Also.Also.Also: Here’s All the Gay Parts That Were Cut From “Wakanda Forever”
It’s been a long day. A very, very long day.
Queer as in F*ck You
A Gay Kiss Was Cut From Wakanda Forever’s Original Script, as a part of its bid for a Best Screenwriting Oscar, Marvel Studios had to release a version of its Black Panther: Wakanda Forever script. This is a normal part of the process, but all week nerds have been pouring over it to see what got cut, what could have almost been. Out zeros in on a kiss on the lips — so, more than what was shown as a forehead kiss in the final scene of the final cut of the film — between Ayo and Aneka (two of the Dora Milaje). It would have occurred at a time when Ayo would have told Aneka that could could be reinstated as a member of the Dora Milaje (in this version of the film, when Okoye is kicked out of the Doras by Queen Ramonda, Anka follows her — it’s a really good subplot, and the entire thing was scratched).
I also have read some script cuts on Twitter and in another one, Aneka refers to Ayo as her “beloved” while trying to convince her to let Okoye help them find Shuri. For all my Riri/Shuri shippers out there, there are extended versions of both their kidnapping scene — where Shuri helps Riri through a panic attack — and another one at the end when Shuri gives Riri her car back. And not gay but relevant to my interests, Queen Ramonda is originally of the River people tribe, like Nakia.
I’m sure there are lots of reasons for these cuts including movie length of time, and the ever moving carousel that is the whole Marvel ecosystem (it’s my personal theory that a lot of the Okoye subplot got cut because she’s rumored to have a Disney+ series in her future), but also Marvel has a long history of leaving the gay scenes on their cutting room floor. And none of us need reminders of that!
Anyway is this all just a way for me to fit in a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Angela Bassett on her Golden Globes win this week? Who is to say?
https://twitter.com/carmencitaloves/status/1612986273819680768
Candace Parker is on Celebrity Jeopardy tonight and on the one hand, I always love seeing more of her because she’s my fantasy wife, on the other hand I can’t lie — I’m disappointed it’s gonna end like this, Candace Parker Says ‘I Learned My Lesson’ After Seriously Struggling on Celebrity Jeopardy!
Saw This, Thought of You
The Secret Power of the 8-Minute Phone Call. From Himani: “I feel like we get a lot of advice questions in various forums about ppl struggling to keep up with friendships in adulthood and this seems like a useful thing to try.” I agree!
When Mercury Retrograde Ends, Mercury Retroshade Begins. “Life comes at you fast! Sorry!”
Why Dystopian Fashion Is Trending For 2023, I’m sorry what
Political Snacks
What Too Many of the New GOP Committee Chairs Have in Common. From the author, “Of the 17 new Republican committee chairs, 11 refused to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, and 12 asked the Supreme Court to help overturn the outcome.”
Progressive Rep. Katie Porter Launches Bid for Feinstein’s California Senate Seat. Rep. Barbara Lee is also running!
Michaela Coel Joined “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Specifically to Play a Lesbian
In her cover profile for Vogue, published today and written by Chioma Nnadi, Michaela Coel talks about her excitement for next month’s Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever. Specifically, Coel notes, she was drawn to her character, Aneka’s history in the comics, “That sold me on the role, the fact that my character’s queer.”
In the comics, and in particular I’m talking about Ta-Nehisi Coates’ famed run of Black Panther from 2016-2018 and Roxane Gay’s spin-off Word of Wakanda (which is how I learned how to read comics in the first place), Aneka — who will be played by Coel in the film — is a captain and combat instructor for the Dora Milaje, the women warriors who are the royal family’s security and protectors of Wakanda. Aneka falls in love with Ayo, played by Florence Kasumba in various MCU properties, and together they leave the Dora Mliaje to lead a separate group, the Midnight Angels. The Midnight Angels create what’s essentially women’s commune on the outer planes of Wakanda and use their skills to help train other Wakandan women in self-defense to protect themselves. Imagine if feminist land dykes were Afrofuturist and you’ll start to get the picture. It’s great.
Speaking of Aneka’s queerness and drive to protect other women, Coel says “I like that, I want to show that to Ghana.” She continues, speaking about the current anti-gay law being brought forth in Ghanaian parliament, poised to be some of the most strict and dangerous in the continent. If passed, the proposed law would make identifying as gay (or a gay ally) a second-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. “People say, ‘Oh, it’s fine, it’s just politics.’ But I don’t think it is just politics when it affects how people get to their daily lives… That’s why it felt important for me to step in and [play the role of Aneka] because I know that just by my being Ghanaian, Ghanians will come.”
After rumors that a brief queer flirtation between head of the Dora Milaje, Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Ayo was cut from the 2018 Black Panther film, on top of a litany of similarly “cut for time” or “extraneous to the story” queer scenes or characterizations that have been removed from a variety of MCU films, most often on the backs of queer women of color, it’s hard to hold my breath for a queer Aneka in World of Wakanda — I’m just a Black queer nerd who really can’t afford another superhero-sized heartbreak. But there’s a specific tone of how Coel speaks about Aneka that makes me think this time it might be different. Coel’s not talking about Aneka’s identity, she’s talking about Aneka’s politics, the entire whole of who she is.
For so many of us, queerness is not about who we lay with at night — it’s about who we are when we wake up in the morning.
The reason I fell in love with the World of Wakanda comics was not just because of its queer love story, but that two Black women loved each other so much, saw beauty and power in the reflections of themselves across their lover’s face, that they wanted to care and love for other Black women. Queer Black women, being written by a queer Black woman, in all of our majesty. The knowledge that our royalty, our richness, our magic was in each other all along. It’s queerness as a root praxis, not a swooping kiss when the credits roll.
