Meet the production designer behind Black Panther's Afrofuturist look
Imagine an African country that has never been colonized, one that's evolved and vibrant, culturally and materially rich.
It's been hidden from the rest of the world and in isolation it's become the most powerful state on Earth — and the most advanced.
What would it look like?
Hannah Beachler knows. As production designer for Marvel's latest film Black Panther, she led her team in the creation of Wakanda, the homeland of King T'Challa, the first mainstream superhero of African descent.
The result is so empowering, critics are treating the film as revolutionary, a historical event, a benchmark.
For Beachler, it was about coming to terms with her heritage.
"Yes, I'm a black American and I live thousands of miles away from the continent, and I don't have a sense of my history because that was taken," she says on Day 6.
Drinking from the source
Before she could create Wakanda, Beachler plugged into Africa, exploring coastlines and mountains.
"Going there was a really important piece of finding, I think, a piece of myself that I didn't understand," she says.
Beachler put everything into a bible, a giant book that defined the imaginary world she was creating. She documented African flora and fabrics and tribal differences, she embraced the people. She says they showed her how to value the details of their culture.
"Talking to the people: What's important to them? What are they prideful of in their tribe? Understanding what is important, understanding what these things mean — you'll see scarification, you'll see the lip ring. You'll see other forms of beauty."
Even before the film was released, Black Panther's trailer gave us a glimpse of a tribal leader in an emerald green suit and a lip plate. It's a prideful image, exuding power and a reversal of colonial connotations of primitivism.
"What might be considered beautiful in one culture might not be considered beautiful in the traditional Western culture," Beachler says. "But I learned to appreciate beauty. So to then translate it into my designs, I had a sense of confidence and pride about that."
Tribal designs fused with technology
In creating what one critic calls an Afro-futurist Shangri-La, Beachler's team fused the tribal with the technological. Skyscrapers of steel and glass sprout thatched roofs.
Spears are laser tipped and fashioned from the element that drove Wakanda's development: vibranium.
Then there's T'Challah's futuristic aircraft, the Royal Talon Fighter.
"If you look at the Royal Talon Fighter, when you look at the aerial view of it, it is an African mask," Beachler explains.
"It embodies that tradition. Inside, if you look around, instead of guns and weapons, it's spears. It's vibranium spears."
So how does it feel to have a hand in designing the African Millennium Falcon?
"It was hard," she laughs.
There's no doubt Black Panther, which opened on Friday, launches a mega-franchise for Marvel. Movie goers may be flying in the Royal Talon Fighter for generations.
"We talked about the Millennium Falcon. We talked about the shapes of the ships because they're so identifiable. Because they're so geometrical you instantly know who's the bad guy and who's the good guy. So we wanted it to be quick read, simple, elegant."
Remarkable career
As a designer, Beachler has left her mark on some of the most resonant film projects of the last decade.
She was production designer on Barry Jenkin's Moonlight, Best Picture winner in 2016. She was on the design team for Beyoncé's transformative visual album Lemonade. And Black Panther is her third film with director Ryan Coogler.
When she spoke to Day 6, she was on set for a project that will pop up on the Oscar broadcast.
Black Panther is a superhero blockbuster, a popcorn movie with car chases and bad guys. But it's obviously more than that. The cast is primarily black, many of the production departments are helmed by African Americans, and women hold powerful roles in Wakanda.
"An African proverb: There's no king without a queen," Beachler says.
And where does Black Panther fit in the projects Beachler's worked on? Is it is a continuation of the social messaging of Moonlight or Fruitvale Station, two very different films she helped create?
"Absolutely," she says.
"And I'm also very proud of the film for that. And that's Ryan [Coogler]. And he does it in a different way that it's there, but you're not feeling that you're being preached at. It transcends this idea of blackness."
To hear our full interview with Hannah Beachler, download our podcast or click 'Listen' above.