2018, and it’s the first time that the film industry gave us a fair playing field on a worldwide blockbuster, and the hundreds of millions it takes to make it.”
While he recognized the noteworthiness of Black Panther’s achievement, he likewise brought up the uncommonness of the opportunity, and also money related errors that stem from major companies selling Black products.
“We only get 5% of the venture capital invested in things that are black-owned — black-owned businesses, black-owned ideas, black-owned IP,” he said. “You can’t do anything without that money, without resources. But when we do get the resources, we over-deliver. When Adidas invests in Kanye and it’s done properly, you have the right results. When Live Nation invests in artists and puts them in arenas the same way U2 would be, you have the right results. ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Black-ish,’ fashion; it’s all about access. If you’re blocked out of the resources, you can’t compete. And that’s my whole thing — to be able to come and compete.”