It’s hard to imagine bringing in Aneka to Wakanda Forever if her queerness is not going to be written into the script, because it’s her defining characteristic. It’s also not worth ignoring the obvious, Kevin Feige and the powers that be at Marvel studios have disappointed too many times before. That said, there are other glimmers of hope. In July’s Wakanda Forever trailer, Aneka can be seen in her Midnight Angels uniform. In the newest film posters released this week, Okoye is also wearing the Midnight Angels’ signature blue. The Midnight Angels are born out of a Black queer love story. To straight wash them would not only be cruel, it would dismantle the fabric of their very existence.
Coel seemingly knows as much, directly linking her portrayal of Aneka in what’s certain to be the highest grossing Black film, potentially ever in history if it can topple its predecessor, to the lived realities of queer people in her family’s home in Ghana, who are fighting for to survive. And in the pages of Vogue, no less.
When we talk about “queer representation” — especially in blockbuster movies, such as, I don’t know, the ones about superhero lineage Kings and Queens who wear indestructible suits made from vibranium — it’s easy to get caught up in the statistics. According to GLAAD, for example, out of the the 44 films from major studios in 2020, only 10 contained LGBTQ characters. Out of all studio releases in 2020, there were just 20 LGBTQ characters, a decrease from the year before’s 50. But focusing on the numbers also allows for studios to escape with doing bare minimum, mere boxes to check off. A character can mention “I have a dead ex-girlfriend who you’ve never seen” and now that counts. A kiss that can be missed in a blink of an eye, now that counts. It’s tricky to talk about in concrete terms, but “representation” can be a glass sealed box. What feels like freedom can just as easily stifle.
Because really, it’s never been about the numbers, it’s about telling our stories in the fullness of who we are.
Pop Culture Fix: Marvel’s Gonna Play Us Again With Michaela Coel’s (Queer) Aneka in “Wakanda Forever,” Huh?
Okay well y’all have absolutely convinced me to buy an air fryer. I’m gonna order it today! But first: Your mid-week Pop Culture Fix.
+ Okay so buckle up. Marvel’s about to play us again and I’m going to eat it up anyway. Michaela Coel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever character is, officially, Aneka. In the comics, she’s T’Challa’s choice for Dora Milaje combat instructor. I don’t want to spoil too much, but Aneka and Ayo (played by Florence Kasumba in the films) are in a queer relationship and they make some really complicated but understandable decisions that put them at odds with the rest of the Dora Milaje. Like big time at odds. There was a rumored flirtation between Ayo and Okoye (played by Danai Gurira) that was apparently cut from the first film. So, of course, now everyone’s wondering if Aneka and Ayo are going to have their day in Wakanda Forever, especially because the armor Aneka is wearing in the trailer is the armor from the comic books that she gets when she goes against the Dora Milaje’s wishes. Marvel’s history with LGBTQ characters says no, no gay — but my heart always says yes, yes gay. I guess we’ll see which one wins this time!
+ The full trailer for A League of Their Own is here and I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you this but this show is SO GAY y’all.
+ Why queer rep is exploding in video games.
+ Tessa Thomson’s terrifying turn is elevating Westworld’s entire fourth season.
+ How They/Them is changing horror for queer people.
+ Dragon Ball Z‘s forthcoming horror game finally confirms Frieza is bi. Isaiah Colbert
actually makes an amazing case for this theory. “As shown in the trailer, smoke bombs, flying drones, Tien’s solar flare technique, and even the dragon balls are fair game as a means to escape Raiders. But the most bizarre escape tactic goes to Dragon Ball-era Bulma’s bold attempt to flirt with a Second Form Frieza—and it works,” for starters.
+ Queer artists nominated for this year’s MTV VMAs.
+ Shudder’s Queer for Fear looks thoughtful and wildly entertaining.
+ Sarah Paulson has signed on for the new horror thriller, Dust. For someone who doesn’t like to be scared, she sure does do a lot of scary movies and TV shows. I think I blame Ellen for this?
+ Chucky is back with a season two trailer full of gory queer fun.
+ Big Joanie celebrate queer romance in “In My Arms” video.
+ Ten things Heartstopper gets very right about queer teenage relationships.
+ Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Ball is queer euphoria.
+ Keke Palmer’s whole career has been leading up to NOPE.
+ Queer WNBA superstar Chelsea Gray was last night’s Commissioner’s Cup MVP! Kelsey Plum: “She’s the MVP tonight, but she has been leading our team the whole season … She doesn’t get the love and credit she deserves, and I’m really, really glad that people saw that tonight.”
+ Kate McKinnon debated leaving SNL for years.
+ Niecy Nash-Betts teases what’s coming in her Rookie spin-off.
+ Anonymous VFX artist discusses anxiety attacks and absurdly long hours on Marvel movies.
15 Gayest Moments From “Avengers: Endgame,” Which Was Great But Unfortunately Not Gay
Have you heard of this little movie called Avengers: Endgame? It only made over a billion dollars last weekend. Yes, I said Billion with a capital B. I’m the biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) nerd. I’m writing this article from a desk that has Valkyrie, Princess Shuri, and Okoye bobbleheads to my right. I’ve seen 19 of the 22 Marvel movies more than once (sorry Dr. Strange and Iron Man!). I’ve seen all the ones with major women characters at least five times and I’ve seen Black Panther at least ten times in the last year alone. I saw Endgame opening night. I was built for this moment.
I’m a gay geek girl who loves being gay, and when I watch movies all I look for or see is The GaynessTM. That’s even true in movies like The Avengers franchise, which admittedly doesn’t give a girl a lot to work with. But nevertheless, she persisted. Here are 15 gay and/or feminist nuggets of gold from Endgame that I cannot wait to re-live in obsessive, snarky detail with you!
Two things before we begin:
1. THERE ARE ENDGAME SPOILERS BELOW!! If you read past this sentence, you are agreeing to read spoilers so please don’t go in the comments and go all, “You just ruined my entire life Carmen!” I am not Thanos. I am not here to snap my fingers and end lives. I just want a peanut butter sandwich before the day’s end, ok?
