REAL-WORLD REFERENCES?
TRUE or FALSE...
Ryan Coogler's real-world reference for Wakanda's Vibranium mines was the COVITA mines in Argentina?
False...
Director Ryan Coogler compared the Wakanda vibranium mines to the real-life situation of the Congo mines, where the valuable mineral coltan (used in manufacturing digital products, found only in the Congo region) is being mined. In addition, the Shinkolobwe mine in the Congo's Haut-Katanga Province contained the richest deposit of uranium on Earth. In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about uranium's potential for weapons, noting, "The most important source of uranium is in the Belgian Congo," and uranium from Shinkolobwe was used in the American nuclear program during World War II, including in the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
True or False...
Wesley Snipes was going to be the actor to play The Black Panther in an earlier conception of the screen play...
True...
In 1992, Wesley Snipes said he wanted to make a Black Panther film. He rode the film through all sorts of Marvel deals, up to and including when Marvel Studios and Paramount struck their deal in 2005. Snipes was still in the mix, and John Singleton was being considered to direct. Until 2009, Snipes was going to play Black Panther, but then, he had his tax issues and was not available for the project.
True or False
The Wakandan dialect is a real African Dialect?
True...
During an interview with Michel Martin on the radio program "All Things Considered," Danai Gurira (Okoye) said that the language spoken by Wakandans is a real language, Xhosa, a South African language characterized by clicks and glottal stops: "It's the same language that is native to Nelson Mandela. It's from the Cape region of South Africa. And Mr. John Kani, who plays T'Challa's father, T'Chaka, he's Xhosa. And so he - they started and agreed to that language being the language of Wakanda in Captain America: Civil War (2016)."
True or False...
Ryan Coogler was Marvel's first choice for the director of Black Panther after his CREED movie.
False...
Marvel and Ava DuVernay discussed her directing either Black Panther or Captain Marvel. She honed in on Black Panther but ultimately did not sign up for the project. It came down to a classic “creative differences” situation between Marvel and DuVernay.
After DuVernay passed, Marvel looked to Coogler. However, negotiations stalled. Then, his movie Creed came out. Coogler was a hot name in directing circles. Marvel re-approached Coogler. Coogler used his cache and asked to use his own production team instead of Marvel’s in-house crew. Marvel agreed, and Coogler signed on to direct.
True or False...
When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created The Black Panther in 1966 as a comic book, they were thinking of paying homage to the Black Panther Party.
False...
The Black Panther was created in July 1966, two months before the founding of the Black Panther Party. Many people mistakenly assumed the name referred to the Party, so the character was renamed the Black Leopard. However, neither the readers nor the creators cared for that title, and it didn't last long...
The creation was an acknowledgment of the creators' friends and readership community.
True or False...
Killmonger was white in the original comic.
False...
Erik Killmonger (né N'Jadaka) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Don McGregor and Rich Buckler, he first appeared in Jungle Action #6 (September 1973).[1] The character is commonly depicted as a skilled hunter and mercenary born in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, who holds a grudge against the country and its people after his biological parents were killed when he was young.
True or False...
The all-female Dora Milaje in the comics was originally a male army. Stan Lee was responding to feminist activism in the 1960's when he created them.
The Dora Milaje translates to The Adored Ones, a group of female soldiers who protect Wakanda. In the comics, each of the tribes sends their most powerful female fighters to join the Dora Milaje guard.
The fictional, fearsome, and all-female Dora Milaje in the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever were inspired by a real group of African warriors: the Agojie.
At its height in the 1840s, the West African kingdom of Dahomey boasted an army so fierce that its enemies spoke of its “prodigious bravery.” This 6,000-strong force, known as the Agojie, raided villages under cover of darkness, took captives and slashed off resisters’ heads to return to their king as trophies of war. Through these actions, the Agojie established Dahomey’s preeminence over neighboring kingdoms and became known by European visitors as “Amazons” due to their similarities to the warrior women of Greek myth.
(https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/real-warriors-woman-king-dahomey-agojie-amazons-180980750/)
True or False...
The older Zuri (Forest Whitaker) and the young Zuri (Denzel Whitaker) are father and son in real life.
False...
Forest Whitaker plays Zuri, and an actor named Denzel Whitaker plays a young Zuri in the film’s opening flashback. You look at those names and may assume that Denzel is Forest’s son. After all, Denzel played the young Forest. However, the two are unrelated.
True or False...
The name "Wakanda" comes from the Wakamba tribe of Kenya, also known as the Kamba.
True...
True or False...
Coogler's 2018 Black Panther won Best Director at the Oscars...
False...
Even since The Dark Knight, there has been pressure from film fans, especially comic book film fans, for superhero movies to get love from the Academy Awards. That wasn’t ever really acted upon by the Academy, but the pressure was definitely on to recognize Black Panther. The calls were loud from the general populous. Indeed, Black Panther broke through at the Oscars. It was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture. The movie won Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design.