For Michaela Coel, her character’s queerness sold her on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Michaela Coel's entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is thanks to new representation in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Aux News Michaela Coel
Coming off of the transcendent success of I May Destroy You, Michaela Coel probably had any number of options open to her. Emmy in hand, Hollywood was truly her oyster—so it was no surprise to see her join the cast of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, one of the buzziest sequels of the year. From a high-profile perspective, joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a no-brainer. But Coel was intentional about choosing to sign on for this particular project.
“That sold me on the role, the fact that my character’s queer,” she tells Vogue about Aneka, a captain of the Dora Milaje who in the comics falls in love with a fellow warrior. “I thought: I like that, I want to show that to Ghana.” (The country, where the British-born Coel’s parents are from, has severe anti-LGBTQ+ laws.)
“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 live their daily lives,” Coel continues. “That’s why it felt important for me to step in and do that role because I know just by my being Ghanaian, Ghanaians will come.”
In recent years, Marvel has improved its LGBTQ+ representation (from… not having any), with mixed results. Eternals featured Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos was seen in a gay relationship with a child, but the promised “Queen” for Thor: Love And Thunder’s King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) never materialized. There’s also been the issue of the films’ queer content being censored overseas, something that hopefully won’t happen with Wakanda Forever.
Then again, we don’t yet know how explicitly the new film will depict Aneka’s sexuality—if it goes the route of Valkyrie, not much would need to be censored at all. But given Coel’s comments on the subject, fans have reason to hope for more robust representation in that arena. (Is it too much to hope that she’ll be the one in the Black Panther suit, too?)
35 Comments
Get out your potholders…All due respect to Chadwick Boseman and some decent performances, but…are we really continuing to view the original Black Panther movie as anything but subpar Marvel formulaic dreck? How is its sequel so buzzy? The first movie Wasn’t. That. Good. I’ll never understand the rapturous love it gets all over the Internet. Never. Yes, it was a Black-directed movie with a majority Black cast, which is great. But it was also a paint-by-numbers Marvel movie™ with a terrible, incredibly overrated villain. Blah. Don’t get it. Hopefully the sequel doesn’t suck.
Yup. You’ll never understand.
Yeah. I mean, I get it. I’m not saying people are dumb for liking the movie, but I truly don’t know how people walked out of BP1 thinking “wow, what a masterpiece.” I don’t even think it was meant to BE a masterpiece. I think if people want to laud it for what it represented in terms of Black history, Black storytelling, etc. that’s fine. That means something. But anyone who seriously thinks ANY Marvel movie is worthy of a Best Picture nom is seriously deluding themselves. In my opinion.
Okay. I mean, beyond you first missing and then acknowledging but downplaying the massive historical significance of this film, it’s pretty suspect that you consider the only villain with a relatable and sympathetic motivation (actually more than one) to be terrible. Terrible compared to whom? Everyone has their take on what merits an Oscar nom (I personally feel like 75% of the nominated movies don’t), but the significant design, sets, costuming, not to mention the unprecedentedly amazing cast, certainly puts it within striking distance.But yeah, maybe no one ever thought that it was a film that would be considered a masterpiece by someone like you. But, for a change, you aren’t the target audience. Perhaps that is why something feels off to you.
Oh for fuck’s sake. Here we go. I’m white—or so you assume—and therefore not the target audience. Right. End of discussion. No one can truly rate a Black movie with any degree of accuracy except for… Blacks?Oh, and I didn’t downplay shit. The movie can be historically significant to Black history, representation, etc. and still be overrated, not that great, and have an awful, COMPLETELY unsympathetic villain. Saying so is not the contradiction you make it out to be. I’m allowed to have an opinion. As are you. And we may not agree. Believe it or not, race doesn’t have to be a factor here unless you make it one. Maybe it just wasn’t a great movie but you need it to be for whatever reason. Maybe it’s a great movie and I don’t know shit. Either way, get out of here with this “target audience” shit. It doesn’t play with the whole “massive Marvel movie blockbuster” thing. But then again, you keep fighting the good fight. Someone has to play the sanctimonious gatekeeper, after all. Was recognitions off today?
That just sounds boring. I suggest a nap.
I didn’t say that, son. Never said it was the greatest movie ever or that onlyblack people (don’t say “blacks,” dude) can appreciate. You started the thread by stating you are confused. Just consider that this is a tautology. This movie did not blow you away to the same extent it did other people. Why? Is it possible that it very much connected with the people it was intended to connect with (which, granted, is different that the intended audience of most superhero movies), which doesn’t include you? Perhaps many of the things that were super meaningful to others don’t resonate for you (possibly because you aren’t black or particularly tuned into black culture).But out of curiosity: which comic book villains had more sympathetic motivation than “orphaned by his own family, who never recognized him, plus being the rare black American who knows about Wakanda’s technology and isolationism and would like to dispel the latter by sharing the former with black people struggling throughout the world?” A motivation that the hero actually accepts and changes his mind following the climax.This is Magneto stuff, which sure wasn’t present in, well, any other comic book villains, pretty much ever. (Malekith? Dormammu? Kaecilius? Whiplash? Kilian? Ronan? Hammer? Abomination? Ayesha? Yon-Rogg? Stane? Dreykov? Taskmaster? Yellowjacket? Pierce? Red Skull? Ego? Hela? Mysterio? Vulture? Wenwu?) But you find that unsympathetic. I wonder why.
