March 9, 2018 • 30 mins
B is joined by Still Processing's Jenna Wortham to talk through the women in the hit film Black Panther.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Sminty listeners, Bridget here your favorite pisces. It's a
birthday coming up, and guess what, y'all are all invited.
I'm hosting a birthday party in Washington, d C on Sunday,
March eleven, to benefit Thrive d C, an organization that
fights homelessness. Want a party with me? All you need
to do is to bring a box of heavy flow
or overnight maxipads or tampons to donate to a d
(00:20):
C woman experiencing homelessness. Look out for more deats on
the Seminty Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram channels, and I hope
to see all there. Hey, this is Bridget and you're
listening to stuff mom ever told you? Now? Today we're
(00:49):
talking all about the women of Black Panther. No, I
don't mean Angela Davis, though that would make a great episode.
I'm talking about the women of Wakonda. First, quick spoiler alert.
I don't think today's conversation will give away any major
plot aspects, but we'll be talking about the movie in full.
So if you want to go and fresh, just know
this might be an episode that you want to pause on.
(01:10):
Unless you even living under a rock, you probably already
know that Black Panther is a pretty big deal, but
first let's talk about Hollywood's landscape and why that is.
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, women made
up of all movie goers, an increase from which was
about so Even while conventional wisdom might suggest that women
(01:32):
aren't the ones buying tickets to big blockbuster movies, we
actually are, and that's one aspect that makes the disparity
of women on screen so frustrating. A lot of us
are buying movie tickets and wanting to see our stories
on the big screen. We just don't get that many
opportunities to do so. We already know that Hollywood is
pretty male and pretty white, but women and people of
(01:52):
color are thursting to see their own stories told on
the big screen. That was pretty clear when the movie
Wonder Woman smashed both the patriarchy and box office records,
breaking in a whopping one hundred point five million dollars
in ticket sales and going on to become the highest
grossing opening weekend for film directed by a woman, and
while it has a male director. The film Girl's Trip
(02:13):
also made history by being the only film to have
made a hundred million at the box office that was written, produced,
and directed by black talent and has a black female cast.
So it turns out, just like anyone else, marginalized voices
just want to see their stories reflected on screen. And
even though Black Panther has a male director, Ryan Coogler,
it's really given audience as a dynamic portrayal of badass
(02:34):
women on the big screen. In this movie, women kick ass.
They plan, they strategize, they lead, they fight with spears
and in some cases right on the tops of cars
down the busy streets of Korea. Slate Sasha Harris really
nailed why this movie feels so different. She writes, women
typically play third or fourth fiddle or just playing damsels
in distress in these movies, and more often than not,
(02:56):
with very rare exception of Black women played any real
part in these story is at all justice Wakanda is
an utopian symbol for Black people and it's depiction of
a nation relatively untouched by colonialism. So does it now
represent an ideal world in which men and women co
exist respectfully on an equal playing field. Let's hear from
some of the stars of the film about why the
roles of women are so different in Black Panther. We're
(03:18):
all very specific, very individual, very powerful in our own ways,
and um therefore very effective and influential. Seeing these women,
you know, seeing this dor Malagy and and sure you
know these women who who support him. He can't do
it without them, He can't. You know. There is no
king without a queen, you know. Is the is the thought,
(03:39):
the sentiment in African nations, you know. And so that
queen is his mother, his sister, the all female guard.
You know. After this quick break, we'll talk more about
the feminism of the movie Black Panther with General Wortham
hosted the podcast Still Processing and we're back. So after
(04:04):
I saw a Black Panther, all I wanted to do
was talk about the badass women in this film with
my friends. And when I think badass women, I think
none other than The New York Times is Jenna Wortham.
You might know Jenna as one of the co hosts
of the New York Times podcast Still Processing. She's also
a culture editor for The New York Times. And even
though I hate talking on the phone, I was so
(04:25):
excited to call Jenna up to get her thoughts. Here's
how that conversation went down. And if you're thinking, huh,
this sounds a bit weird. That's because full disclosure, here
listening to two gals talking on the phone in my apartment. Jenna,
thank you so much for being here with us today.
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. So you
guys actually just put out an episode all about Black
(04:47):
Panther with the one and only Tanaissy Coats, which was fabulous.
If you haven't heard it, I would definitely recommend checking
it out. One of the things that I really identified
with in that conversation was how you talked about the
way at Black Panther. There was a lot of hoopla
surrounding it and a lot of hype, and in some
ways that can almost be a little bit of a
turn off. But then when you go see the movie,
(05:09):
you know, it's such a great movie. Um, why do
you think it is? That? A lot of times we
feel like if we don't go see a movie like
this on opening weekend and make a huge deal about it,
that we almost sort of won't be given another shot
at having our stories told on screen. Yeah, I mean,
because that's usually what happens, right, I mean, there are
so few of our stories, and by our I just
(05:32):
mean non mainstream, typical white narratives that end up making
it to the theaters that when there is something and
you know, we know these decisions are made by in
part influence by how much people spend on the movies,
how much people go to the movies. A lot of
movie trends are shaped by capitalism. So when there is
a big moment, there is a big movie, it feels like, yes,
(05:54):
we have to support it to make sure that other
movies like this are made. And I should clarify, And
when we were talking about the high, I was I
was all for the hype of Black Panther. I love
comic book movies. I see all the standalone ones like
I saw Logan in the theaters, like I love everything
about the comic book universes that have been cross It's
just it's a it's a form of storytelling that I
just really really enjoy on the big screen. But I
(06:16):
did kind of resent this idea that you know, each
and every single black person in America and around the
world had to support this movie or else it would
be our fault that it failed. No, it's not our
it wouldn't be our fault if it was terrible, you know.
I mean, that's just not how it works. It shouldn't
be we only get one shot at a movie like
Black Panther. I just I really didn't like the idea
(06:37):
that we had to be street teaming this movie for
it to be successful. And the truth is that, honestly,
it doesn't really work. I mean, remember how much money
Hidden Figures made, like they're making a sequel or you know,
there's ten other movies like that in the pipeline. You know,
Hollywood makes the stories that wants to see, and it really,
you know, I wish I could say that they did
pay attention to that, but for the most part, it
(07:00):
seems like they don't. Yeah, on the one hand, it's
almost a lot of pressure for marginalized people to sort
of create these one person like, you know, personal ad
campaigns for these movies to get their friends to go
see it. I actually don't really like superhero movies, and
so when this first came out, I was like a
little bit man, not because it didn't seem like a
great movie, because it's not a genre that I personally enjoy,
(07:22):
but then I did feel this weird pull, like I
have to go see this movie. Opening weekend. I have
to support, you know, I have to go out and
get dressed up in a costume and go see it
because it felt like, you know, this is our thing,
we have to support it. And it's sort of it's
almost sort of not fair to feel like you have
to do that because I don't think that other I
don't think that white men feel that way when there's
(07:44):
a movie that that spotlights white men right here. No, totally.
