'Black Panther' inspires Wakanda Forever salute from athletes
Chadwick Boseman's arm-crossing gesture has taken on a meaning outside its use in the Marvel superhero movie.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
One of the most memorable gestures from recent movies is the Wakanda Forever salute from "Black Panther." In the below brief video, star Chadwick Boseman demonstrates it on the Academy Awards red carpet.
"Wakanda Forever!" @chadwickboseman repping #BlackPanther at the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/AsaT8tu5uN
— jen yamato (@jenyamato) March 5, 2018
Now the gesture has spread outside of the theater, with some athletes celebrating their victories by making the salute.
French tennis player Gael Monfils and American player Sachia Vickery both gave the crossed-armed salute after recent victories.
Monfils explained what it meant to him:
"I think that movie is great, it's great for the community, for our community, it means quite a lot," he said, according to Sport360.com. "It's not just a sign. It's everything. It's everything going on and definitely it's a shout-out saying that I'm supporting the Black Panther's community,"
Sachia Vickery and Gael Monfils at #BNPPO18 today. #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/UFI8arRFEf
— Nikhila (@kokudum) March 10, 2018
Vickery, whose parents are from Guyana, is a true "Black Panther" superfan who's seen the movie at least four times.
#WakandaForever @SachiaVick has seen it four times already including twice this week in Indian Wells. “I guess I’ll keep seeing it.” She’s obsessed with @theblackpanther.#BNPPO18 pic.twitter.com/9ZlxsSEAf2
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 10, 2018
Soccer players, including Jesse Lingard of Manchester United, have used the salute as well.
Wakanda forever. pic.twitter.com/LIZwGaRXrD
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 25, 2018
And Kenyan rugby player Collins Injera did it too.
Relive: 250! Collins Injera of @OfficialKRU scores his 250th try, the second most of any player on the series... EVER! #Canada7s pic.twitter.com/9q9a4S0fss
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) March 11, 2018
The gesture isn't limited to celebrating sports wins, though. Boseman used it to greet co-star Daniel Kaluuya when Kaluuya and director Jordan Peele accepted the best feature award for "Get Out" at the Independent Spirit Awards.
chadwick greeting daniel with the wakanda salute when get out won best feature was the purest thing ever, i love them pic.twitter.com/5VGUAsXYl8
— sue (@caIImbyourname) March 4, 2018
It's a fairly simple gesture, but it's also easy to get it wrong. You make an X with your arms across your chest, but your right arm goes over your left, not the other way. We know this because Kaluuya, who plays W'Kabi in the film, showed Tiffany Haddish and Michael Strahan how to do it on Oscar night.
"Black Panther" cast members have been seen doing the salute on Instagram and other social media.
Marlon Wayans has his arms in the wrong configuration in the above photo, but King T'Challa (Boseman) next to him would never make that goof.
Some, however, have questioned the meaning of the gesture showing up at sports events.
"Are these black athletes saying their loyalty lies with their race over their nationality?" asked Reddit user mysterion. "Wakanda is, after all, a black ethnostate. Now imagine if white people did this at an event and advocated for their own ethnostate. They'd be banned from sport forever."
Others found that criticism overblown.
"No it's not," responded Dapperdan814. "Wakanda is fiction. It's nothing but visuals on film and paper. Now excuse me while I fill out this application to Hogwarts."
"Black Panther" recently passed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office, and a sequel has been officially confirmed.
