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wakandaiscoming · 6 years

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Commentary Facts part one

Got my blu ray today. Very excited to listen to the commentary which does not just have Ryan Coogler, it also has Hannah Beachler (production designer) so that’s super bonus.

Some things I’ve learned:

Hannah made a 515-page “Bible” of the world.

The basketball court and apartment complex that N’Jobu and young Killmonger live in is a real location in Atlanta. It is near the Dr. King Memorial. Coogler says when they were filming, Dr. King’s daughter (I assume Bernice King, because I love her) came and gave them all hugs and wished them well. (Me: SOBS UNCONTROLLABLY. They were blessed.) In fact, in the scene where young Killmonger sees the Wakandan plane leave, they had to touch up the background with CGI to remove the King Memorial.

The color that represents colonization in the film is BLUE.

Zuri wears purple in the past and at Warrior Falls. Many of the characters were color coordinated, to help the viewer keep track of them. The purple represents both spirituality and a high rank/royalty.

Ruth Carter had a story with the necklaces. The three men in the apartment all wear gold necklaces because they are all Wakandan royalty, but N’Jobu’s is also based on 2Pac.

I will cut now because this is only going to get longer.

Nakia’s mission was inspired by the kidnappings going on in Nigeria. It’s set in the Sambisa Forest but was shot in Atlanta.

Coogler notes that Bambadjan Bamba plays the leader of the convoy and that he is a DREAMer.

Nakia’s color is green, but the women in the back of the truck are also dressed in green. This is because Nakia sees herself as part of the outside world as well as Wakanda. He also mentions that Nakia knows about the young boy and that if she didn’t have Panther’s back, that boy would be dead.

The shot of “Wakanda” as they return are actually shot mainly South Africa and Lesotho.

Ayo is second-in-command of the Dora Milaje.

Ramonda is hiding her grief. She wants to move forward and be there for her son.

The Museum set was built by Hannah in Atlanta. Everyone in London (especially Killmonger) wears blue and there is a blue tint to the film.

The mask Killmonger steals has a simian face, antelope horns and a lion mane. Because he is an amalgamation of many things.

Zuri’s face paint was inspired by warriors in Papua New Guinea. (Definitely listen to Ruth Carter’s video on the Warrior Falls costumes because Cooger doesn’t have time to call it all out.)

He says the fake out where Shuri raises her hand to challenge was suggested by Donald Glover (Atlanta) aka Childish Gambino, who was also in Spider-man: Homecoming.

Coolger says one inspiration for Winston Duke’s speech as M’Baku was the film Lincoln. He thought political speeches in that were cool. He is challenging T’Challa both physically and politically.

“We wanted to make his character one of dignity,” says Coogler of how he didn’t like M’Baku in the comics. He also says M’Baku is “sexy” but that is “all Winston.” He wears white paint on his back to symbolize the silverback gorilla. The Jabari do not have an elder (possibly due to their hard life?--this is speculation from me); M’Baku is the same age roughly as T’Challa and he speaks for himself.

The composer, Ludwig Göransson, picked up and moved to Senegal when he got the job so he’d be seeped in the music of Africa.

T’Challa wins the fight because he gains worth from his identity. His mother yells to show him who you are. He is T’Chaka’s son, and he believes T’Chaka was a great king. He gains strength from his mother and sister’s support.

T’Challa is merciful and doesn’t enjoy taking people’s lives that is why he spares M’Baku, in addition to the fact that he believes M’Baku is a good leader and that the Jabari need him. Coogler hints that it is T’Challa’s mercy that saves his life in the end. (Spoiler alert!) And, if I may editorialize for a moment, this is a good reminder of T’Challa’s arc in Captain America: Civil War. That he is not consumed by the need for vengeance against Zemo or M’Baku.

The necklace Zuri places on T’Challa (again with the necklaces) is supposed to belong to Bashenga.

Coogler and Beachler refer to the caverns where the heart-shaped herb grows as “The City of the Dead.” I did not realize this was supposed to be the Necropolis. I thought it was the Temple of Bast. For those of you who don’t know, in the comics T’Challa becomes King of the Dead and the Necropolis is his seat. I’ve actually wondered if we might see such a storyline given the ending of Infinity War. (Guys, don’t worry about T’Challa. He’s King of the Dead. An argument could be made that Thanos actually increased T’Challa’s power and reach. If it had been Shuri, I would’ve cried. Oh, who am I kidding, I cried anyway.)