2. I’m not including this moment in my list because we covered it pretty thoroughly last week, but just in case you missed Brie Lawson and Tessa Thompson continuing their advocacy for a Captain Marvel/Valkyrie team up, check below.
https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1120494373597216769
OK! Now we’re all set!
15. That One Background Gay Dude Went on His Big Gay Date
Avengers: Endgame finally gave the MCU it’s first on-screen gay character. He was an unnamed background character with under two minutes of screen-time in the first third of a three-hour movie.
*Golf Claps*
The character, played by Endgame co-director Joe Russo, appeared in a survivor’s support group following The Big Snap. He shares a story of going on his first date since the incident, casually explaining that he and his date — another man — both cried during the meal.The Russo Brothers told Deadline that it was important that there be a gay character in the Avengers goodbye. They went on to say, “We felt it was important that one of us play him, to ensure the integrity and show it is so important to the filmmakers that one of us is representing that. It is a perfect time, because one of the things that is compelling about the Marvel Universe moving forward is its focus on diversity.”
Which…. I mean, fine, yes, we all want more diversity on-screen. But if they were serious about having a gay character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe I’d like to point the Russo Brothers to the numerous other superheroes who are already in their movies and are already gay in the freakin’ comics!!! After 11 years and 22 movies, a background side character is just not a good look, boo.
And it looks like Brie Larson agrees with me! In her interview with Variety this weekend, Captain Marvel said that it breaks her heart that LGBTQ+ folks still don’t have supercharged representation on the big screen. Calling out Marvel, the actress said, “I don’t understand how you could think that a certain type of person isn’t allowed to be a superhero. So to me it’s like, we gotta move faster. But I’m always wanting to move faster with this stuff.”
Oh Captain, My Captain.
14. Black Widow Got Fridged
In addition to its bare minimum lip service to LGBT+ representation, they pulled out the oldest – and most sexist – superhero trope in the book! They fridged the only woman member of the so-called “Core Six” Avengers, Black Widow!
If you’re unfamiliar with “Fridging,” it’s a storytelling decision where a woman is hurt or killed as a plot device intended to move a male character’s arc forward. It gets it name from an incident in the Green Lantern comics where the title hero comes home to his apartment to find out his girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt, has been killed and stuffed in a refrigerator. My dear friends, Black Widow sacrifices herself so that Hawkeye can learn from his past violent mistakes and grow back into the family man he used to be. That’s classic fridging 101 and frankly, it’s pretty disgusting that the MCU would even go there – even more so because they have barely ever done right by Black Widow in the past.
Anyhow, Fridging is gay because of “Bury Your Gays.” RIP Black Widow. We’ll remember you with honor, even when your own film franchise did not.
13. Carol Being Incredibly Unimpressed by Thor’s Big “Stormbreaker”
Men Everywhere: Oh, look at my weapon! It’s soooo big! It’s sooo cool!
Lesbians: *crickets* *yawn* *crickets*
May we all take that righteous energy into our week. Praise Melissa Etheridge, Amen.
12. Black Widow Holding the Entire Avengers Team Together During the Five Year Hiatus Because All the Men Gave Up
11. Scarlet Witch Out Here Quoting Destiny’s Child and Telling Thanos, “Say My Name”
Scarlet Witch: You took everything from me.
Thanos: I don’t even know who you are.
Scarlet Witch: You Will.
A reoccurring theme on this list is “Man Underestimates Woman, Man Gets His Ass Beat” – which is some Big Dyke (or Bi; I’m not here to police your head canons) Energy if I’ve ever seen it.
10. Nebula and Gamora’s Entire Storyline Is a Tribute to Sisterhood and Surviving
Nebula and Gamora’s relationship has been, ummmmm, complicated now for two Guardians movies and one Infinity War now. And while yes, their relationship is familial and platonic – not romantic – the gentleness that Nebula takes toward her arch nemesis when she tells her that in another universe, “We became sisters,” is enough to clench any heart. The fact that in the middle of a three-hour action time traveling blockbuster is the tale of two women, once enemies, who sacrificed everything to believe in each other and trust that the strength between them would finally be enough to take down their mutual abuser – I still get a little teary, just thinking about it.
(And also, if I was really going to go there I’d write an entire soliloquy about how Nebula’s past self’s violent hatred for her future self, and their subsequent battle to the death, is an allegory for conquering internalized homophobia. But you know, we ain’t got time today.)
9. Captain Marvel Putting Thanos in a Headlock
Did I enter this into the Top Ten because of how incredibly sexy it was to see Carol Danvers do what every male superhero before her could not, which was take the God of Death between her freaking biceps like it was absolutely nothing, as if it was some run of the mill bar fight?
Probably, I did. But it’s still true though.
8. Captain Marvel Carrying an Entire Fucking Spaceship on Her Back
Yep. See my previous point about including all the action points of Carol Danvers’ storyline in Endgame just because it’s incredibly attractive to me personally. 👆🏾
But also, SHE CARRIED AN ENTIRE SPACE SHIP ON HER BACK!!!! And not just like “oh she picked it up and then put it back down.” No. Carol Danvers put an entire ship on her mother loving back and carried it from the outer rims of the universe safely back to earth. Have you ever swooned at the Home Depot lesbian who put that really heavy slab of wood on her shoulder and carried it back to her truck without breaking a sweat. Well then. Can you even imagine!?!?
7. This Alignment Chart, Which Isn’t Technically About Endgame, but Damn It’s Too Perfect to Not Be Included on This List
LISTEN OK BECAUSE WE ARE ABOUT TO BLOW YOUR MIND:
A thousand thanks to Emily Armadillo on Tumblr. When you’re right, you’re right.