And also the movies are so expensive, So I just
feel like this idea that someone that you know needs
to spend like a hundred dollars to take their families
and movies or else your child doesn't get a black
superhero is a really false equivalency. It's just totally unfair.
I totally agree with you, but I have to say
(08:04):
that because some people did respond to us speaking in
that way about the movie on the podcast that we
were super hyped for the movie. It was just this
idea that it's success rested on our individual backs, which again, yeah,
it's totally um, I don't know, like out of pocket,
Like that's not fair. It's not fair. And another good
point that you make is I feel like every couple
(08:26):
of months this happens, right, there's a movie where you know,
whether it's girls trip or hidden figures like you mentioned
a second ago, there's a movie where people think, oh, well,
this movie was so successful. Clearly audiences are thirsting for
stories about people more than just white men. And we
had this conversation every few months when one of these
(08:47):
movies have Gangbusters and then we nothing ever happens. It's
still the same conversation, like we're stuck in this echo
chamber of this big movie with a with a inclusive
cast and inclusive crew, you know, doing really well, and
people thinking, oh, this is gonna change the game. And
then we had that same conversation in a month. For sure,
I'm really interested to see what happens with Coco. Coco
(09:08):
is more of an example that I'm interested in because
I feel like it wasn't It is a Pixar movie,
but it wasn't based It didn't it wasn't rooted in
some bigger franchise already or have any real roots to
it beyond just this original story that was created. And
I don't know if you've seen it, but Coco's this
incredible Pixar animated film about a little boy who reconnects
with his the spirits of the ancestors during the day
(09:30):
of dyd in Mexico, and a lot of movies in Spanish.
A lot of the songs through spanished. The soundtrack. Slaps
is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I
cried the whole time. That's definitely of my favorite movies
of the year. And it's a really beautiful celebration of
Mexican culture that we don't get. If you haven't seen Coco,
here's a little taste. Color is the Sky memo. You
(09:53):
tell me that it's read where shod I put no
more you say, flip the money ahead. And it made
so much money. It made so much money, which is
really interesting. We think about a lot of the policies
that our current administration is pushing right, which is to
(10:14):
get rid of people who this movie is for. So
I feel like that, to me feels like a much
more interesting case study. Because of course Marvel's gonna make
more Black Panthers and movies, and of course they're going
to make more super from that's been given just because
that's what they're doing, and those are the biggest blockbusters.
And I go international, but a movie like Coco, I feel,
is about such a marginalized group in this country that
(10:34):
we don't talk about, and for it to do so
well and be such a hit across genre, across demographic,
I feel I'll be so interested to see if that
translates to beyond just a one off case. Totally. I'm
so glad that you brought up Coco because in your
podcast episode about Black Panther, you talked about how we're
at a time where blackness can feel very attacked, and clearly,
(10:58):
like overtly being illness is under attack right now as well.
And so if you're someone who Sannis, someone who's an immigrant,
someone from a Spanish speaking country, it's interesting that a
movie like Coco that uplifts all of those different aspects
and uplifts the beauty of all of those different you know,
parts of your identity is doing so well right now
at a time when it seems like those very identities
(11:19):
are are under attack in a very real way. Exactly. Yeah,
So one of my biggest questions about movies like this,
I saw a lot of folks on Twitter being like, Oh,
it's just a movie, blah blah blah, But we know
that representation is really important. Why why is it so
important that we have films like Coco, films like Flat
Panther showing these different narratives and telling these different stories.
(11:40):
M Oh my god, I love that question. I mean,
it just makes you feel seen, you know, I don't
think we realize the lasting trauma and damage of not
seeing yourself on screen. Like I don't think you you
really understand what it meant to say your whole childhood
watching Buffy and small Ville and Ross Well and all
these really cool movies about you know, young team girls
(12:05):
with a special destiny and purpose who were really thin,
white cute hair that slipped perfectly, and the games of
Buffy summers, you know, like a perfect Midrid what's the actress?
His name against it escaped me? But um Sarah Michelle Geller, Yes,
Sarah'm still Geller. Oh my god, all my body worthya,
thank you? But now she's incredible. But I just, you know,
(12:26):
growing up watching that stuff, Like if I were a
team now and could watch Black Lightning, you know, like
I just might have a very different relationship to myself
my body. I was at a screening the other day
with um Avia Duvernet and she was showing us a
wrinkle of Time, and it was great because I thought
it was going to be this kind of stuffy up,
tight New York media thing and it was all kids.
He's like, rents out the theater for all these black
(12:47):
girls and it was awesome. And she was saying, you know,
with the wrinkle in time for example, she was like, yes,
the reason it matters is it's not just about little girls,
little black girls seeing themselves on screen. It's about white
boys learning to work with black women and trust them
and respect them and see them as nerds. And I
(13:07):
was like, WHOA, Like I had never really thought about
how important it is not just for us, but for
everyone else around us to understand that they aren't at
the center of every story. I mean, that's that's like
the biggest takeaway that I've really been chewing over the
last couple of days. It is about us, but it's
also about other people being able to see us in
these roles too. But it's so deep because you know
(13:30):
what you just said, if you can't see it on screen,
you can't really be it. And so of course it's
important for little black and brown girls to see themselves,
but it's also important for little white boys and white men,
to understand that, you know, young girls, that women and
girls of color have agency, you know, are equals, and
to learn how to see and work with them, whether
it's you know, in a movie or behind the scenes
(13:52):
of the movie. I think showing that on screen and
presenting those models, I think it's really an important aspect
that I hadn't even really considered. Oh yeah, for sure,
same here though, Like she said it, and I was like,
oh my god, like, of course, you know totally. So
let's talk about some of the roles for women, the
women of Wakanda. Um. One of the things I thought
was so cool about how women are portrayed in Black
(14:15):
Panther is that you don't get the sense that there's
some sort of gender based hierarchy in Wakanda. Right. The
women have these bad, fast roles, whether they're fighting, whether
they're known for their technical prowess, and you don't get
the sense that women are treated as these frail objects.
There seem to be on the same decision making plank
of men. Did you notice this, Yeah, I think that's fair.
