+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
upworthy

black panther

Pop Culture

The much anticipated 'Wakanda Forever' trailer dropped and people are having big feelings

Wakanda Forever!

commons.wikimedia.org

Trailer for "Wakanda Forever" dropped.

The first trailer was just released for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and I, along with many others, am having some big feelings about the sequel to 2018's "Black Panther." The original film's star, actor Chadwick Boseman, died in 2020 after a long secret battle with colon cancer. There was concern around how the franchise would go on without him donning the black catsuit once more, and while the trailer doesn't give away who replaces Boseman as Black Panther, it does invoke emotions as the now female-driven cast seemingly prepares for war.

Even musically, you can feel a shift in the film's direction as Lupita Nyong'o, who plays Nakia, stands at the shoreline as Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" plays, sung soulfully by singer Tems, at the opening of the trailer. The song then merges into Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" as a foreshadowing of things to come. It could be the fact that viewers know Boseman passed away or that Black Panther felt the wrath of Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War." Either way, the strong presence of female energy feels fitting and the mural of T'Challa just adds to the feeling.

But let's be real, the women in "Black Panther" were always self-sufficient, intelligent and exceptional warriors, so watching the clips of them preparing to fight and taking charge falls in line with what you'd expect. In case you need more convincing that people are here for this female-driven movie, check out some of the comments across social media.

On Twitter, the comment thread under the official trailer is filled with gifs of people crying. One commenter, Jason Carreras, said "Tears...what an emotional scene from Angela Bassett," referring to a scene in the trailer when she asserts she is "queen of the most powerful nation in the world" and her entire family is gone. Scorpiogirl2 wrote, "I've been crying for a half an hour now, the tribute to Chadwick, this strong cast, just all of it has me so emotional, we are getting another great movie yall. November can't come fast enough #WakandaForever #blackpantherwakandaforever." Comments like these have flooded Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds.

A commenter on Facebook, Joshua John Flores Orongan, reflected, "No trailer has made me cry but this is an exception. The camera shots, the songs, the reveal of Atlantis, Namor, and Iron Heart. I love how this is a tribute to Chadwick Boseman and at the same time the sequel to the first Black Panther movie. This trailer is epic. Wakanda Forever!!!"

This movie is going to make just about everyone an emotional mess. The way the death of Boseman is handled and he is honored in the trailer is likely only a preview of what's to come. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" will be released November 11. In the meantime, I'm going to go grab a tissue.

From Your Site Articles
wakanda forever
Most Shared

The 'catsuit' Serena Williams wore to the French Open is mom goals.

Serena Williams has returned — and in spectacular fashion.

For the first time since giving birth to her daughter, the 36-year-old entered Grand Slam play at the 2018 French Open in Paris, dominating Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic in straight sets.

But it was the message behind her uniform that got many fans talking.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.

All-black, with an eye-catching neon stripe wrapped around the middle, the uniform's symbolism resonated far outside the stadium.

"I feel like a warrior in it — like a warrior princess kind of," the tennis star explained. "(A) queen from Wakanda."

Wakanda, of course, is the fictional, mystical African nation home to Marvel's Black Panther. The superhero film tore up the box office earlier this year, earned rave reviews from critics, and inspired a wave of black pride fashion amongst the film's stars and moviegoers.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.

Her "Black Panther" get-up quickly sent Twitter abuzz with the term "catsuit," as Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim pointed out in an interview with the athlete shortly after her victory.

"You can't beat a catsuit, right?" Williams said with a smile.

"[This uniform represents] all the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce in the middle of everything."

The uniform's design had a practical use for this fierce new mom too: Its extra-snug fit helped prevent blood clots, according to The Guardian.

And for Williams, that feature is critical.

The tennis champ has been candid about the health challenges she's endured since giving birth.

Her daughter was born via emergency C-section after the baby's heart rate dropped dramatically during contractions, the tennis star wrote for CNN in February. In the following days, a number of health complications — including a pulmonary embolism in Williams' lungs, a large swelling of clotted blood in her abdomen, and a tear in her C-section wound due to intense coughing — made her road to recovery anything but smooth.

"I almost died after giving birth to my daughter, Olympia," Williams wrote, noting how lucky she was to have had quality health care — unlike many new parents in the U.S. and around the world. "I consider myself fortunate."

Williams' story and circumstances are uniquely hers, of course.

Not every new parent is a wealthy, world-renowned athlete with the type of resources and luxuries at their disposal to be winning Grand Slam matches mere months after giving birth.