6. Okoye’s Entire Existence (But Also: See Her Outfit in the Funeral Scene)
Here’s a few things about me and Black Panther’s Okoye. Actually, no I just lied to you because there aren’t many things. There is just one thing. That one thing is that Okoye is a queer black woman who is in a loving and satisfying relationship with Ayo, one of the fellow members of the Dora Milaje. Marvel can try and hide it, they can leave her lesbian relationship on the cutting room floor, they can force Okoye into an on-screen straight romance, it will not matter – I will never forget.
So it came as no surprise to me that when Okoye showed up along with the rest of the Wakandan delegation for Engame’s funeral scene, she’d be a heart stopper. Her dress gave me Hard Femme EVERYTHING. It wasn’t until I left the theater that I realized I’d seen Okoye in a similar outfit before. She flaunts a duplicate off the shoulder cut-out all black dress during the mid-credits scene of Black Panther.
This is the dress.
A femme who knows her angles and appreciates the importance of recycling? We Stan.
5. Carol’s Outfit in the Funeral Scene
Let’s talk about her high collar jet black suit at the funeral. Let’s talk about how she stood alone, proud, watching over the rest of the Avengers. Let’s talk about how her jaw was clenched and her posture was perfect. The swag of it, y’all. Raw. Unbridled. I’m overwhelmed by the memory alone.
4. The Women of the MCU Finally FINALLY Banning Together
The Final Battle. Spider Man has the gauntlet and sees no way forward down the battlefield. He’s panicked. Then, in a bolt of neon orange and yellow light, Captain Marvel stands before him. She grabs the gauntlet, ready to take it that last mile.
He pauses, scared, wondering if she can do it alone.
And just like that, EVERY WOMAN SUPERHERO OF THE LAST 22 FILMS STANDS BEFORE HER. You shiver as the camera pans across them. Your mouth goes a little dry in awe and wonder.
https://multi-parker.tumblr.com/post/184505720210/dont-worry-shes-got-help
I’m glad Captain Marvel’s gonna be OK, but who is going to help me??
3. PS: Valkyrie Fights Almost Exclusively from Riding on Top of Pegasus
We’re at the final three now, so you know who’s got to show up: None other than Marvel bisexual badass herself, Valkyrie.
Admittedly, Valkyrie’s already the gayest person who walks in to pretty much any room. And yes, she’s yet another Marvel character whose character is canonically queer in their comics, but whose woman love interest met the brutal end of the MCU editing floor. But Valkyrie wielding her sword while she’s flying on top of a winged horse that might as well have been a damn unicorn? THE. GAYEST.
Like, go ahead and poop rainbows out of that horse’s butt levels of gayness.
2. Oh Yeah, and Then Thor Hands Over the Entire Future of Asgard to Valkyrie!
If you keep up with the Marvel comics, you maybe saw this one coming. In 2014, Thor’s long term love interest Dr. Jane Foster (we know her as Natalie Portman in the movies), picks up his famous hammer and becomes the series’ new hero. Still, I never thought the movie would go there. I never thought that the MCU’s Thor would ever give up his kingdom, let alone to his bisexual woman right hand.
Just as Thor prepares to leave New Asgard, Captain America also hands over his shield to Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), mirroring yet another comic book ending. With Falcon and Valkyrie at the helm carrying on those franchises, the future of the MCU suddenly looks a little bit browner and (hopefully) queerer than it ever did before.
1. We All Knew It Would End Here: Carol’s Haircut
The boss up of the century, it’s as if Marvel decided to give up any pretense. Oh no, they leaned all the way in.
There are times when even something as simple as aesthetics matter. Where a haircut can feel like it’s heard around the world. This is one of those times. When the final battle occurs and all of the Avengers are on the ropes and it looks like Thanos is going to win once and for all – who breaks through in a glowing orb of rage? Who punches the sky and saves the day? This woman, with the most iconic lesbian haircut of all time. This woman who dresses and and acts like a lesbian, who is scared of no man. She saves their ass.
Yes, I want Carol Danvers to be a lesbian whose love life on-screen is more than only our collective imagination. Brie Larson wants it, too. I’m not here to celebrate subtext on its own. But there’s an entire generation of girls who are now going to see this strong woman, who’s coded as a lesbian, and they are going to be told that it’s cool. That it’s admirable. Not that it’s gross or ugly. Not that they should run from it. That they, too, could save the day.
Sure, it’s also a tribute to Carol’s haircut in the comics, but c’mon – let’s give this big ole massive point to #TeamGay. Carol’s debut of her big chop was superhero version of that time Kristen Stewart made every queer woman in America swoon with these five simple words:
And for Captain Marvel in that haircut, so say we all.
20 Afrofuturist Songs, Books and Artists to Help with Your “Black Panther” Withdrawal
As someone who has used several lines from the movie in regular conversation since last Friday, I know I can’t be alone in missing Black Panther as soon as I left the theater. I know we watched All The Stars and listened to The Black Panther: The Album as soon as it dropped but it’s not enough. Aside from buying the comics (which are on sale at Comixology until the end of the month,), what else is there to do to fill that Black Panther hole in your heart (besides taking a stop at Wakandan Beauty Shop)?
Dive headfirst into more Afrofuturism, of course! I’m not an expert by any means but we can go through this learning adventure together.
Real quick, Afrotururism is a term coined by Mark Dery in his essay “Black to the Future” back in 1993. In Flame Wars, Dery interviewed Samuel R. Delany, Greg Tate, and Tricia Rose to further examine and define the culture. Afrofuturism is using science fiction and fantasy to imagine and create a future for black people.
You can read more about it in Tananarive Due’s introduction in the Black Panther Challenge.
Let me take you to the future, robots and androids.
Here are 20 songs, books, and artists to help with your your Black Panther withdrawal.