(14:37):
I think that's what they wanted us to think in
the movie. I mean, I'll believe that if I I mean, no, no,
just just knowing that it's based on a comic book,
like it's it's not it's not Wonder Woman, you know,
it's it's Black Panther and the Black Panther, you know,
tradtioning the living age at that comic, the black panther
role is pretty much always amazed. I mean, I know
there is a comic, and there is in the reimagine
that Tana Hasky Coast work heap Coast has been working on. Sure,
(15:00):
he who's to tell his little sister at some point
does become Black Pantherer, but only temporarily. So I'm you know,
and in my super feminist lens, I'm like, sure, it's
great that the women seem like equal, but they're on council,
they're serving as cigars, they're serving as technicians. Those are
not necessarily leader roles. I mean, they're not the leader,
(15:20):
their leadership roles, but they're not leading wacondas. So I
think for me, I'm kind of like if they were like, oh,
you know, as La Bassett was less less pancer, that
would be tight, Like I'd be like, oh yeah, but
it was to tell his dad. So I'm kind of
like sure, but to me, it's still feels the women
might be more equal, but it's still felt a little patriarchal.
And I don't wanted to finish how badass all the
(15:42):
women were in the movie. They definitely were, but it
wasn't as like aprituturistic in that way for me. Yeah,
that makes a lot of sense. I think it really
goes to show how far we have to go because
you know what I call me when they make a
Black Pancer, that a woman, and that's a woman the
entire time. It like like when Angel Nassett sund time
to play the character, like the pits of the role.
(16:04):
That's the movie that I'm the you know, completely be
here for. And not that I wasn't here for Black Panther,
but that would be to be really really bad and
to be fair, like, I actually think it's coming, and
this was the first movie, so I think there is
a lot to do and I think they're willing to
do it, Like I've never gotten the impression that they
wouldn't explore. And you know, there is a lot of
the movie that we saw was based on some of
(16:25):
the World of Will kind of comics that have been
rewritten and sure he is a black Panther in them,
and so I just think it's so possible. And you know,
there was the news that Marvel signed on to do
like ten more movies, and so like everyone's speculating, well,
how many of those are Black Panther spinoffs? And I
actually think that the response the Door Malaje, which is
all woman guard that um particual contents Chila, I think
(16:46):
that they might get there spin off movie. I mean,
anything is possible. The number of movies that are being
made right now that deal in those two d C
comics memorable universes are just astounding because they do tend
to make so much money. So I kind of feel
like it's not out of the realm of possibility at all,
and it would be it would be so baller if, like,
(17:07):
you know, Lupeta has a filmmaking company now, like maybe
she could produce one, you know, maybe then I can
do it. But that and I has an incredible playwright.
You know, she wrote a clip. So I just think
there does seem to be way more possibilities than there
haven't been. So I'm not trying to knock it at all.
I'm really excited to see what they do next. Yeah,
it kind of opens up the door to the future
(17:28):
of what what will be and I'm I'm really excited
to see what Black Panther leads to down the line. Yes, exactly, exactly.
So you brought up the character of Sure, she's one
of my favorite characters in the movie because she's sort
of spunky and she bucks tradition and I'm I'm a
youngest sister and it's very interesting to see the sort
of spunky little sister role on screen. You don't really
(17:51):
have a lot of motally that play with the brother
sister dynamic in quite that way, which I which I love.
And of course I love that she is the like
the technology officer of Wakanda. She's the one who you know,
knows the latest stuff. She knows how to make the
really cool shoes and like really cool suit and I
couldn't help but think about, um, this amazing black woman
(18:12):
astronaut made Jemison her talking about how when she was
a kid, she didn't really think that she could be
a black female astronaut until she saw the character on
Star Trek when she was a kid, and that that
character had a I don't know if we ever watched it,
but she was a lieutenant, you know, she had a
really technical role on the ship, and Big Demison actually
(18:33):
credits her with the reason why she thought she could
become an astronaut, which she later did, and sexual went
on to be on the show Star Trek and a
guest role. And so it's interesting where I can't help
but wonder how many little girls are watching this spunky
girl with her cute raids, you know, lead technology for
a Nassan and think I can do that. I know,
(18:55):
it's so exciting and it's you know, it's real because
sometimes we don't even know what's possible and pale glimpse it.
And I just mean that even that there could be
a job like that. I mean, so much of what
we know is she roy AA have access to it.
Allays access to is very much guided by popular culture
and whatever is trending, and so in order to be
(19:15):
able to see yourself, Yeah, it's someone who works on
a ship, or works on who builds cars or build whatever.
It's like someone who designed the infrastructure. It's like you
see that and then you're like, oh, could I do that?
How do I do that? What's that job? I mean
that's even how I became a journalist, Like I didn't really.
I mean, obviously I knew that people wrote for a living,
but I didn't know how people wrote for a living.
I was like, you can you even do that freelance?
(19:36):
You have to be an author? Do you have to
be this? And then it was in the course of
setting abroad and I was actually doing a program in
um public health in London and I started meeting authors
and I was like, so, what is your day to
day like? And they laid it out for me and
I was like, oh, I could do that. I mean
it literally as simple as that, Like I just you know,
if I had been smarter, I would have googled, like
how to become an author? But that still isn't even
(19:56):
necessarily enough. It's like you really have to see it
and here it and understand what that looks like in
order to visualize yourself in It absolutely funny that you
say that my my sort of becoming a journalist and
a writer and immediate person is similar but much less
cool than your story. When I was a kid, I
used to watch that show Living Single and Queen the
(20:16):
Teeth of Character Favor magazine, and I thought you that
Oh my god, that's so good. Yes, incredible. Yeah, I
wonder Similarly, I bet an entire generation of black women
and girls were like, oh, I knew I wanted it
to be immediate professional when I saw that show. It's
so important, this representation is so important. So I have
(20:39):
one last question for you. It's a little bit of
a curveball. So I went to see Black Panther and
I wore a ridiculous outfit because I felt like, that's
kind of what you do. I kind of gave into
all the hoop. I was like, well, if I'm gonna
do it, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna wear something. Cookie,
did you wear a cool outfit? I had so much pressure.
I felt so much pressure going to see it because
(20:59):
I was like, what am I gonna wear? Like everyone's
going to dress up, but people were instagramming their cool
office and Kimberly Drew was one of my really good
friends and one of my collaborators, instagrammed her outfit. It
was like this amazing matrix like late TEXTI and I
was like, damn it, Like I don't have anything to wear.
So I just this is a very long way to
say I tried to look good, but I don't know
(21:21):
that I looked necessarily cool. When I went to the
starning the media screening, I just wore a regular smuggler
clothes and then I went to the premiere, I just
tried to like have good eye makeup on, do you
know what I mean? Like, I was just like, let
me put some glinner on because this is the best
I can do. And people people showed it up and
they showed out, and I was I was sad to
be a little a little under stressed. I have to
(21:41):
in it. Well, I think you went out, you supported it.