But Williams — in her marvelous catsuit — still has a message for new parents that's good to keep in mind: You got this.

"For all the moms out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy — here you go," the star wrote on Twitter, sharing an image of her competing in Paris. "If I can do it, so can you. Love you all!!"

From Your Site Articles
Most Shared

It was a big, history-making weekend for black filmmakers. Here's why that matters.

For the first time ever, black filmmakers with $100M+ budgets landed the top two box office spots.

It was a great weekend at the box office for Disney — and an even better one for black filmmakers.

Director Ava DuVernay's "A Wrinkle in Time" opened at the #2 slot over the weekend, bringing in more than $33.3 million, behind the $41.6 million earned by "Black Panther."

What makes this such a big deal?

For one, it's the first time that two films by black directors with more than $100 million budgets took home the #1 and #2 slots at the box office — ever.

Additionally, "Black Panther" joined a very exclusive club in its fourth weekend in theaters, hitting $1 billion total in worldwide box office receipts, a feat that just 32 other films in all of cinematic history have accomplished.

[rebelmouse-image 19398046 dam="1" original_size="750x319" caption="Image via "A Wrinkle in Time"/Disney/YouTube." expand=1]Image via "A Wrinkle in Time"/Disney/YouTube.

"Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler recently wrote an essay about "A Wrinkle in Time" and why representation matters.

"Ava is the past, present, and future," wrote Coogler in a flattering ESPNW blog post. "She is all of these things, but sometimes I forget she is human."

Heaping well-earned praise on DuVernay for "adapting a book that many people called unfilmable," Coogler touched on why it's so important for everyone to be able to see people who look like them in the movies.

"But above all, it's a film about a little black girl with glasses — like my mom, like my wife, like my big sister Ava — who refuses to accept that her dad is lost. The main character in the film, Meg, uses her love, her hope, and her kickass skills as a scientist to bring him back, and maybe she saves the universe along the way."

[rebelmouse-image 19398047 dam="1" original_size="750x469" caption="Ava DuVernay and Ryan Coogler arrive at the world premiere of "A Wrinkle in Time." Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney." expand=1]Ava DuVernay and Ryan Coogler arrive at the world premiere of "A Wrinkle in Time." Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.

For too long, marginalized filmmakers simply haven't been given a chance to helm big-budget blockbusters. DuVernay and Coogler's successes might change that.

It's interesting to see what we've determined to be the "default" in popular culture. The majority of big-name movies are written and directed by men (usually white); they also overwhelmingly star men (again, usually white). Over time, our culture has simply accepted this as the default, and anything that challenges this is viewed as suspect.

One example that comes to mind is a tweet from Grace Randolph, a film critic who runs the YouTube page Beyond the Trailer. In late February, Randolph tweeted out a photo of the "A Wrinkle in Time" poster, writing, "This is a GREAT poster — but don't they want little boys to see this too ... ?"

The poster shows a silhouette of actress Storm Reid's Meg, surrounded by a burst of colors. It's breathtaking, and as Randolph said, "a GREAT poster."

So why is the immediate reaction that a movie featuring a young girl is somehow alienating young boys? People (especially women) of color, women generally, disabled people, and LGBTQ individuals have always been expected to overcome their differences from what they see portrayed in the media, and it's fascinating to see what happens anytime that same expectation is placed on the default.

If someone can understand why a poster or a movie that doesn't center this default audience might alienate that group, then it shouldn't be too hard to understand why it's so necessary to create art that targets those outside of it.

[rebelmouse-image 19398048 dam="1" original_size="750x311" caption="Image via "A Wrinkle in Time"/Disney/YouTube." expand=1]Image via "A Wrinkle in Time"/Disney/YouTube.

Not every film by a marginalized person will be a box-office smash, and that's OK.

What's important is that studios are finally coming to realize that stories told by (and even, occasionally, primarily for) underrepresented groups have big earning potential and can be some of the finest art in the world — especially when combined with the budgets and resources so often allocated to films helmed by white men.

Studios should let marginalized people tell their stories, encourage them to take chances, and show the rest of us what we've been missing out on all these years.

More

If your daughter loved Shuri in 'Black Panther,' she'll love these badass STEM programs.

I swear they didn't get it from me, but my daughters are mega math-haters.

Recently, my 13-year-old expressed her displeasure with her algebra homework, finally exclaiming, "Ugh, I hate math!"