T’Challa is buried in a position many people on the continent (pharaohs, etc) are buried and it is also like the Wakanda Forever salute. And it means “love” in American Sign Language. You guys, there are ASL references in this film. It is for EVERYONE.

Coogler says T’Challa has taken the herb and experienced these visions before but this is the first time he’s done it since his father has been dead, so he’s looking for him.

They had a lot of concepts for what the Spirit World would look like. Some more fantastical than others. They decided to go with the Acacia tree (which is often seen in movies about Africa, like the Lion King). It represents Africa. The color in the background is purple because he is still feeling the effects of the Heart-Shaped Herb.

Here T’Challa’s idea of being a “good king” is being like his father. That remains T’Challa’s goal throughout the film but he must stop being so rooted in the past.

I think I need to take a break now. There is more information than I can write about.

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tobytjohnson · 7 years

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OCR Week # 2 - Tough Mudder Long Island

Miles driven: 1505.3

Laps on Course: 2.5

Approximate Distance: 25 miles

Headbands Earned: 3

Second week accomplished and I’m still going strong!

This week started out with me leaving Minnesota trying to get to New York a day earlier than planned. I decided to only stop a couple of times. I stopped just outside of Chicago in Joliet and stayed with an old co-worker from my Sac State Aquatic Center days. Thank you Tark for letting me crash with you and your family! Did I mention I also went through a town called Sandwich! I looked for a sticker but I’m assuming all of the stores with them were closed. Believe it or a not Sandwich is a small town! The following night I decided to camp in my truck. I found a really nice campsite called Maumee Campground. Showers were nice and the place was quiet. If I go back through and stay there I will be staying in site 242. More shade and less light at night. The next day I decided to make it to Philadelphia. Out of all my rowing connections Cass was the one that came through for me! Thanks Cass! While I was there I also dropped into Requisite Fitness, home of Crossfit 215. They were awesome! Huge space! They had just moved in and are still putting the place together. That being said, I am going to be interested to see what it looks like when they are done!

At this point I wasn’t really in a hurry. Phily is only a couple hours from NYC. My reason for pushing my schedule was for an awesome reason. I had the privilege of visiting Tough Mudder Head Quarters in Brooklyn. What a great experience! Thank you to Eric Botsford aka: E Rock for giving me the opportunity to experience Tough Mudder from the inside. I got to check out where all of the creativity stems from. I also got to check out the Tough Mudder Boot Camp gym! It’s awesome! Nice work and it will be fun to see how that progresses. I even got the opportunity to meet the man himself, Will Dean! From the short conversation we had I could tell he is a committed person with everyone’s best interests in mind. I got to meet so many people and see how everything is created! Thanks TMHQ for the opportunity to visit!

That night I also got to catch up with an old friend from our high school rowing days. Jason has been living in NYC for many years. He’s a great guy and let me crash on his couch for the night! We got to catch up on a whole lot of things. He’s doing well living the New York life. Jason, thank you very much for all of your hospitality.

I decided to drop-in to Crossfit NYC, The Black Box, for the 6am class. The WOD was a little gem called “Airforce”. To sum it up, it is 5 burpees every minute and in between the burpees you have 20 reps of 5 different movements with a 95lb bar. You’re not done until your done with all of the movements. The burpees are just a bonus. I figured it’s all good training. Looking back, I probably should of scaled it a little bit considering what I had planned for the weekend but where’s the fun in that?!

Jason and I grabbed breakfast and at this point I figured it was Friday and I didn’t have a real schedule set I would do touristy things. Mainly I just wanted to see One World Tower and the 9-11 memorial fountains. I did the basic trip to the observation area and learned what I could from that. Did you know that the tower with the spire is 1776 feet tall? That doesn’t make it the tallest building in the world but as it was explained, the building was built in remembrance for our country and was built for the American people. Even the elevator ride to the top was cool. The elevators have screens on all sides and as you go up they take you through the evolution of New York from before anything until now. It only takes a few seconds to get to the top and then you’re funneled into another waiting area before they let you out to the observation deck. The waiting area is not what you expect. It’s a darkened room and you face one side. They show a short video about NYC and at the very end the wall lifts revealing New York. It’s a great view and you only get it for a split second. If you go have your camera ready! It’s not that you won’t have another chance at great views but this one is a good one. I spent some time here. Not really taking pictures but more just soaking up the experience. I need to take more pictures. I guess that’s something I need to work on. I really enjoy watching others enjoy their experiences. I’m an avid people watcher. It may sound creepy but we all do it. After I spent a good time looking at NY from above I decided that I needed to come out of the clouds and see everything from the ground. The fountains were next. If you don’t know, there are two fountains on each of the sites where the World Trade Center once stood. It’s very moving. I’ve been to New York before the towers fell, not shortly after they fell and now. To see the evolution from greatness to loss and then to rebuild is very moving. I remember standing and just staring at the hole in the ground that used to be the World Trade Center. Words cannot explain that feeling. Loss, pain, sadness, and just pure sorrow were all around. There were memorials written on the security gate that surrounded the site. I didn’t take pictures then out of a respect for all that lost their lives. As I walked around the fountains there is a feeling of rebirth and pride. The names of those that were lost are all around the fountains. There are flowers and there is a huge amount of respect by the people visiting. The fountains are in the park that surrounds One World Tower. There is also a memorial museum that holds pieces from the original tower and just an education experience. I didn’t go in because I unfortunately had some computer work to do. That was my time at the new tower. I would highly recommend it.