I'm sure you looked great. I kind of assume as
like I went to a weird screening. I went to
see it in Georgetown and Washington, DC, and it was
a very early morning screening and so perhaps not the
screening where people would be dressed to impress totally. Well, Jenna,
(22:01):
I am so happy that you were able to join
us today. Where can folks find out more of what
you're up do? I know that you kind of do
it all, from black goods to podcasting. Where can folks
find out what you're up to? Um? Well, my social
handle across pretty much everything is at Jenny Deluxe and
for the podcast, it's ny Times dot Com Forward Slash
(22:22):
Still Processing. Jenna, thank you so much for being here
with us today, Wakonda Forever. Oh, it's such a pleasure.
Thank you for having me. So we already know that
the women of Wakonda had a huge impact on the
big screen, But what about I r l more on
that after this quick break and we're back. One of
(22:47):
the coolest things about Black Panther is that even though
it's this amazing fantasy movie, it's also had some real
world implications. You heard Jenna and I talking with the
character of Shari played by the t Right, who's one
of the movie the most important characters, and she's this
badass black woman in Stem. She is in charge of
all the technology of the world of Waconda. She's very hip,
(23:09):
she bucks tradition, and at only sixteen, she's among the
smartest in the nation of Wakonda and directs all the
tech development in this advanced nation, including weaponry and armor.
And even though she's a fictional character, sure he has
gone on to become an inspiration for black girls in Stem.
Disney donated one million dollars to boys and girls clubs
across the country to operate STEM centers, including what in Oakland, California,
(23:30):
where spoiler alert if you've seen the movie you already
know sure, he ends up running Waconda's first tech outread center.
So when we're talking about Wakonda, life really imitates art
and beyond that, some real life Wakondon women warriors are
using Black Panther to create change I r L. They
spun up the Waconda The Vote Campaign, an initiative that
let's folks set up voter registration events at local theaters
(23:54):
or registrative vote via text message. The initiative is run
by Jessica Bird, who runs Three Point Strategies, a firm
of black women who worked to elect black political leaders
and create social change. Jessica, I'm so happy to have
you here today. So I have to ask, why is
it important for you to get folks registered to vote
at the movies and they're seeing Black Panther well. So
UM three Point Strategies is currently UM anchoring and co
(24:17):
leading the Electoral Justice Project, which is a project that
was launched by the Movement for Black Lives just this
past October, and essentially the idea it was to really
harness the energy of black led social movements UM, who
have historically used protests and direct action and UM you know,
(24:39):
other means of intervention to interrupt systems. And so we
believe that the electoral system is as a system just
like any other, and so we are launching this project
specifically to intervene in a system that doesn't work for us,
which is currently the electoral system. And so, you know,
for us, we didn't want to build a project that
(24:59):
was just three actionary and UM only in opposition, but
we wanted to brail a project that also felt like
it centered black joy. And so as people started to
get really excited about Black Panther and we heard about
people outfits that they were going to be wearing, and
you know this just how much it seemed like a
cultural phenomenon, we were like, we definitely need to do
(25:22):
something for the movement for black lives. And so that
is how what kind of the vote was born. I
love that. I especially love this idea of harnessing the
power of black joy because you know, I went to
Black Panther dressed kind of goofy. Other folks I saw
on Instagram where dressed kind of goofy. It was a fun, funny, memorable,
Instagram morble kind of event for the ages. And I
(25:45):
think it's it's something, there's something too harnessing that energy
because listen, blackness is not just about the heavy, intense moments.
It's also about fun, about joy, about those experiences that
connect us with our brothers and sisters and you know,
really hardest thing on that special Yeah. Absolutely. And you know,
I also think that you know, um, so often folks
(26:07):
in power, which are often white people, white men, folks
with money. You know, they always get to have a
self you know, determined political agenda. They always get to
build strategy on based on what they're dreaming about and
what they want. And you know, so black people we
want to do the same thing. Not everything that we
(26:27):
do it should be about our death. We're about the
fact that we have to turn up because you are
taking healthcare away from millions of people, or because you're
breaking up millions of families UM through racist, hateful laws.
Like we we also have a vision for how we
want our our families UM and our communities to look.
(26:49):
And so you know, I think that part of this
project is to do both at the same time. Which
we think is possible, which is to fight back, is
to tell our opposition that their time is limited and
that we're gonna we're gonna contend them for power. But
then I also think it's the time for us to
really be dreaming and innovative with black people about saying,
all right, so we have this beautiful vision for black lives,
(27:12):
how do we actually elect the right people, right the
right policies and build the the type of um of
cultural civic engagement that we really deserve. I love it.
So what's next for a kind of the vote? Oh,
it's great. So, um, Well, first and foremost, I just
want to name that we have registered nearly five thousand
(27:35):
voters over the course of three weeks. Uh, We've had
a hundred and sixty three voter registration drives in every
single state in this entire country. Um. And so we
feel really proud about the way that black movement is
demonstrating that not only can you know, we show up
for these for these moments when we need to fight back,
(27:57):
but that we also can have a lot of fun
and really respond to waste specifically engaged. And so what's
next is that actually today launches wrinkle the vote. UM,
and so you know, not only did we want to
honor this really beautiful black film experience, but you know,
we believe that Abra Durnier um in building this really
(28:18):
beautiful women of color lead and centered film for Wrinkle
in Time was also a moment for us to like
continue this strategy and like re engage people and young
women who were going to the theater. So, and we'll
be registering voters all this weekend and then um, the
Electoral Justice Project is also launching and organizing fellowships and
(28:41):
so we if you if you check out e JP
dot m for bl dot org, um, you can find
out more about how to potentially become a campaign manager
for an issue in your community that you want to
fight and went on. I love it using the power
of Hollywood and fiction and storytelling to create real change
on the world. I love that. Jessica, You're amazing. Your
(29:02):
work is amazing. Where can folks keep up with you? Well,
so you can follow me on Twitter at Jessica l
Berg b y R d UM. Obviously we'd love for
you to um check out the Electoral Justice Projects. So again,
that's e J P dot M for v L dot org.
And right now, if you text E J p to,
(29:24):
you'll be caught up on our email list and our
text messaging list, so you can keep up with all
of the incredible projects that we plan to lead on
this this year and hopefully in November, well we'll see
some electoral justice. Well sminthy listeners, we want to hear
from you. Did you go see Black Panther? Did you
dress as ridiculously as I did to go see it?
(29:45):
What were your thoughts? Did you like it? Not like it?
We want to know. Find us on Twitter at mom
Stuff podcast, on Instagram at Stuff I've Never Told You,
and as always, shoot us an email at mom stuff,
at how stuff works dot com. I sat
Hey, Sminty listeners, Bridget here your favorite pisces. It's a
birthday coming up, and guess what, y'all are all invited.
