Wakanda Forever movie surprisingly lives up to it predecessor

Antonio Jackson Staff Writer

The Black Panther is one of the most influential Marvel characters that was able to inspire the African-American community. In celebration of Black History Month, I watched the latest installment of the Black Panther series, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was released in theaters on Nov. 11, 2022, and can be streamed on demand on Disney+.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” takes place years after the blip caused by Thanos that erased half of the universe from existence.

With the Heart Shaped Herb being destroyed by Killmonger, T’Challa will eventually fall ill to an incurable disease with no way of healing himself, resulting in his death.

With the mantle of Black Panther being unoccupied, Wakanda is left vulnerable without its protector. With the world being aware of the valuable resource, vibranium, existence, many nations plan on using it for themselves in unimaginable ways.

Eventually, Wakanda will come into conflict with underwater nation, Talokan, ruled by Namor, played by Tenoch Huerta Mejía, after the U.N. mistakes Talokans as Wakandans and blame them for killing an underwater search team after they found vibranium outside of Wakanda.

After being at odds with each other, the two nations eventually came to the realization that they would better survive together in a world where they are outnumbered.

Something that I appreciated about the movie is the inclusion and representation of multiple minorities and the different ideologies that they have. Wakanda is very passive towards the outside world, being willing to cooperate and compromise with other countries.

However, Talokan is very hostile and is willing to protect itself by any means necessary, even if it’s war against the entire world. Despite the differences in beliefs and being at war with each other, both nations eventually agree that their fight is pointless, and they are stronger together.

I believe this is a very powerful message that is not all too common in today’s media. So it is very important that the audience acknowledges and recognizes how that message can impact their lives.

One of the many high points in the file for me was its action sequences. It’s very clear that the goal was to raise the bar from the last movie as far as their fight scenes. The choreography and the CGI or computer generated images does well in capturing the intensity of each battle to the point where you feel as if you were there.

A low point of the movie for me was the lack of impact that one of the characters had on the overall story. Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorne, is a wellknown prodigy of Tony Stark, one of the smartest characters in the Marvel universe. In the comics, Riri is a very capable protagonist, being able to develop her own version of the Iron Man suit and dawning the name, Iron Heart. However, in “Wakanda

Forever”, it seemed as if Riri was sitting along for the ride just as much as the audience was. To be fair, she did develop a device that was very critical to the plot. Other than that, she provided little to no influence to the story, being reduced to plot device rather than an actual character.

The biggest doubt I had about the film initially was how well it would perform without the inclusion of the original Black Panther T’Challa, who was played by the late Chadwick Boseman.

I figured that many fans were led to believe that Black Panther wouldn’t be the same without him, however this isn’t true at all. In her role Shuri, T’Challa’s younger sister, played by Letitia Wright proved to be able to step forward to create the same amount of impact as Boseman once did. Not as a full replacement, but as an actress in her own right.

Overall, I believe that “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is a masterpiece that was not only a well needed medium to help deal with the grief behind death, but a brilliant political thriller.

It was an easy task to be able to follow up the 2018 original Black Panther and managed to not only live up to its forerunner but surpass it in every possible way.

Big Red Boot, Scream 6, Rihanna and more top trending topics

Tatyana Ross

Editor-in-Chief

MSCHF releases Big Red Boot

The New York based fashion brand MSCHF announced the drop of their new shoes, Big Red Boot. Fans speculate the shoe is a node to a Japanese comic book character, Astro Boy, whose costume only consists of his undergarments and his big red boots.

The hefty looking boots have been surfing the internet nonstop and celebrities like Coi Leray, Fivio Foreign, and Diplo have been seen wearing the boots.

MSCHF is known for their unique fashion items like a shoe that mimics a foot cast and a chocolate bar purse.

Fans are already planning and rating outfits styled around the Big Red Boot. The shoe’s planned release was on Feb. 16. with the retail price of $350.

Some fans not to eager to see “Scream 6”

The “Scream” movie franchise will be adding another film to the repertoire on March 10, 2023 with the premiere of “Scream VI”. The movie’s original trailer was released in December of 2022 starring Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere, Melissa

Barrera, Samara Weaving.

The film follows four survivors that are being hunted by the notable Ghostface killer. Since the release of the trailer, some fans have already tried to formulate theories about the characters and plot of the movie. But other fans are on the fence and have expressed negative feelings towards the new addition to the movie list and think it’s a bad idea all together.

Trump ridicules Rihanna’s 2023 Super Bowl performance Rihanna’s performance at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show shocked many of her fans. While most of the world loved her set list for the show, Donald Trump felt otherwise. He posted several comments on the Truth Social platform before and after the show. His beef with the star started after Trump accused Rihanna of being talentless.

After her performance Trump continued to post on Truth Social insinuating the artists did not do well in her performance.