Read Electric Arches by Eve L. Ewing and listen to the audiobook on Spotify
Missy Elliot’s been in the future we just late
Read Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture edited by Ytasha L. Womack, listen to Womack’s talks, Afrofuturism and Imagination and Humanity and Afrofuturism As Creative Empoewerment, and read her article, ”Afrofuturism Rising”, in Uncanny Magazine
Watch Afrofuturism from DUST
Pick up Life On Mars by Poet Laureate of the United States, Tracy K. Smith
In this house, we love and adore Janelle Monae, and as thanks for dropping some amazing music not even a week after Black Panther, let’s celebrate her work in Afrofuturism by going and watch her emotion film, “Many Moons”, and then go through Metropolis: The Chase Suite, The Archandroid and Electric Lady in preparation for Dirty Computer coming in April
Get Mothership:Tales From Afrofuturism and Beyond by Bill Campbell and watch him in conversation with Ytasha Womack
Read “Mother of Invention”, a new short story by Nnedi Okorafor. If you love that make sure to pick up the trilogy, Binti and Who Fears Death
Scroll through and follow Wildseeds: The New Orleans Octavia Butler Emergent Strategy Collective on Facebook
Follow Ebony Elizabeth and look out for her Black Panther inspired YA Novel
Watch Nalo Hopkinson explain why Afrofuturism is necessary and then pick up Midnight Robber
Follow Lina Viktor on Instagram
Pick up the newest issue of FIYAH Literary Magazine
Listen to Splendor & Misery, a science fiction album following the only black survivor of a slave uprising on a interstellar cargo ship
Check out MHYSA’s debut album, fantasii
Read Alley Pezanoski-Browne’s “Black to the Future” article in Bitch Media, then listen to their Afro-Alien BitchTape
Follow Manzel Bowman on Instagram
Read “Afrofuturism” through Duke University Press
Follow Grace Jones on Twitter
Read Black To The Future: Afrofuturism (3.0) by Mark Dery
Listen to George Clinton talk at Vanderbuilt University on Afrofuturism in Black Theology
Bonus:
I’m including Scream because Janet Jackson looks FINE in this video.
If you loved Princess Shuri (of course you did), consider supporting BlackGirlsCode and check out the #BlackWomenInTech hashtag!
I Love “Black Panther” with All My Heart, and I Deserve to See My Queer Self in It Too
Hiraeth. It’s a word with a complicated translation, more feeling than vocabulary. The kind of homesickness you feel for a home you cannot return to, that no longer exists, and, most likely, was never there in the first place. It’s longing and nostalgia for a different timeline, a different existence — an imagining of belonging that extends beyond what you already know. The word itself is Welsh in origin, but I’ve never seen a more succinct explanation of what it means to be a child of diaspora.
For those of us who are in the black diaspora, imagining and re-imaging our connection to Africa has been something of a cultural tradition spanning centuries. However, as director Ava DuVernay aptly put it, our reverent dreams are less often focused on place than they are using place to explore feeling, questioning “What if they didn’t come? And what if they didn’t take us? What would that have been?” These are the dreams of Wakanda, the underlying question that lead flocks of black audiences to track the development of Black Panther for years, creating grassroots hashtags from the first cast announcement, and becoming a driving force behind the film’s astonishing record breaking debut last weekend.
Wakanda, a small country roughly the size of New Jersey, hidden in Central-East Africa, has never been colonized. They’re the most technologically advanced and richest country in the world. They are unapologetically proud and steeped in their blackness. And sure, Wakanda is fictional, but it’s rooted in very real dreams of liberation. It’s built out of the same stardust that to lead slave rebellions in Haiti, and the founding of rebel maroon communities in the mountains of Jamaica. The stardust of the 1970s Black Panther Party proclaiming “Black Power” (the organization has no direct relation to the movie or the comic, though Black Panther director Ryan Coogler knowingly includes a poster of Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton in the film’s opening scene). It’s a daring, brave whisper; a hope, a glimmer that there are worlds for ourselves beyond the limitations of how white people see us.
To get the basics out of the way, Marvel’s Black Panther was originally conceived in 1966 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, before being passed down and reimagined by a variety of black writers and illustrators over the last 50 years. The titular hero, who’s given name is T’Challa, was first introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. In that movie T’Challa’s father, King T’Chaka is killed during an attack on the United Nations in Geneva. This year’s Black Panther takes place roughly one week later in that timeline. T’Challa has donned the Black Panther suit in order to protect his people.
For centuries, Wakanda has been the sole proprietor of vibranium, a natural alien element that produces a virtually indestructible metal (most famously known for being the material of Captain America’s shield). Wakanda’s rulers have wisely kept their homeland and its riches hidden from the world in order to protect themselves from the west. In their isolation, the nation has grown spectacularly powerful. T’Challa, charismatically and soulfully portrayed by Chadwick Boseman, wants to uphold the isolationism that has always kept his kingdom and its unvanquished people safe. Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger, the movie’s antagonist, raised in the United States and haunted by the horrors black people have endured on this continent, wants to use the Wakanda’s power in an arms race that he envisions will bring about global revolution.
(left to right) Danai Gurira as Okoye, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, and Florence Kasumba as Ayo
With no disrespect to the many detailed, deeply memorable performances given by the men of Black Panther’s cast, it’s the women of Wakanda who I couldn’t tear my eyes away from. Angela Basset stuns as Queen Ramonda, who provides guidance to her son as he grapples with his new responsibilities. Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright, already the instant fan favorite among the Autostraddle writers), is a teenager who’s engineering brilliance rivals only that of Tony Stark. She’s quick witted, bright, loving, and terribly brave. She spends the first half of the movie presiding over her tech lab, but when the time calls, she isn’t afraid to put her life on the line to defend her country.
