FILMS X JENI’S: Wakanda Forever
Rich. Powerful. Raw.
This movie was gorgeous. No words I say could possibly do justice to its impact. From the moment it began, Wakanda Forever hit the ground running (strike that - from even before it began, because that initial teaser trailer is literally art). Marvel has become increasingly hit or miss in the past few years, and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that this movie was the success it deserved to be in honor of Chadwick Boseman’s legacy.
Two words: Angela. Bassett. I’d heard talk that she gave an Oscar-worthy performance, and it lived up to every expectation. In a movie full of superheroes, she shows what it looks like to be not only a strong, loyal leader but woman, subsequently becoming one of the greatest role models in the film (one with a whole story centered around fierce female role models).
This may not come as a shock since Black Panther broke boundaries when it released in 2018, but the vibrancy with which African and Latin American cultures are inherent of was interwoven everywhere. The importance of community in both groups was beautifully depicted and rightfully served as the foundation of the story. It makes you want to embrace your people.
Marvel has had a problem recently with making choices for the big picture of the MCU at the expense of creating good stand-alone pieces. This film largely didn’t have that problem. Viewers don’t need to have kept up with every morsel of Marvel since its cinematic conception or to have read every comic book to understand what’s going on; honestly, you could get by with just having seen Black Panther. It knew it had a powerful message and didn’t need anything to dilute that.
And while we’re talking about the end (we weren’t) - the END. There could not have been a more perfect, powerful or moving ending. It’s the part that stuck with me the most, which is saying something considering it’s a movie full of moments that stick with you. Simultaneously simple and symbolic, anyone who has ever known grief or loss can identify with it. The raw emotion that this entire film had makes it difficult to not imagine what the actors must’ve been going through having to press on with their king gone.
Most importantly, the approach the film took to handling Chadwick Boseman’s death was incredibly admirable. It showed the humanity of our heroes. It was grounded and honest. The way it served as the undercurrent for everything, especially regarding Shuri, was such a beautiful way to pay tribute to him and the legacy he left not only with Black Panther but with the world. This whole movie didn’t shy away from hard topics, allowing so many people from different walks of life to find pieces of themselves in it because of that.
Quote of the movie: “Only the most broken people can be great leaders.”
Would I watch it again? An overwhelming yes - after an adequate amount of time to emotionally process.
Tear level: Literally was crying 3 minutes in. Tears and chills the entire time.
Watch when: you want a heavy-hitting marvel film or are dealing with grief.
Soundtrack/score: 11/10. It hit in all the right places. The intentionality of where to use both sound and silence was flawlessly effective.
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The Jeni’s Pairing
This is a double in a bowl with a waffle crisp because it doesn’t need any extra flair to make it good. On one side, we’re having a scoop of Darkest Chocolate for the depth & richness of both the story and black culture. We’re complementing it with a scoop of Snowflake - Tyler, the Creator’s limited edition flavor. Snowflake combines two different mints that are unified by a white chocolate throughout; in our case, this is symbolic of the two different cultures represented in Wakanda Forever and the similarities that bind them together (community, adversity, fierce loyalty, warrior spirits, etc.).
MORE ON THE FLAVORS:
Making real chocolate ice cream isn’t easy. We’re talking real chocolate ice cream crafted with top-tier Fair Trade cocoa and not a pre-fab chocolate mix. That’s why it took Jeni over five years to get our Darkest Chocolate ice cream right. It’s packed with so much real chocolate—the most possible, in fact, to still legally call it ice cream—that it is overflowing with rich, bittersweet chocolate flavor, and is dense but still creamy, like the inside of a dark chocolate truffle. This is the chocolate ice cream to ruin all other chocolate ice creams.
A study of mint: cool peppermint on the ivory side, warm spearmint on the green side, with buttery white chocolate melted throughout, white chocolate flakes for some crunch, and a little sea salt to bring the flavor and scent forward. Cool and warm. Ivory and green. Snowflakes in summer. What else would you expect when Jeni Britton Bauer and Tyler, The Creator get together?
“As much as I love white chocolate chip cookies, I can’t get over the fact that someone made the universal rule that they always have to come with those useless macadamia nuts. For as long as I can remember, mint ice cream seemed to always come with every chocolate chip but white. I finally got the two away from their clingy friends and set up a play date for my mouth.” - Tyler, the Creator
