Ryan Coogler
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Is It Safe Now to Admit That T’Challa Got His Ass Whooped on That Mountain Twice?
So I’m going to say something. And you can fight me if you want to. But even if you do want to fight—and I’d rather not because I’m wearing some really nice boots today and I don’t want to scuff them—it’s not going to make what I’m about to say any less true. OK, so…
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Not A Wrinkle in Time: Ava DuVernay Proves That #BlackGirlMagic Is Eternal
So here we were, minding our business on an otherwise tepid Tuesday, skimming the Twitter, when we stumbled upon the most adorable—and strangely recognizable—little face on the Toronto International Film Festival’s feed. It was a baby Ava DuVernay, giving #BlackGirlMagic in braids and barrettes, and reminding us that every great person was once just a…
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So … Will Hollywood Finally Learn This Lesson, or Nah?
When writer-director Jordan Peele won his Best Original Screenplay Oscar for 2017’s biggest hit, Get Out, I cheered. When cast members of 2018’s biggest hit so far, Marvel’s Black Panther, walked the red carpet at the 90th Academy Awards, I swooned. And when I looked out at the sea of (mostly) white people attending the…
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Whose World Is This? Black Panther Production Designer Hannah Beachler Walks Us Through Wakanda
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already visited Wakanda—maybe two or three times during Black Panther’s record-breaking opening weekend. Otherwise, I know you wouldn’t want to spoil your upcoming trip by reading the incredible conversation The Glow Up had with the film’s production designer, Hannah Beachler. (Consider yourself warned: There might be spoilers ahead.…
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We Went to Opening Night of Black Panther and Now We Want to Live in Wakanda Forever
When tickets for Black Panther went on sale late last month, we here at The Root just knew it was our duty, as the unofficial news source of Wakanda, to be there on the first night. Luckily, our editor-in-chief, Danielle Belton, was able to score tickets so that we could be there to give you…
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Watch: Black Panther Cast Explains Why Black Superheroes Matter
The Black Panther character is more than the namesake of a movie that’s breaking the box office. He’s a culture. Marvel Comics has introduced the world to a diverse roster of superheroes since its launch in 1939, but the most notable has got to be Black Panther, who made his first appearance in Fantastic Four,…
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Heavy Metal: How Jeweler Douriean Armored and Adorned Black Panther
“It’s surreal. I still don’t think I’ve fully processed or fully understand what impact this movie is going to have on people’s lives. So I’m excited.” —Douriean Jewelry designer and metalsmith Douriean Fletcher—who designs and retails simply as Douriean—is having the kind of breakthrough moment most artists can’t even begin to dream of. Handpicked by…
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From Wannabes to Wakanda: Ruth E. Carter Costumes Our Cultural Consciousness
Ruth E. Carter’s résumé reads like a list of iconic favorites from contemporary black cinema. In the 30 years since her first film, Spike Lee’s 1988 hit, School Daze, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated costume designer has amassed more than 60 film and television credits, including I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988); Do the Right Thing (1989);…
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Watch: The Cast of Black Panther Creates a National Anthem for Wakanda
The nation of Wakanda is one faraway land that we all increasingly wish were real. From the Diasporic deliciousness of the tribes to the women who own their warrior ways and the all-out blackness that saturates the land, Wakanda is and always will be goals. Full Disclosure: Disney spent all the coins to invite The…
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Black Panther Delivers the Biggest, Blackest Superhero Movie Ever and It’s Just as Good as You Want It to Be
When I sat in the theater and screened Black Panther, I felt like the woman in the audience at the Five Heartbeats’ show who couldn’t stop squirming out of her seat. And then I Googled “Wakanda ticket prices,” as if the country were real. The short review is: Black Panther is a thing of cinematic…