I'm hosting a birthday party in Washington, d C on Sunday,
March eleven, to benefit Thrive d C, an organization that
fights homelessness. Want a party with me? All you need
to do is to bring a box of heavy flow
or overnight maxipads or tampons to donate to a d
(00:20):
C woman experiencing homelessness. Look out for more deats on
the Seminty Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram channels, and I hope
to see all there. Hey, this is Bridget and you're
listening to stuff mom ever told you? Now? Today we're
(00:49):
talking all about the women of Black Panther. No, I
don't mean Angela Davis, though that would make a great episode.
I'm talking about the women of Wakonda. First, quick spoiler alert.
I don't think today's conversation will give away any major
plot aspects, but we'll be talking about the movie in full.
So if you want to go and fresh, just know
this might be an episode that you want to pause on.
(01:10):
Unless you even living under a rock, you probably already
know that Black Panther is a pretty big deal, but
first let's talk about Hollywood's landscape and why that is.
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, women made
up of all movie goers, an increase from which was
about so Even while conventional wisdom might suggest that women
(01:32):
aren't the ones buying tickets to big blockbuster movies, we
actually are, and that's one aspect that makes the disparity
of women on screen so frustrating. A lot of us
are buying movie tickets and wanting to see our stories
on the big screen. We just don't get that many
opportunities to do so. We already know that Hollywood is
pretty male and pretty white, but women and people of
(01:52):
color are thursting to see their own stories told on
the big screen. That was pretty clear when the movie
Wonder Woman smashed both the patriarchy and box office records,
breaking in a whopping one hundred point five million dollars
in ticket sales and going on to become the highest
grossing opening weekend for film directed by a woman, and
while it has a male director. The film Girl's Trip
(02:13):
also made history by being the only film to have
made a hundred million at the box office that was written, produced,
and directed by black talent and has a black female cast.
So it turns out, just like anyone else, marginalized voices
just want to see their stories reflected on screen. And
even though Black Panther has a male director, Ryan Coogler,
it's really given audience as a dynamic portrayal of badass
(02:34):
women on the big screen. In this movie, women kick ass.
They plan, they strategize, they lead, they fight with spears
and in some cases right on the tops of cars
down the busy streets of Korea. Slate Sasha Harris really
nailed why this movie feels so different. She writes, women
typically play third or fourth fiddle or just playing damsels
in distress in these movies, and more often than not,
(02:56):
with very rare exception of Black women played any real
part in these story is at all justice Wakanda is
an utopian symbol for Black people and it's depiction of
a nation relatively untouched by colonialism. So does it now
represent an ideal world in which men and women co
exist respectfully on an equal playing field. Let's hear from
some of the stars of the film about why the
roles of women are so different in Black Panther. We're
(03:18):
all very specific, very individual, very powerful in our own ways,
and um therefore very effective and influential. Seeing these women,
you know, seeing this dor Malagy and and sure you
know these women who who support him. He can't do
it without them, He can't. You know. There is no
king without a queen, you know. Is the is the thought,
(03:39):
the sentiment in African nations, you know. And so that
queen is his mother, his sister, the all female guard.
You know. After this quick break, we'll talk more about
the feminism of the movie Black Panther with General Wortham
hosted the podcast Still Processing and we're back. So after
(04:04):
I saw a Black Panther, all I wanted to do
was talk about the badass women in this film with
my friends. And when I think badass women, I think
none other than The New York Times is Jenna Wortham.
You might know Jenna as one of the co hosts
of the New York Times podcast Still Processing. She's also
a culture editor for The New York Times. And even
though I hate talking on the phone, I was so
(04:25):
excited to call Jenna up to get her thoughts. Here's
how that conversation went down. And if you're thinking, huh,
this sounds a bit weird. That's because full disclosure, here
listening to two gals talking on the phone in my apartment. Jenna,
thank you so much for being here with us today.
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. So you
guys actually just put out an episode all about Black
(04:47):
Panther with the one and only Tanaissy Coats, which was fabulous.
If you haven't heard it, I would definitely recommend checking
it out. One of the things that I really identified
with in that conversation was how you talked about the
way at Black Panther. There was a lot of hoopla
surrounding it and a lot of hype, and in some
ways that can almost be a little bit of a
turn off. But then when you go see the movie,
(05:09):
you know, it's such a great movie. Um, why do
you think it is? That? A lot of times we
feel like if we don't go see a movie like
this on opening weekend and make a huge deal about it,
that we almost sort of won't be given another shot
at having our stories told on screen. Yeah, I mean,
because that's usually what happens, right, I mean, there are
so few of our stories, and by our I just
(05:32):
mean non mainstream, typical white narratives that end up making
it to the theaters that when there is something and
you know, we know these decisions are made by in
part influence by how much people spend on the movies,
how much people go to the movies. A lot of
movie trends are shaped by capitalism. So when there is
a big moment, there is a big movie, it feels like, yes,
(05:54):
we have to support it to make sure that other
movies like this are made. And I should clarify, And
when we were talking about the high, I was I
was all for the hype of Black Panther. I love
comic book movies. I see all the standalone ones like
I saw Logan in the theaters, like I love everything
about the comic book universes that have been cross It's
just it's a it's a form of storytelling that I
just really really enjoy on the big screen. But I
(06:16):
did kind of resent this idea that you know, each
and every single black person in America and around the
world had to support this movie or else it would
be our fault that it failed. No, it's not our
it wouldn't be our fault if it was terrible, you know.
I mean, that's just not how it works. It shouldn't
be we only get one shot at a movie like
Black Panther. I just I really didn't like the idea
(06:37):
that we had to be street teaming this movie for
it to be successful. And the truth is that, honestly,
it doesn't really work. I mean, remember how much money
Hidden Figures made, like they're making a sequel or you know,
there's ten other movies like that in the pipeline. You know,
Hollywood makes the stories that wants to see, and it really,
you know, I wish I could say that they did
pay attention to that, but for the most part, it
(07:00):
seems like they don't. Yeah, on the one hand, it's
almost a lot of pressure for marginalized people to sort
of create these one person like, you know, personal ad
campaigns for these movies to get their friends to go
see it. I actually don't really like superhero movies, and
so when this first came out, I was like a
little bit man, not because it didn't seem like a
great movie, because it's not a genre that I personally enjoy,
(07:22):
but then I did feel this weird pull, like I
have to go see this movie. Opening weekend. I have
to support, you know, I have to go out and
get dressed up in a costume and go see it
because it felt like, you know, this is our thing,
we have to support it. And it's sort of it's
almost sort of not fair to feel like you have
to do that because I don't think that other I
don't think that white men feel that way when there's
(07:44):
a movie that that spotlights white men right here. No, totally.