Also as a surprise to her fans, Rihanna also revealed her second pregnancy with rap artist, ASAP Rocky revealing her baby bump during her iconic performance. However, fans are having mixed emotions about her pregnancy because they fear the artist may not be releasing any new music anytime soon.

Megan Fox hints at breakup with Machine Gun Kelly

Fans were shocked after Megan Fox hinted at a split with Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) after removing all photos with the artist from her Instagram. Along with a message using Beyonce’s 2016 album “Lemonade” lyrics from a song called “Pray You Catch Me”.

It caused many of their fans to assume MGK may have cheated on Fox. MGK has not responded or deleted any of the photos on his Instagram.

Fans are speculating whether the pair is truly splitting up or it is just an argument that was blown out of proportion online. So far, nothing has been confirmed and their engagement has not been officially called off. However, it was reported that Fox has removed her ring.

J.K. Rowling’s transphobic comments

J.K. Rowling’s disdain for the transgender community started in early 2019 after fans pointed out that the author liked a transphobic tweet toward transgender women. It caused actor Daniel Radcliffe to speak out against Rowling and the author apologized.

Over the years nothing changed and Rowling continued to ruffle the feathers of the transcommunity with her views and subtle tweets and comments on Twitter.

It is now 2023 and some fans refuse to let go of her past remarks. The new game “Hogwarts Legacy” was released Feb. 10 and while some fans were happy to have a game associated with their favorite series others are upset because Rowling continues to prosper after the blatant disrespect and boycott the game completely. Kelsei Scott contributed to this article.

The views expressed in this trending topics column are those of the writer(s) and in no way represent the views of The Blue & White Flash.

Madam C.J. Walker changed the black haircare game

Levon Campbell III

Editor-in-Chief

Madam C.J. Walker was a woman of many talents. She rose from poverty to become an entrepreneur and activist. She was known as the first Black woman millionaire in America for her forays into homemade hair care products for black women.

According to www. womenshistory.org, Walker used her position as an influential AfricanAmerican to advance in society and bring attention to putting an end to lynching.

Walker was born on Dec. 23, 1867, on a plantation in Delta, La., as Sarah Breedlove, one of six children of her parents Owen and Minerva Anderson Breedlove. According to www.history.com, she was born free after the emancipation proclamation and after being orphaned at the age of 7, she lived and worked with her older sister Louvenia in the cotton fields.

To escape her abusive brother-in-law, she married

Moses McWilliams at the age of 14. In 1887, her husband died and she became a single mother at the age of 20 to her two-year-old daughter, Leila.

According to history. com, Walker and her daughter moved to St. Louis, where she balanced working as a laundress with night school. She sang in a choir at an African church and became active in the National Association of Colored Women. In St. Louis, she met her second husband, Charles J. Walker, the man who would inspire the name of her eventual empire.

Walker started to create hair care products for African-American women after a scalp disorder caused her to lose too much of her own hair. She then came up with a treatment that would change the game in the black haircare industry.

According to History. com, Walker’s method would be known as the Walker System, which would involve scalp preparation, lotions, and iron combs. Her custom pomade was a great success. While most products for black hair would come from white businesses and be on the market, she differentiated her products by emphasizing attention to the health of the women who would use them. She would sell her homemade products directly to black women, using a personal approach that won over her customers. She would later employ beauty culturalists, a fleet of saleswomen to sell her products.

According to www. History.com, in 1908 Walker opened a beauty school and factory in Pittsburg, Pa., that she named after her daughter. In 1910, Walker moved her business to Indianapolis, a city that had access to railroads for distribution and a lot of African-American customers.

At the height of her production, Walker Company employed over three thousand beauty culturalists (mostly black women). Walker also let her daughter, A’Lelia, manage her own branch in Pittsburgh.

Walker was embraced by the black press and became known as one of the best- known African-Americans. According to history.com, she established clubs for her employees and encouraged them to give back to the community with awards whenever they did. She promoted female talent at a time when black women finding of jobs was limited. Walker also donated generously to educational causes and black charities, funding scholarships for women at Tuskegee Institute and donating to the NAACP, the Black YMCA, and dozens of other organizations that helped make Black History Month.

Zaydalyn Griffin, a freshman biology-pre-med major from Jackson, Miss., expressed how women can look up to Madam C.J. Walker.

“She is the role model to entrepreneurs and was the career booster to a lot of women,” Griffin stated.

Makaila Cooper, a senior childcare education major from St. Louis, Mo., talks about how Walker inspired African-American women.

“I like how she inspired black people to embrace their hair and made women come into their own beauty.”

Walker died at the age of fifty-one on May 25, 1919 of hypertension. According to history.com, her plans to have a headquarter built in Indianapolis, the Walker Building, was carried out and completed in 1927.

To this day, Madam C.J. Walker is remembered as a pioneering African-American woman who inspired many with her financial independence, business acumen, and philanthropy.

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