Okoye (The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira) walked away with my heart. She’s the head of the Dora Milaje, the royal family’s all-women bodyguard team, akin to our Secret Service. She’s tough and fearless and her hard femme aesthetic was not like anything I’ve seen on screen in this capacity. Her fight scenes left my mouth physically ajar more than once. Lupita Nyong’o stars as Nakia, T’Challa’s ex-girlfriend and a valued intelligence spy for Wakanda. If Marvel designed a James Bond-esque spin off featuring her character, I’d give them all of my money starting NOW.
(right) Letitia Wright as Princess Shuri
In Wakanda, there are no meek damsels in distress waiting to be saved. Nyong’o, Gurira, and Wright each spent weeks in combat training with the film’s stunt team. They’re equal partners in the fight to protect their home. They also have full fledged, varied, personalities. They are funny, or serious, wise, sneaky, nerdy, and geeky. Black Panther gives us more women, in more speaking parts, kicking more ass than any other Marvel film. More than the previous 17 Marvel films combined. In many ways, they are everything I could’ve hope for.
Multiple times throughout the movie, I could clearly imagine all the little girls who will now play “Black Panther” in their backyards or their living room. They will toss pillows in the air pretending they are shooting Shuri’s hand cannons, or climb trees like Nakia. They will corner their brothers with pretend spears like Okoye. They will make makeshift chemistry labs in their bedrooms and get dirty with grass stains on their knees. The thought alone, it left me teary.
Behind the scenes, there’s an even greater story to the “Women of Wakanda.” The textures, sights, and vibrant colors of the country were brought forth thanks to costume designer Ruth E. Carter, cinematographer Rachel Morrison, and production designer Hannah Beachler. Carter is twice Academy Award nominated for her work on Malcolm X and Amistad; she also worked on Ava DuVernay’s Selma. Rachel Morrison recently made history, becoming the first woman to be nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar for her work on 2017’s Mudbound, directed by out director Dee Rees. With Black Panther Morrison also becomes the first woman to shoot a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hannah Beachler joined the Black Panther team after working on designs for Beyoncé’s Lemonade and last year’s Best Picture winner, Moonlight.
Working together, these women stitched together a Wakanda that pulled its aesthetics from across the continent. Their visual cues give a sense of rooted home and geography; creating a pan-African dreamscape that honors and uplifts, rather than demeans or belittles, real life African nations and tribes. Theirs is a breathtaking love letter to black beauty.
Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda
If it feels like I’m spending too much careful attention on what essentially amounts to a blockbuster superhero flick, even if an exceptionally executed one, I’d like you to think about this: Comic book heroes are some of the most American, home grown, mythos that we have. They are the stories we tell each other, starting from the youngest age. They help us explain to children right from wrong. They reinforce the image of what we like most about ourselves, or the evils we want to dispel. These stories, they shape culture. And in the United States, those stories have largely been focused on blue-eyed Captains of America, Kansas-bred Kryptonian saviors, rich billionaire vigilantes, and the multi-generational space opera dramas of white fathers and their sons. They have focused on western values of individualism, and righteous manifest destiny.
Black Panther is about more than stunning CGI set pieces and slick fight choreography, though it has more than plenty of both. Set in an explicitly black context, it grapples with new questions of morality that uplift community over the individual, explores the roles we play in each other’s salvation. It wants to know, what are the obligations of those who have been granted freedom to those who remain without? Asking questions that hinge on the lived reality of systematic oppression is not something that Superman had to deal with, that’s for sure.
Many critics have pointed to Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger when analyzing these themes of community responsibility and the black diaspora, but I don’t believe that the answer to this particular morality tale comes from his war mongering. Instead, I’d highlight Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia. Within the first 15 minutes of the movie, she confronts a team of Boko-Haram inspired Nigerian kidnappers. She tells T’Challa that she can never remain tied to Wakanda and its isolated wealth as long as so many others are in pain. Her desire for social change remains her character’s truest quality, right through the very end of the film. Wakanda may be fictional, but the worlds that both Killmonger and Nakia inhabit as black people outside of the nation’s borders are very real.
Using fantasy to imagine new solutions of black survival and social order is key to Afrofuturism, a word often associated with Black Panther. There’s a danger of thinking Afrofruturism simply mean “black people in a sci-fi.” To be truly considered Afrofutrist, a film or text must marry blackness, and mysticism or technology, within a social justice context. This tradition is part of what makes Black Panther stand out from its peers; its designed by its very nature to dig deeper than shiny spaceships and electronic communicators. In looking for answers of black liberation, Afrofuturism is often closely tied with black feminist art, and queer black feminist art in particular — ranging from the literature of Octavia Butler to the music of Janelle Monáe.
Maybe you already see the bridge I’m about to take here — I bring up Afrofuturism’s queer feminist ties, because, as much as I loved Black Panther, and my goodness I really loved this movie, I cannot in good faith write a glowing review and just ignore the deliberate queer erasure of their production.
Danai Gurira as Okoye and Florence Kasumba as Ayo
I don’t know how else to do this, so I am going to lay bare and be honest with you: I’m fighting my every instinct in talking about this publicly. As a black person walking around in this world, the last thing I want to do is bring negative attention onto what is such a massively important moment for black representation. But, as much as I want to turn a blind eye, I can’t minimize, ignore, or explain away these storytelling choices. We have to talk about this.
Let’s start at the beginning and walk through it together slowly: In 2016, Ta-Nehisi Coates began his tenure as head writer of Marvel’s Black Panther comic series, revamping the main character and Wakanda for new audiences. In Coates’ version of the series, two prominent members of the Dora Milaje, Ayo and Aneka, are in a romantic relationship. They run away together, founding a rebel feminist colony where they teach Wakandan women how to defend themselves against sexual predators. Later that same year, the Yona Harvey and out bisexual author Roxane Gay penned spin-off, entitled World of Wakanda, began its publishing cycle. The new series was designed as a prequel to Coate’s run, focusing on the Dora Milaje, particularly Ayo and Aneka’s love story.