And also the movies are so expensive, So I just
feel like this idea that someone that you know needs
to spend like a hundred dollars to take their families
and movies or else your child doesn't get a black
superhero is a really false equivalency. It's just totally unfair.
I totally agree with you, but I have to say
(08:04):
that because some people did respond to us speaking in
that way about the movie on the podcast that we
were super hyped for the movie. It was just this
idea that it's success rested on our individual backs, which again, yeah,
it's totally um, I don't know, like out of pocket,
Like that's not fair. It's not fair. And another good
point that you make is I feel like every couple
(08:26):
of months this happens, right, there's a movie where you know,
whether it's girls trip or hidden figures like you mentioned
a second ago, there's a movie where people think, oh, well,
this movie was so successful. Clearly audiences are thirsting for
stories about people more than just white men. And we
had this conversation every few months when one of these
(08:47):
movies have Gangbusters and then we nothing ever happens. It's
still the same conversation, like we're stuck in this echo
chamber of this big movie with a with a inclusive
cast and inclusive crew, you know, doing really well, and
people thinking, oh, this is gonna change the game. And
then we had that same conversation in a month. For sure,
I'm really interested to see what happens with Coco. Coco
(09:08):
is more of an example that I'm interested in because
I feel like it wasn't It is a Pixar movie,
but it wasn't based It didn't it wasn't rooted in
some bigger franchise already or have any real roots to
it beyond just this original story that was created. And
I don't know if you've seen it, but Coco's this
incredible Pixar animated film about a little boy who reconnects
with his the spirits of the ancestors during the day
(09:30):
of dyd in Mexico, and a lot of movies in Spanish.
A lot of the songs through spanished. The soundtrack. Slaps
is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I
cried the whole time. That's definitely of my favorite movies
of the year. And it's a really beautiful celebration of
Mexican culture that we don't get. If you haven't seen Coco,
here's a little taste. Color is the Sky memo. You
(09:53):
tell me that it's read where shod I put no
more you say, flip the money ahead. And it made
so much money. It made so much money, which is
really interesting. We think about a lot of the policies
that our current administration is pushing right, which is to
(10:14):
get rid of people who this movie is for. So
I feel like that, to me feels like a much
more interesting case study. Because of course Marvel's gonna make
more Black Panthers and movies, and of course they're going
to make more super from that's been given just because
that's what they're doing, and those are the biggest blockbusters.
And I go international, but a movie like Coco, I feel,
is about such a marginalized group in this country that
(10:34):
we don't talk about, and for it to do so
well and be such a hit across genre, across demographic,
I feel I'll be so interested to see if that
translates to beyond just a one off case. Totally. I'm
so glad that you brought up Coco because in your
podcast episode about Black Panther, you talked about how we're
at a time where blackness can feel very attacked, and clearly,
(10:58):
like overtly being illness is under attack right now as well.
And so if you're someone who Sannis, someone who's an immigrant,
someone from a Spanish speaking country, it's interesting that a
movie like Coco that uplifts all of those different aspects
and uplifts the beauty of all of those different you know,
parts of your identity is doing so well right now
at a time when it seems like those very identities
(11:19):
are are under attack in a very real way. Exactly. Yeah,
So one of my biggest questions about movies like this,
I saw a lot of folks on Twitter being like, Oh,
it's just a movie, blah blah blah, But we know
that representation is really important. Why why is it so
important that we have films like Coco, films like Flat
Panther showing these different narratives and telling these different stories.
(11:40):
M Oh my god, I love that question. I mean,
it just makes you feel seen, you know, I don't
think we realize the lasting trauma and damage of not
seeing yourself on screen. Like I don't think you you
really understand what it meant to say your whole childhood
watching Buffy and small Ville and Ross Well and all
these really cool movies about you know, young team girls
(12:05):
with a special destiny and purpose who were really thin,
white cute hair that slipped perfectly, and the games of
Buffy summers, you know, like a perfect Midrid what's the actress?
His name against it escaped me? But um Sarah Michelle Geller, Yes,
Sarah'm still Geller. Oh my god, all my body worthya,
thank you? But now she's incredible. But I just, you know,
(12:26):
growing up watching that stuff, Like if I were a
team now and could watch Black Lightning, you know, like
I just might have a very different relationship to myself
my body. I was at a screening the other day
with um Avia Duvernet and she was showing us a
wrinkle of Time, and it was great because I thought
it was going to be this kind of stuffy up,
tight New York media thing and it was all kids.
He's like, rents out the theater for all these black
(12:47):
girls and it was awesome. And she was saying, you know,
with the wrinkle in time for example, she was like, yes,
the reason it matters is it's not just about little girls,
little black girls seeing themselves on screen. It's about white
boys learning to work with black women and trust them
and respect them and see them as nerds. And I
(13:07):
was like, WHOA, Like I had never really thought about
how important it is not just for us, but for
everyone else around us to understand that they aren't at
the center of every story. I mean, that's that's like
the biggest takeaway that I've really been chewing over the
last couple of days. It is about us, but it's
also about other people being able to see us in
these roles too. But it's so deep because you know
(13:30):
what you just said, if you can't see it on screen,
you can't really be it. And so of course it's
important for little black and brown girls to see themselves,
but it's also important for little white boys and white men,
to understand that, you know, young girls, that women and
girls of color have agency, you know, are equals, and
to learn how to see and work with them, whether
it's you know, in a movie or behind the scenes
(13:52):
of the movie. I think showing that on screen and
presenting those models, I think it's really an important aspect
that I hadn't even really considered. Oh yeah, for sure,
same here though, Like she said it, and I was like,
oh my god, like, of course, you know totally. So
let's talk about some of the roles for women, the
women of Wakanda. Um. One of the things I thought
was so cool about how women are portrayed in Black
(14:15):
Panther is that you don't get the sense that there's
some sort of gender based hierarchy in Wakanda. Right. The
women have these bad, fast roles, whether they're fighting, whether
they're known for their technical prowess, and you don't get
the sense that women are treated as these frail objects.
There seem to be on the same decision making plank
of men. Did you notice this, Yeah, I think that's fair.
