"Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler is still coming to terms with the response to his film.
When you make a Marvel superhero movie, it's a safe bet people will come out to see it. That said, we've never seen anything like the reaction to "Black Panther," a film with a predominantly black cast set in a fictional African nation and not focused on one of Marvel's leading characters.
The nearly universal praise for the film struck a nerve with director Ryan Coogler, who wrote a heartfelt message of gratitude that he shared with fans on Twitter:
"I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at this moment but I will try," Coogler wrote, first thanking his cast and filmmaking crew for their contributions.
He thanked fans of all backgrounds for celebrating African culture.
Much of the attention paid to "Black Panther" has been on its massive box-office haul — and understandably so. However, what's even more amazing is the sense of unity the film has created with fans. The creative freedom granted to Coogler by Disney and Marvel to craft his own vision clearly extended across the culture, something Coogler noted in his letter:
"Never in a million years did we imagine that you all would come out this strong. It still humbles me to think that people care enough to spend their money and time watching our film — but to see people of all backgrounds wearing clothing that celebrates their heritage, taking pictures next to our posters with their friends and family, and sometimes dancing in the lobbies of theaters — moved me and my wife to tears."
Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr.
Right now, the future seems limitless for Coogler, who is only 31 years old and has already made three iconic films.
"Black Panther" is just the third film for Coogler, who first burst on the scene with his powerful drama "Fruitvale Station," which starred "Black Panther" co-star Michael B. Jordan. The pair reunited two years later for "Creed," a spinoff sequel in the "Rocky" film series that won over critics and performed above expectations at the box office. That helped set up Coogler's involvement with "Black Panther."
At this point, it's likely he could pretty much do any project he wanted, though his only formally announced follow-up is a much smaller affair: telling the true story of an Atlanta teacher who takes a questionable path to secure more funding for his students. That film, "Wrong Answer," reportedly will also star Jordan.
Black Panther co-star Michael B. Jordan. Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr.
The outpouring of support for "Black Panther" shows that Coogler's vision is hitting the right note for audiences throughout the world.
It's incredibly rare these days for any individual piece of content to strike a chord with so many viewers for so many reasons. With numerous competing outlets, even successful films, music, and books rarely reach more than a small fraction of the population. "Black Panther" shows that people can still come together to celebrate diverse stories, rich with meaning and a message of hope.
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An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.