TIME Magazine has released the cover of its latest issue, featuring a powerful black and white image of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.
The cover accompanies a story about Marvel's newest cinematic offering, focusing on the importance of the film and its representation of black faces, voices, and lived experiences.
The response to TIME's cover, and the accompanying story, has been enormously positive:
Ava DuVernay, the director of 2014's acclaimed film Selma, celebrated TIME's cover alongside the new GQ cover that features Black Panther castmember Michael B. Jordan - who is dressed in the beret reminiscent of those worn by 60s and 70s black activist group, the Black Panther Party.
She tweeted the covers with lyrics from 'Lift Every Voice and Sing', a song commonly referred to as the 'Black American National Anthem'.
Written by Jamil Smith, TIME's cover story is titled, 'The Revolutionary Power of Black Panther'. Smith details the significance of Black Panther, explaining that although it is a superhero film in the Marvel cinematic universe, it is also a deep-dive into "what it means to be black in both America and Africa".
The story reads,
"What seems like just another entry in an endless parade of superhero movies is actually something much bigger. It hasn’t even hit theaters yet and its cultural footprint is already enormous. It’s a movie about what it means to be black in both America and Africa—and, more broadly, in the world. Rather than dodge complicated themes about race and identity, the film grapples head-on with the issues affecting modern-day black life."
The film has not yet been released, but has already received a near-perfect critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, despite a recent campaign to purposely lower its score.