Aneka and Ayo in “World of Wakanda” (2016)
In 2017, early clips of the Black Panther movie were screened for members of the press. In Vanity Fair, Joana Robinson gave a first hand account of a scene where:
We see Gurira’s Okoye and Kasumba’s Ayo swaying rhythmically back in formation with the rest of their team. Okoye eyes Ayo flirtatiously for a long time as the camera pans in on them. Eventually, she says, appreciatively and appraisingly, “You look good.” Ayo responds in kind. Okoye grins and replies, “I know.”
This scene was also independently reported at Vulture by Kyle Buchanan, who was in attendance for the screening.
It’s the smallest flirtation, barely a minute of screen time. Still, reports spread quickly that perhaps the Black Panther movie, building from the most recent run of the comics, was going to introduce Marvel’s first on screen queer romance — this time with Okoye filling Aneka’s role as Ayo’s potential lover. Within a few days, Marvel issued a correction that “the relationship between Danai Gurira’s Okoye and Florence Kasumba’s Ayo in Black Panther is not a romantic one and that specific love storyline from the comic World of Wakanda was not used as a source.” I’ll admit that as queer fan following the film’s production, I was pretty disappointed.
Still, there was a year to adjust expectations. This January, when early reviews of the completed film came about with reports that the small scene in question had been cut altogether, I didn’t think much of it.
Then Screen Crush interviewed Black Panther co-screen writer Joe Robert Cole about the incident, and I felt a creeping unease. When asked directly if there was an original intention of including World of Wakanda’s queer love story in the film, Cole said yes. While he couldn’t remember the specific flirtation mentioned in Vanity Fair a year prior, he could confirm that the filmmakers toyed with Ayo and Okoye in a variety of relationship dynamics, telling the reporter “We thought, ‘Well, maybe we’ll work it this way with an arc or work it that way with an arc.'”
If the film had just decided to drop its queer storyline, I could have looked the other way. I don’t believe that the romantic subplot was necessary for the film. I would have been perfectly happy to imagine Okoye and Ayo in a queer relationship on my own time. Unfortunately, they didn’t leave it alone. Instead, Okoye is saddled into a heterosexual relationship with W’Kabi, the head of Wakanda’s border patrol.
What bothered me most about this relationship, the reason I couldn’t let it aside, is not just that it’s a straight relationship put upon a character who was originally imagined as queer. It’s that the relationship in question was not necessary. W’Kabi and Okoye spend little time together on screen. They are never shown to be physically affectionate. Their romantic relationship is the basis for an important confrontation in the film’s third act battle, but I’d argue that this final scene would have been equally poignant if W’Kabi and Okoye had been best friends or siblings as opposed to lovers — and absolutely nothing else about their relationship would have changed. So, in a movie that was this clearly and carefully crafted, what exactly was the point of their relationship? What does their relationship really contribute to the narrative put forth by Black Panther other than to straightwash a queer coded character?
That’s the question that I couldn’t put down. Yet another small reminder of the ways that queer blackness means settling for conditional acceptance.
The very premise of Wakanda is based on imagining new black realities. Creating new legends, tales of heroics that aren’t predicated on whiteness. Stories of community and strength. Liberation and stardust.
Discussing the movie last weekend, one of the black writers at Autostraddle described Okoye and Ayo’s erasure as “feeling like someone kicked my knees from under me.” Another told me she felt disheartened and frustrated. A friend called it the “pebble in my shoe; I walk and walk, but I just can’t shake it out .”We all seemed to be waiting, wondering in hurried, hushed tones if we could even mention these bad feelings out loud. This was a time for black joy, for reclamation. Who are we to take up space and ask: Is there room in the promised land of Wakanda for us, too?
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie
I’m not singling out Black Panther. This is the second time in less than a year that Marvel Studios had the opportunity to include the queer women from their comics, but made the production decision to straightwash them instead. Last fall, Tessa Thompson revealed that her Thor: Ragnarok character, Valkryie, shared a morning-after scene with a female lover that was cut from the final film. She clarified on Twitter, “Val is Bi in the comics & I was faithful to that in her depiction. But her sexuality isn’t explicitly addressed in Thor: Ragnarok.” Including Valkryie makes three potentially queer black women whose romantic screen time were cut from the Marvel Cinematic Universe with little-to-no fanfare.
When asked about her character, Ayo’s, queer erasure and lack of romantic attachment in Black Panther, actress Florence Kasumba told Vulture, “I’d love to [explore that], at some point. Not now, because it’s too soon.” Too soon. That’s something that black queer folks and black women have heard a lot in our lives. Change is incremental. Wait. First we need to make room for the broader success. Then, next time it can be your turn. Always, next time.
I want us to love on Black Panther, bravely and openly. But, we cannot forget the asterisk. We cannot forget that a significant achievement for black representation once again came on the back of forced black queer silence. It’s not the first time, and unfortunately it won’t be the last. We can embrace and celebrate Black Panther without losing track of that fact.
This weekend Black Panther made $242 million dollars domestically, and over $426 million worldwide. In all of cinema history, Black Panther’s debut only comes second to Star Wars: A Force Awakens. If we can dream of a black movie that can soar to these heights, then surely we can imagine a world where it can do so without sidelining its queer characters.
In Wakanda, they say: “Tell Them Who You Are.” Well, this is who I am.
Marvel better make room.
Notes From A Queer Engineer: Badass Princess Engineers and Gaming Manifestos
Header by Rory Midhani
Have you all seen Black Panther yet? I went yesterday and would just like to report back: the hype is real, your expectations are not too high, this movie is SO FREAKING GOOD. So many amazing roles for women, the best written “villain” I’ve seen in years, and oh yeah, a badass princess engineer whose tech is going to save the world.