It’s hard for me to respond on my phone, on a playground with a weird lack of internet access (here with my kid, not a weirdo). So assuming you want to have an actual conversation and are not just gatekeeping, I’ll respond when I’m not on this radioactive rock that inhibits internet signals. Sorry if came off belligerent, I should have been more measured. And I’ll legit plead ignorance on the “Blacks” thing. Did not know that was verboten. Will not use again.
I’m an old white lady and I totally loved it. I loved the peek into AfroFuturistic scifi, I loved the characters and the setting, the villain was AWESOME. There’ve been some terrible movies win Oscars, I don’t think it’s fair to paint a superhero movie as ‘unworthy’ just because it’s a superhero movie.
I also loved the cinematography and the performances were spot on. As for the villain…eh. Killmonger had a sympathetic back story and a reasonable motivation, sure, but he also ruthlessly murdered innocent people. Loki, Thanos…also not sympathetic villains. I don’t care how bad a childhood Loki had. We watched the guy viciously murder people like it was a joke. Sorry. Not sympathizing with him. And it’s not that superhero movies don’t deserve BP Oscars, necessarily, it’s that Marvel movies are generally formulaic stories that don’t really bust out anything novel. My opinion. Not a commentary on race, culture, Republicans, Democrats, Putin, Stalin, or Jesus. Just a movie opinion.
I don’t know how this conversation could be construed as me gatekeeping. I was mostly just trying to offer a decent explanation as to why you experience dissonance between your take on this film and other people’s.Then, secondary to that, I am legitimately confused as to why you are singling out one of the only villains Marvel has put on the screen that had a reasonable, relatable, and mostly correct motivation as especially bad. I’m a pretty big fan of these films, but they have mostly whiffed on villains, with very few exceptions (Thanos, Loki, and Killmonger).
So wait one second. You’re trying to offer a decent explanation as to why I’m experiencing dissonance between my take and other people’s…by suggesting that I’m not the target audience and therefore don’t have a leg to stand on in criticizing this movie? Maybe I’m wrong saying that, but what does “you’re not the target audience” mean other than, “well, you wouldn’t get it anyway”? Could it be that I didn’t like this movie much solely because of what I consider to be formulaic storytelling and a weak villain? Or am I just showing my biases as a non-Black person by criticizing something I’m not able to truly understand on the level a Black person can? Because that’s a tough argument for me to buy. I can understand why a Black person would be proud of this movie—it’s not like it’s awful trash—but saying maybe I just didn’t like it because I can’t really understand a Black person’s point of view is laughably silly. Maybe I just didn’t think it was that great of a movie, period, full stop. Honestly, I think that of MOST Marvel movies…if not all. Why do I think you’re gatekeeping? Because you seem to think it’s impossible to review this movie fairly without being its target audience (whatever that means—it’s a MARVEL MOVIE) and that those who are not Black apparently cannot understand or appreciate the movie like those who are. I can see why a Black person would be proud of this film, I can see why people of every race would think it’s great, but…I didn’t. I guess I just fail to see how that makes me just another biased white person beyond “this movie was Important, like it or you’re probably a racist.”
I mean, you could just read what I actually write and respond to that. There’s really no point in this continued projection and straw man torching thing.Sorry I tried to help.
“Sorry I tried to help.”
No you didn’t. You fought against someone you consider racist without having the balls to just say it. Now you’re just acting like a baby because your usual nonsense hasn’t chased away opponent like it usually does and you’re at a loss.
Yeah, I’m not really that sorry. He did the absolutely typical thing when someone points out something you do or believe is a little racist: ignore the point and invent all kinds of things I didn’t say to refute. Real fucking impressive. Now you’re just here as what? Racist fanboy? Troll scavenger? Fuck off, loser.
You don’t have to be sorry. I don’t expect you to be. I expect you to double down and call anyone who disagrees a bigot or some other low effort insult you replace a decent argument with when you can’t come up with one which is always.
All because someone considers Black -Fucking- Panther to be a standard Marvel movie and not the second coming of Roots. Because black people in tights fighting on robot rhino back is the definition of ground breaking cultural triumph, you nutsack.
Black Panther is a decent film. Like all Marvel movies. It’s still a Marvel movie. It’s not a breakthrough for black superheroes, as Blade had three films and a TV series years ago.
You’re conflating quality of film to how it makes certain people feel. And you’ve decided if anyone fails to feel that way they must be bigots! Now *that* is impressive. The level of mental gymnastics you and the mob need to rationlize a bloodthirsty disqus dogpile. Nice little circle jerk, same as the bigots who sit around whining about the films featuring women or POC. You did what every self righteous sack of crap does when they smell blood and have enough support, you ignored every point made and just kept shitting out your mouth.