(14:37):
I think that's what they wanted us to think in
the movie. I mean, I'll believe that if I I mean, no, no,
just just knowing that it's based on a comic book,
like it's it's not it's not Wonder Woman, you know,
it's it's Black Panther and the Black Panther, you know,
tradtioning the living age at that comic, the black panther
role is pretty much always amazed. I mean, I know
there is a comic, and there is in the reimagine
that Tana Hasky Coast work heap Coast has been working on. Sure,
(15:00):
he who's to tell his little sister at some point
does become Black Pantherer, but only temporarily. So I'm you know,
and in my super feminist lens, I'm like, sure, it's
great that the women seem like equal, but they're on council,
they're serving as cigars, they're serving as technicians. Those are
not necessarily leader roles. I mean, they're not the leader,
(15:20):
their leadership roles, but they're not leading wacondas. So I
think for me, I'm kind of like if they were like, oh,
you know, as La Bassett was less less pancer, that
would be tight, Like I'd be like, oh yeah, but
it was to tell his dad. So I'm kind of
like sure, but to me, it's still feels the women
might be more equal, but it's still felt a little patriarchal.
And I don't wanted to finish how badass all the
(15:42):
women were in the movie. They definitely were, but it
wasn't as like aprituturistic in that way for me. Yeah,
that makes a lot of sense. I think it really
goes to show how far we have to go because
you know what I call me when they make a
Black Pancer, that a woman, and that's a woman the
entire time. It like like when Angel Nassett sund time
to play the character, like the pits of the role.
(16:04):
That's the movie that I'm the you know, completely be
here for. And not that I wasn't here for Black Panther,
but that would be to be really really bad and
to be fair, like, I actually think it's coming, and
this was the first movie, so I think there is
a lot to do and I think they're willing to
do it, Like I've never gotten the impression that they
wouldn't explore. And you know, there is a lot of
the movie that we saw was based on some of
(16:25):
the World of Will kind of comics that have been
rewritten and sure he is a black Panther in them,
and so I just think it's so possible. And you know,
there was the news that Marvel signed on to do
like ten more movies, and so like everyone's speculating, well,
how many of those are Black Panther spinoffs? And I
actually think that the response the Door Malaje, which is
all woman guard that um particual contents Chila, I think
(16:46):
that they might get there spin off movie. I mean,
anything is possible. The number of movies that are being
made right now that deal in those two d C
comics memorable universes are just astounding because they do tend
to make so much money. So I kind of feel
like it's not out of the realm of possibility at all,
and it would be it would be so baller if, like,
(17:07):
you know, Lupeta has a filmmaking company now, like maybe
she could produce one, you know, maybe then I can
do it. But that and I has an incredible playwright.
You know, she wrote a clip. So I just think
there does seem to be way more possibilities than there
haven't been. So I'm not trying to knock it at all.
I'm really excited to see what they do next. Yeah,
it kind of opens up the door to the future
(17:28):
of what what will be and I'm I'm really excited
to see what Black Panther leads to down the line. Yes, exactly, exactly.
So you brought up the character of Sure, she's one
of my favorite characters in the movie because she's sort
of spunky and she bucks tradition and I'm I'm a
youngest sister and it's very interesting to see the sort
of spunky little sister role on screen. You don't really
(17:51):
have a lot of motally that play with the brother
sister dynamic in quite that way, which I which I love.
And of course I love that she is the like
the technology officer of Wakanda. She's the one who you know,
knows the latest stuff. She knows how to make the
really cool shoes and like really cool suit and I
couldn't help but think about, um, this amazing black woman
(18:12):
astronaut made Jemison her talking about how when she was
a kid, she didn't really think that she could be
a black female astronaut until she saw the character on
Star Trek when she was a kid, and that that
character had a I don't know if we ever watched it,
but she was a lieutenant, you know, she had a
really technical role on the ship, and Big Demison actually
(18:33):
credits her with the reason why she thought she could
become an astronaut, which she later did, and sexual went
on to be on the show Star Trek and a
guest role. And so it's interesting where I can't help
but wonder how many little girls are watching this spunky
girl with her cute raids, you know, lead technology for
a Nassan and think I can do that. I know,
(18:55):
it's so exciting and it's you know, it's real because
sometimes we don't even know what's possible and pale glimpse it.
And I just mean that even that there could be
a job like that. I mean, so much of what
we know is she roy AA have access to it.
Allays access to is very much guided by popular culture
and whatever is trending, and so in order to be
(19:15):
able to see yourself, Yeah, it's someone who works on
a ship, or works on who builds cars or build whatever.
It's like someone who designed the infrastructure. It's like you
see that and then you're like, oh, could I do that?
How do I do that? What's that job? I mean
that's even how I became a journalist, Like I didn't really.
I mean, obviously I knew that people wrote for a living,
but I didn't know how people wrote for a living.
I was like, you can you even do that freelance?
(19:36):
You have to be an author? Do you have to
be this? And then it was in the course of
setting abroad and I was actually doing a program in
um public health in London and I started meeting authors
and I was like, so, what is your day to
day like? And they laid it out for me and
I was like, oh, I could do that. I mean
it literally as simple as that, Like I just you know,
if I had been smarter, I would have googled, like
how to become an author? But that still isn't even
(19:56):
necessarily enough. It's like you really have to see it
and here it and understand what that looks like in
order to visualize yourself in It absolutely funny that you
say that my my sort of becoming a journalist and
a writer and immediate person is similar but much less
cool than your story. When I was a kid, I
used to watch that show Living Single and Queen the
(20:16):
Teeth of Character Favor magazine, and I thought you that
Oh my god, that's so good. Yes, incredible. Yeah, I
wonder Similarly, I bet an entire generation of black women
and girls were like, oh, I knew I wanted it
to be immediate professional when I saw that show. It's
so important, this representation is so important. So I have
(20:39):
one last question for you. It's a little bit of
a curveball. So I went to see Black Panther and
I wore a ridiculous outfit because I felt like, that's
kind of what you do. I kind of gave into
all the hoop. I was like, well, if I'm gonna
do it, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna wear something. Cookie,
did you wear a cool outfit? I had so much pressure.
I felt so much pressure going to see it because
(20:59):
I was like, what am I gonna wear? Like everyone's
going to dress up, but people were instagramming their cool
office and Kimberly Drew was one of my really good
friends and one of my collaborators, instagrammed her outfit. It
was like this amazing matrix like late TEXTI and I
was like, damn it, Like I don't have anything to wear.
So I just this is a very long way to
say I tried to look good, but I don't know
(21:21):
that I looked necessarily cool. When I went to the
starning the media screening, I just wore a regular smuggler
clothes and then I went to the premiere, I just
tried to like have good eye makeup on, do you
know what I mean? Like, I was just like, let
me put some glinner on because this is the best
I can do. And people people showed it up and
they showed out, and I was I was sad to
be a little a little under stressed. I have to
(21:41):
in it. Well, I think you went out, you supported it.