Here’s actress Letitia Wright on her character, Shuri, and repping Guyana wherever she goes:
Lady Scientists
Cynthia Malone wrote an excellent piece for Vice called “The Future of Science is Black“:
Scientists in authority positions have told me that social justice does not belong in science. I have been accused of “reverse racism” for speaking out against actual racism at an international science conference, where I organized a handful of workshops and presentations on inclusion. While being called on to do “diversity” work for free and in hostile environments, I am tokenized and my status as a scientist questioned—despite years of education, global fieldwork, and management experience in ecology and conservation science. I did not struggle through the academy as a Black girl from a marginalized socio-economic background just to teach white people that Black peoples are human. I did it because I am passionate about monkeys and apes and the science of understanding their worlds, despite whatever myths racist natural historians perpetuate about our relationship to them.
PODCAST: Margaret Mitchell on Machine Learning Bias and Fairness.
Manu Saunders on science community blogs: recognising value and measuring reach.
Women in STEMM Australia has been steadily putting out profiles of women in science. One I particularly enjoyed was Dr. Gretta Pecl, marine ecologist:
I think unconscious bias is a big challenge to gender-equity in general, regardless of the field. There is so much research now demonstrating that both men and women evaluate women much more harshly in many ways. It’s frustrating we don’t recognize that more broadly given the evidence. I was taught a trick to identify such bias very early on my career: when you have a negative reaction to a woman in the workplace run the same scenario through your head with two or three men at equivalent level and see if you’d have the same response. At the start I was horrified and surprised at my own gender bias – but that’s exactly the point of unconscious bias – it’s unconscious, and it’s pervasive throughout our whole society. But we can all do something about addressing it, starting with ourselves.
Can’t Hold Us Down
Why it’s so important for girls to find role models in female scientists – Q&A with Wonder Women author Sam Maggs. (Who, by the way, is in Becoming Dangerous with me and Mey.)
The Women in Games community on Facebook is approaching 3000 members.
Manifesto Jam — a digital gathering to collectively uncork utopian energy for the field of videogames — was recently held, and submissions are posted for your perusal if you want to read some good shit! Notably, The Communist Sister would like no more LGBTQ+ people to die in art this year, and Emma Dee says straight people are banned from making Let’s Play channels in 2018.
The Death to “Git Gud” notecard mini-festo by Emma Dee.
Hey, look! Sally LePage, your fave queer lady scientist on YouTube, has some good news to share about coral reefs:
Why Pay Secrecy Is Inherently Anti-Feminist
Meltdown
Gender inequality in the tenure evaluation process – likely operating through subtle or unconscious mechanisms – contributes to the gender gap in tenure.
Impact of Cleaning Products on Women’s Lungs As Damaging As 20-a-day Cigarette Habit.
Anna, structural engineer and Army veteran on “Fuck you, I like guns.”
Let’s be honest. You just want a cool toy, and for the vast majority of people, that’s all an AR-15 is. It’s something fun to take to the range and put some really wicked holes in a piece of paper. Good for you. I know how enjoyable that is. I’m sure for a certain percentage of people, they might not kill anyone driving a Formula One car down the freeway, or owning a Cheetah as a pet, or setting off professional grade fireworks without a permit. Some people are good with this stuff, and some people are lucky, but those cases don’t negate the overall rule. Military style rifles have been the choice du jour in the incidents that have made our country the mass shootings capitol of the world. Formula One cars aren’t good for commuting. Cheetahs are bitey. Professional grade fireworks will probably take your hand off. All but one of these are common sense to the average American. Let’s fix that. Be honest, you don’t need that AR-15. Nobody does. Society needs them gone, no matter how good you may be with yours. Kids are dying, and it’s time to stop fucking around.
Here’s what I have to say about gun control. I wrote it two years ago and we’re still having the same goddamn conversation, what the fuck. I’ve been donating to Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, maybe you’d like to too.
Notes From A Queer Engineer is a recurring column with an expected periodicity of 14 days. The subject matter may not be explicitly queer, but the industrial engineer writing it sure is. This is a peek at the notes she’s been doodling in the margins.
Remember When Black Panther’s Princess-Badass Letitia Wright Played a Sweet Babygay Lesbian in “Banana”?
Shuri, Black Panther’s technological genius and badass warrior who got to grow up outside of white supremacy and toxic masculinity, is everywhere these days. Between the cool tech, the patent teen sass, and the fact that she literally told a CIA agent what to do while also holding her own during an entire battle, it’s no wonder she’s a standout character from Black Panther. But did you know before she became our favorite new Black Disney princess, she played a baby gay? It’s true!
Courtesy of Marvel Studios
In the Russell T. Davies miniseries Banana, a follow-up to the equally innuendous Cucumber, Wright plays a slightly troubled, naive young lesbian who falls in “love at first sight” with an older, straight white woman at the grocery store. You might know Davies from the L Word precursor Queer as Folk or the modern runs of Doctor Who and Torchwood. His queer sensibilities have evolved, sharpened, and become more nuanced in Cucumber and Banana, showcasing a range of queer characters in short, loosely-connected vignettes, much like a queerer version of Easy. Wright helms “Episode 2” which is at turns alarming, discomfiting, endearing, and surprising — and the end takes a wonderfully bittersweet turn.
Watch Letitia Wright, ever-endearing rising star, talking about her role as “Scotty” the young lesbian here (but be warned, there may be some spoilers).
You can watch her episode as well as the rest of Banana and Cucumber on Hulu. My recommendation is to just watch the Banana episodes with the queer women in it — my favorites, besides “Episode 2”, are “Episode 6” and “Episode 4” (though honorable mention goes to “Episode 3” for the very faint Naomily vibes).
What are you waiting for? Go watch, and then come back here and tell me what you think.