Because you are so pure and you’re so up your own ass, that the only alternative to your opinion has to be bigotry. Nevermind that most of your responses are based on assumptions, and poor reading comprehension. You’re not nearly as smart as you think. Even now you call me an “incel”, without even the slightest idea why you’d even consider me such. It’s just a random insult from an angry prick who got told off by more than one person after being supported by so many. Poor you.
You did the exact same thing, and like most social media champions you lack self awareness, expecting a level of discourse you are utterly incapable of providing. You’re the furthest thing from “impressive”. So it doesn’t really matter how impressive you think your opponent isn’t. You’re right down there, as unimpressive and as trite as any other overly confident human being. You’re simply loud and persistent and more importantly (and erroneously) right in your own mind.
I’m “here” as someone who did the exact same thing you did. Involve myself in a conversation. Your arrogance and self importance is evident in your need to label my business here as beneath yours. When you’re just a troll who was looking for a fight, and got one (two). Now by all means, you can fuck off, and do it as a bigger loser than I can ever hope to be.
You’re several pathetic posts ahead of me in the race to the bottom, and I can never hope to catch up.
That was a lot of words to accuse me of something that never happened.Good luck finding the antagonist you’ve created in your head, kiddo.
I wonder if black people are the target audience for all the other Marvel films and if they have the right or insight to ever criticize them.
They never singled anything out. They pointed out that, like many marvel movies, the villain wasn’t very good. YOU, being in full righteous mode, assumed that since they mentioned the villain in this movie, that the remainder are being overlooked. When the argument here is that, because of representation, the banality of this film and its similarity to every other Marvel film can’t be criticized, and only praised, because it’s a triumph for all the people who forgot that Blade had several films and a TV series.
The move itself is no different than any other Marvel vehicle, and conflating representation (which is really just entitlement to industry positions over anything but acting ability now) with film quality.
Who asked this incel?
Nobody asked you.
I was responding to the OP’s open question. You’re just doing some social injustice trolling.
Sit down. Nothing you have to say is adding anything to the conversation.
At least IContainMultitudes is having a good faith conversation. You’re just trying to show everyone how wonderful you are. We get it. Thanks for contributing.
Your argument is literally “I didn’t like it, so obviously no one else can like it or they’re whipping out the woke card.” That’s a bullshit nonsense argument and not really worth treating seriously. I’m not even pretending to be a good person (trust me, I’m not and I’m totally cool with not being one), but when I see some dumbass neckbeard acting like their opinion is the be all/end all of cinematic discussion, I call it out, because it’s a bullshit argument. I hated Titantic. I don’t spend my time questioning why it made so much money. My personal tastes were different from other people’s. The end. I certainly am not so far up my own asshole as to think of as “subpar formulaic dreck” and act shocked that other people enjoy it.
You didn’t like Black Panther. Other people did. Let them enjoy it and fuck off. I’m not even going to go into the implications that you’re probably a very racist person. You taking my statement and thinking it meant that, though, kinda makes me think my hunch about you was right. But even taking away the possible ulterior motives you may have, you’re making a stupid neckbeard “I’m somehow the height of taste” argument and it’s fucking stupid, so I rubbed your nose in it.
uh, you’re wrong again.they’re actually having a fairly honest, mostly respectful disagreement/argument over the subject of the first person’s post. Who the F are you to decide their view is unimportant or unworthy?
Maybe the person popping in to say “shut up” isn’t the arbiter of good manners or conversation.
Yeah the conversation is Black Panther is special because black people. There really isn’t anything to add that isn’t gonna make emotionally invested idiots not use it as an opportunity to look like an ally over a Marvel movie that is uncriticizable because representation matters no matter how banal.
nopesaying “but its got pretty sets and lots of historical importance and good costumes” doesn’t quantify it as a great film. A fun time, maybe, and better-than-most-Marvels, but, yeah. Not exactly the argument you think it is.
Well, that’s not what “quantify” means, but yeah, there is no absolute metric of greatness that determines Oscar nominations. Everything I wrote were factors here. Why, what’s your informed take?
Please rewrite this. Phastos was seen in a gay relationship with a child
Until I realized what they meant I thought I saw a much different version of Eternals.
“ Eternals featured Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos was seen in a gay relationship with a child”
Damn. This is either missing a word (“player” after featured), or containing a few too many words (“was seen” after Phastos) and either way, suggests that Phastos was in a romantic relationship with his son. Recommendation: nuke this sentence from orbit.
“Eternals featured Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos was seen in a gay relationship with a child,” lol, that doesn’t read right. yes, i’m immature.
Aneka’s sexuality is a key part of her story. She and her lover Ayo (Florence Ksumba from Falcon & Winter Soldier) are elite soldiers who go rogue to defend disparate communities Wakanda fails to protect. They’re called Midnight Angels for their flying armor suits, which we’ve seen Aneka will have in the movie.So I hope she’s NOT in the Black Panther suit, at least not until we’ve had some Midnight Angel action.
Eternals featured Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos was seen in a gay relationship with a childyour editing- or lack-thereof – is causing some pretty horrific sentences…