I'm sure you looked great. I kind of assume as
like I went to a weird screening. I went to
see it in Georgetown and Washington, DC, and it was
a very early morning screening and so perhaps not the
screening where people would be dressed to impress totally. Well, Jenna,
(22:01):
I am so happy that you were able to join
us today. Where can folks find out more of what
you're up do? I know that you kind of do
it all, from black goods to podcasting. Where can folks
find out what you're up to? Um? Well, my social
handle across pretty much everything is at Jenny Deluxe and
for the podcast, it's ny Times dot Com Forward Slash
(22:22):
Still Processing. Jenna, thank you so much for being here
with us today, Wakonda Forever. Oh, it's such a pleasure.
Thank you for having me. So we already know that
the women of Wakonda had a huge impact on the
big screen, But what about I r l more on
that after this quick break and we're back. One of
(22:47):
the coolest things about Black Panther is that even though
it's this amazing fantasy movie, it's also had some real
world implications. You heard Jenna and I talking with the
character of Shari played by the t Right, who's one
of the movie the most important characters, and she's this
badass black woman in Stem. She is in charge of
all the technology of the world of Waconda. She's very hip,
(23:09):
she bucks tradition, and at only sixteen, she's among the
smartest in the nation of Wakonda and directs all the
tech development in this advanced nation, including weaponry and armor.
And even though she's a fictional character, sure he has
gone on to become an inspiration for black girls in Stem.
Disney donated one million dollars to boys and girls clubs
across the country to operate STEM centers, including what in Oakland, California,
(23:30):
where spoiler alert if you've seen the movie you already
know sure, he ends up running Waconda's first tech outread center.
So when we're talking about Wakonda, life really imitates art
and beyond that, some real life Wakondon women warriors are
using Black Panther to create change I r L. They
spun up the Waconda The Vote Campaign, an initiative that
let's folks set up voter registration events at local theaters
(23:54):
or registrative vote via text message. The initiative is run
by Jessica Bird, who runs Three Point Strategies, a firm
of black women who worked to elect black political leaders
and create social change. Jessica, I'm so happy to have
you here today. So I have to ask, why is
it important for you to get folks registered to vote
at the movies and they're seeing Black Panther well. So
UM three Point Strategies is currently UM anchoring and co
(24:17):
leading the Electoral Justice Project, which is a project that
was launched by the Movement for Black Lives just this
past October, and essentially the idea it was to really
harness the energy of black led social movements UM, who
have historically used protests and direct action and UM you know,
(24:39):
other means of intervention to interrupt systems. And so we
believe that the electoral system is as a system just
like any other, and so we are launching this project
specifically to intervene in a system that doesn't work for us,
which is currently the electoral system. And so, you know,
for us, we didn't want to build a project that
(24:59):
was just three actionary and UM only in opposition, but
we wanted to brail a project that also felt like
it centered black joy. And so as people started to
get really excited about Black Panther and we heard about
people outfits that they were going to be wearing, and
you know this just how much it seemed like a
cultural phenomenon, we were like, we definitely need to do
(25:22):
something for the movement for black lives. And so that
is how what kind of the vote was born. I
love that. I especially love this idea of harnessing the
power of black joy because you know, I went to
Black Panther dressed kind of goofy. Other folks I saw
on Instagram where dressed kind of goofy. It was a fun, funny, memorable,
Instagram morble kind of event for the ages. And I
(25:45):
think it's it's something, there's something too harnessing that energy
because listen, blackness is not just about the heavy, intense moments.
It's also about fun, about joy, about those experiences that
connect us with our brothers and sisters and you know,
really hardest thing on that special Yeah. Absolutely. And you know,
I also think that you know, um, so often folks
(26:07):
in power, which are often white people, white men, folks
with money. You know, they always get to have a
self you know, determined political agenda. They always get to
build strategy on based on what they're dreaming about and
what they want. And you know, so black people we
want to do the same thing. Not everything that we
(26:27):
do it should be about our death. We're about the
fact that we have to turn up because you are
taking healthcare away from millions of people, or because you're
breaking up millions of families UM through racist, hateful laws.
Like we we also have a vision for how we
want our our families UM and our communities to look.
(26:49):
And so you know, I think that part of this
project is to do both at the same time. Which
we think is possible, which is to fight back, is
to tell our opposition that their time is limited and
that we're gonna we're gonna contend them for power. But
then I also think it's the time for us to
really be dreaming and innovative with black people about saying,
all right, so we have this beautiful vision for black lives,
(27:12):
how do we actually elect the right people, right the
right policies and build the the type of um of
cultural civic engagement that we really deserve. I love it.
So what's next for a kind of the vote? Oh,
it's great. So, um, Well, first and foremost, I just
want to name that we have registered nearly five thousand
(27:35):
voters over the course of three weeks. Uh, We've had
a hundred and sixty three voter registration drives in every
single state in this entire country. Um. And so we
feel really proud about the way that black movement is
demonstrating that not only can you know, we show up
for these for these moments when we need to fight back,
(27:57):
but that we also can have a lot of fun
and really respond to waste specifically engaged. And so what's
next is that actually today launches wrinkle the vote. UM,
and so you know, not only did we want to
honor this really beautiful black film experience, but you know,
we believe that Abra Durnier um in building this really
(28:18):
beautiful women of color lead and centered film for Wrinkle
in Time was also a moment for us to like
continue this strategy and like re engage people and young
women who were going to the theater. So, and we'll
be registering voters all this weekend and then um, the
Electoral Justice Project is also launching and organizing fellowships and
(28:41):
so we if you if you check out e JP
dot m for bl dot org, um, you can find
out more about how to potentially become a campaign manager
for an issue in your community that you want to
fight and went on. I love it using the power
of Hollywood and fiction and storytelling to create real change
on the world. I love that. Jessica, You're amazing. Your
(29:02):
work is amazing. Where can folks keep up with you? Well,
so you can follow me on Twitter at Jessica l
Berg b y R d UM. Obviously we'd love for
you to um check out the Electoral Justice Projects. So again,
that's e J P dot M for v L dot org.
And right now, if you text E J p to,
(29:24):
you'll be caught up on our email list and our
text messaging list, so you can keep up with all
of the incredible projects that we plan to lead on
this this year and hopefully in November, well we'll see
some electoral justice. Well sminthy listeners, we want to hear
from you. Did you go see Black Panther? Did you
dress as ridiculously as I did to go see it?
(29:45):
What were your thoughts? Did you like it? Not like it?
We want to know. Find us on Twitter at mom
Stuff podcast, on Instagram at Stuff I've Never Told You,
and as always, shoot us an email at mom stuff,
at how stuff works dot com. I sat
Stuff Mom Never Told You News
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Anney Reese
Samantha McVey
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