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In many ways, television acts as a mirror. Television shows reflect where we are as a society. In some cases this becomes cyclical, as the tv shows in turn shape our culture. This cycle gives television an unusual relationship with the real world. Luke Cage is a great example of that.

The Marvel superhero drama premiered in 2016, a few years into the Black Lives Matter movement. Luke Cage starred Mike Colter as the title character, who usually wore hoodies. This was shortly after the killing of Trayvon Martin started a nationwide conversation about black men and hoodies. This wasn’t lost on Colter.  

Speaking to a crowd at Dragon Con, Colter mused about the importance of Luke Cage’s hoodie.

“It’s funny because I played a character on another show before that. I was wearing suits all the time, so I couldn’t wait to get out of suits. But then I got the hoodie and I was wearing jeans. I was wearing that all the time, and I got tired of wearing the hoodie.”

However, Colter soon realized that the hoodie was part of a larger cultural discussion.

“The hoodie was great but then all of a sudden it was just one of those things. It’s great until episode 4 or 5. I got a little tired of the hoodie. But the hoodie was very important because of the timing. Trayvon Martin had happened. It just sort of seamlessly worked. And Luke needed some sort of disguise that was simple. I don’t think we were really trying that hard, it just sort of lent itself to the times that we were in. It was not something we saw coming.”

“I think we already kind of thought about the hoodie, but then Trayvon happened. It was not the first time it happened in history. It wasn’t the first black kid to ever get shot in a hoodie. It was just one of those things that was timely in the moment, and we just benefited unfortunately.”

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