Thankfully, her 17-year-old sister — who has declared her hatred for math many times herself — came to the rescue.

"Ella, you know what helps me lately when I get annoyed with my math homework?" she said. "I just picture Shuri in 'Black Panther.' She does math all day long, and she's awesome."

Squeee! God bless you, Marvel.

My girls have always been more interested in writing poetry than working out math problems, so I love that they find teen tech whiz Shuri inspiring. But there are a lot of girls out there who are math-, science-, and engineering-minded who have an uphill road ahead of them.

[rebelmouse-image 19346698 dam="1" original_size="1024x683" caption="Actress Letitia Wright plays Shuri in "Black Panther." Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images." expand=1]Actress Letitia Wright plays Shuri in "Black Panther." Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images.

Despite years of pushing for gender parity in the workplace, women are still greatly underrepresented in STEM careers.

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Commerce evaluated the status of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers and found that even though women represented 48% of the overall workforce, they only represented 24% of STEM careers.

In 2017, they did the same evaluation. That time, they found that even though women represented 47% of the workforce, they only represented — wait for it — 24% of STEM careers.

In other words, the needle has barely moved for women in STEM in recent years.

But that doesn't mean things aren't changing for the next generation. As we're seeing with gun control, children and teens can be the ones to make big waves and change the tide on issues that affect them.

Of course, kids need tools and opportunity to make those waves. Thankfully, there are ways to help the future Shuris of the world get the hands-on STEM experience they need to make dreams a reality. Check out these five cool STEM initiatives by and for girls:

1. Project Upgrade YouTube series

Project Upgrade is a new digital build series — where digital technologies are used to create something — starring popular teen YouTubers the Merrell twins. The series was created to inspire more young women across America to pursue a career in STEM.

On the show, the twins team up with teen female coders, builders, and engineers as well as successful female mentors from across STEM career fields (including NASA, Disney Imagineering, and Google). Together, they design, build, and test a new consumer product in front of a live audience of girls. The series started March 10, 2018, and you can check out a preview on Veronica and Vanessa's YouTube channel:

2. Girls Who Code summer programs

For several years, Girls Who Code has hosted seven-week summer immersion program for 10th- and 11th-grade girls, and now they're offering a new summer program called Campus that consists of two-week intensive summer courses for middle and high school girls who want to learn to program.

Campus will be offered at high schools and colleges across six U.S. cities and will include classes for website design and development, wearable tech and fashion design, and iPhone app development. And as part of the program's commitment to inclusion and diversity, 20% of Campus seats will be held for need-based scholarship students.

3. Black Girls Code

Black Girls Code is "devoted to showing the world that black girls can code and do so much more." Based in San Francisco, the nonprofit recognizes the distinct racial divide in the tech sector — and the opportunities careers in STEM can offer underprivileged communities — so they focus on promoting classes and programs to grow the number of women of color working in technology. They host "hackathons" for girls ages 12 to 17, where participants work in teams to create solutions for social issues in their communities by building apps, games, and tools centered around a specific theme. They also focus on creativity, teamwork, and confidence in the tech world.

4. The "Invent it. Build It." conference

"Invent it. Build it." (IBII) is an annual conference put on by the Society of Women Engineers. It includes programming for girls in sixth grade and up — as well as educators — to spur interest and engagement in STEM activities. Students get to do hands-on engineering projects with experienced mentors while educators learn more about how to help girls prepare for engineering careers. The 2018 IBII conference will be in Minneapolis on Oct. 18.

Check out this video from the 2017 IBII conference to learn more about it:

5. Million Women Mentors

Girls interested in STEM can benefit greatly from experienced mentors offering them encouragement, advice, and inspiration. Million Women Mentors offers just that. The movement supports millions of mentors — both female and male — who help increase the interest and confidence of girls and women in STEM projects and careers. Individuals and organizations create a one- to four-year pledge to mentor a girl or woman in STEM for 20 hours a year.

Show your teens what these mentors said they'd have told their 15-year-old selves:

These are just some of the many great programs out there helping girls build on their math and science knowledge. Girls and young women need opportunities and encouragement to become the STEM giants we know they can be.

Who knows, maybe these kinds of initiatives combined with greater representation can help girls like my daughters decide that they don't hate math after all.

Can you imagine anything more badass than a world filled with Shuris? I can't.

[rebelmouse-image 19534022 dam="1" original_size="716x298" caption="GIF from "Black Panther."" expand=1]GIF from "Black Panther."

From Your Site Articles
Trending Stories