The next couple hours were spent in a Starbucks because I needed some internet time. I don’t think you need to hear about that. The only thing I’ll say is that coming from Texas and sitting in that much AC for that long is not fun. I have never shivered in a coffee shop before. First time experience for everything I guess.

Following my Starbucks/Icebox experience I decided that a true New York experience was complete until I ate a hotdog in Times Square. That was exactly what I did. I took the subway. I love the subway. So much fun to watch people. I’m sure if I lived here it wouldn’t be as fun, but I don’t, so it is. Walked around Times Square long enough to soak it in and eat my overpriced hotdog. Was it worth it? Sure was!

Saturday! Let’s get to the Tough Mudder! I signed up for the Tougher Mudder on Saturday. The Tougher is plain and simple a timed version of a regular Tough Mudder. I really enjoyed it! I met some new friends from the Worlds Toughest Mudder Facebook page and ran with them for portions of the race. I’m not sure how I did in placing but to me that doesn’t matter. It’s all about experience and my experience was a good one. There are benefits to running the Tougher. Mainly, there are no real lines on any of the obstacles. Second, you get a Tougher Mudder headband! Following my first time through the course I decided, for training purposes, to do a second lap. I wanted to do this last weekend but that wasn’t going to happen. So, I got a snack and headed out with some new-found friends on the course. Starting with others that have already done a lap and are planning on three for the day is fun. There is no real immediate hurry and everyone understands the obstacles. It’s also a chance to learn from experienced people on how to approach each event. The second lap was going well right up until about lap 5ish. Then my right knee decided to try and tighten up. I took it easy while trying to keep up with some WTM people. I will say that Arctic Enema was a welcome obstacle when it came to cooling off and icing down some sore legs. I wanted to stay in for a little bit but they wouldn’t let me. I got through the course for the second time. For my first time going through the course twice in one day I will have to say it was a learning experience. I learned more about fueling my system and what is going to work. I also learned about some weaknesses that I need to work on in between events. Stretching is always a thing and it’s something I’ve been doing. Apparently I need to do more. I spent that night eating, a lot, and stretching. I’ve discovered that a good go to meal for me between days is chicken, rice, and avocado. I add soy sauce to replenish salt. I will also eat some fruits and vegetables for more hydration and natural sugars. Over-all it may seem like a lot but remember how big I am and how much I did for the day.

Sunday!! Sunday was definitely a fun day. Tough Mudder was only able to offer a half. I joined the WTM group again for the first wave of the day. Running a half is fun. It’s a bit of a different mindset than the full. Not bad, just different. Tough Mudder takes out some of the harder obstacles and since it’s a half it’s obviously only half the distance. As a group, we decided it would be a good idea to each help 100 mudders over obstacles if they needed it. This made the day that much better. To help people overcome fears and challenge themselves was very fulfilling. It reminded me much of my coaching days. The only difference was you have a very short time to impact someone’s day. I’m hoping I did that for the people I spoke with or helped. I only ran one lap but that one was fun. My knee wasn’t happy with me but I survived. Hung out with my new friends following our time on the course. We enjoyed our beer and all of the samples that were around. Talked about past events, our upcoming future events, and experiences we’ve had. When it was time a good group of us walked out together. I got hugs (I love hugs) from new friends and we went on our way. I will see some of them again in the not too distant future at the Tough Mudder in Western NY.

Excited to move on to the next event. Next stop. Asheville!

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