Video Examples Of & Comments About The Black Panther Movie's "Secret Handshake" & "Wakanda Forever" Salute

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision: September 2, 2020

This pancocojams post is Part I of a two part series on the 2018 Black Panther "secret handshake".

This post showcases four YouTube videos that include examples of and/or comments about the "secret handshake" between T'Challa (Black Panther) and his young sister Shuri in the 2018 Black Panther movie and/or examples of the crossed fists to the chest "Wakanda Forever" salute that was performed in the 2018 Black Panther movie.

Selected comments from an online discussion about that Black Panther handshake are also included in this post.

This post also includes a comment about the clenched fists from an online article.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-significance-in-black-panther-movie.html for Part II of this series. That post explores the cultural significance of Shuri giving a dap (a "black power handshake").

YouTube examples of that scene from the Black Panther movie and YouTube videos of other females performing Black power handshakes are also featured in that post.

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The content of this post is presented for cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who were associated with the 2018 Black Panther movie and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of these videos on YouTube.
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This post is a continuation of other pancocojams posts on the 2018 Black Panther movie. Click the Black Panther tag to find other posts in this series.

Also, click the Black handshakes tag to find other pancocojams posts about that subject.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Marvel Studios' Black Panther - Entourage TV Spot



Marvel Entertainment, Published on Jan 14, 2018

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Example #2:'Black Panther': Everything you need to know about Shuri



Variety, Published on Feb 18, 2018
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This video clip indicates that Letitia Wright who plays "Shuri" in Black Panther added the "secret handshake" (also known as "the Wakanda salute") to that often shown scene where she greets her brother.

At 1:43-2:06 the sub-title in this video clip asks "How did Wright come up with her version of the Wakanda handshake"? Letitia Wright says "I would go home, study the scene and think "Okay, how can I add a bit more to it. But I said to Chadwick, this is the first time you've come in and be with your sister, and hangout with her. We've gotta do something. Chadwick did that [showing the clenched fists crossed at the chest and pounding the chest with that gesture one or two times]. There's a whole history behind that and that's the Wakanda symbol, but Shuri would go into it in a way that was different. She... they would have a little bit of sumthin, sumthin special.
-snip"
Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread

Travis None, February 22, 2018
"Wakanda forever!
Black panther fist crossed african fist in unity symbolic meaning!"

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Example #3: Will Smith React To Black Panther After Watching The Movie - Black Panther 2 ??!



Warrior De Fally Ipupa, March 4, 2018
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Here's a few comments from the discussion thread for the clip of this video that was originally embedded here that is no longer available: : Will Smith React To Black Panther After Watching The Movie - Black Panther 2 ??!- REACTverse, Published on Feb 20, 2018
(with numbers assigned for referencing purposes only)
1. John King, February 24, 2018
"So black panther copied wonder woman's cross arm symbol.."

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Reply
2. MsPrettyKiesha, February 26, 2018
"John King The original wonder woman in comics etc. was black...."

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Reply
3. MsPrettyKiesha, February 26, 2018
"History

Nubia was Wonder Woman's "black sister", created from black clay, just as Diana was created from white clay. Both were brought to life by Aphrodite, but Nubia was stolen by Ares/Mars (the Greek and Roman names were interchangeable, and more often than not, the Roman names were used. Mars was one of the gods whose Roman name was used), so Nubia did not get the powers that was given to Diana.

Mars raised Nubia to be his warrior, giving her a special ring to keep her mind clouded. Years later, Diana met Nubia, who became her roommate. After several battles, Wonder Woman was able to release Nubia from Mars' control, when she used the heat of the sun, reflected off her bracelets, to cause the ring to expand and fall off. Nubia defied Mars, and optioned to lead her warriors to the ways of peace. It was then that Queen Hippolyta revealed the truth: Nubia was Diana's sister!
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This comment includes a lot of information about Nubia/Nu'Bia.

Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubia_(comics) for a Wikipedia article about the comic book character "Nubia" ("Nu'Bia")

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Example #4: Wakanda Forever! My Black Panther Experience



Shanice Celest, Published on Feb 17, 2018
On Tuesday 14th February 2018 I went to watch "Black Panther"... this is my response!

Did you get your life in Wakanda?!
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I think that this woman is from the Caribbean, but I'm not sure about that.

The Wakandan salute is given in the beginning of this video and also at 7:53 to 8:19 while saying "Wakanda forever!" Shanice then asks can she do the "the Wakanda salute" or the Black power salute or both together? She finally decides to do the Wakandan salute by itself, and sings "The atmosphere is changing now" which I interpreted as inferring that doing that salute added positive energy to the atmosphere.

Here's one comment from this video's discussion thread.

rule96, February 22, 2018
"Loved the review sis! Your energy had me weak with laughter. This film will definitely push the boundaries of black excellence, as well as open the path for new opportunities such as this in the future. It is time for us irregardless if we live here in America, the U.k., Africa, and abroad as black people to connect with one another and build lasting, respectful relationships and reshape the future of this world. Peace"

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EXCERPT FROM A SLATE.COM ARTICLE ABOUT THE BLACK PANTHER HANDSHAKE

[Added February 28, 2018]

From https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/black-panther-has-turned-twitter-and-instagram-into-a-visual-feast.html " Wakanda Chic: Black Panther has turned Twitter and Instagram into an Afrofuturistic visual feast."
By INKOO KANG, FEB 22, 2018
"Black Panther looks like almost no other Hollywood film, and not just because of its primarily black cast. Director Ryan Coogler’s inspired and heavily researched Afrofuturistic aesthetic furnishes his blockbuster with a visual vocabulary we seldom see in mass entertainment, encompassing costume design, hair design, body art, gadgets, architecture, rituals, customs, even sunsets (apparently the most beautiful in the world)..

[...]

African and African-inspired fashion has been the most conspicuous salute to Wakanda on Twitter and Instagram. Many black moviegoers, in groups small and large, have mounted what Racked called a “celebration of African fashion.”...
The dissemination of that African chic via social media amplifies its allure and adaptability further beyond Black Panther fans. Don’t be surprised if Black Panther sparks a larger fashion movement in Western countries in the way Mad Men launched a craze for midcentury furniture far beyond the prestige drama’s relatively tiny viewership.

The other visual from the movie already taking off is the Wakanda Forever crossing of arms, which seems to largely take the place of hugs and goodbye waves in Black Panther’s hidden technopolis. Like the black-power raised fist (also seen among Black Panther audiences this past weekend), the X arms allowed fans (even Will Smith!) to salute the film’s visual ingenuity and perhaps its show of black solidarity, without going so far as painting their faces as a gesture of fandom—although there’s been a lot of that, too."
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"Painting their faces" refers to the so-called "tribal makeup" of white dots and/or white lines that are worn by T'Challa/Black Panther's sister Shuri and others in this movie.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/01/seven-youtube-videos-of-west-africans.html for a pancocojams post entitled Seven YouTube Videos Of West Africans Wearing Dots And/Or Other Face And Body Paint

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TEXT ONLY COMMENTS ABOUT THE BLACK PANTHER HANDSHAKE FROM A RESETERA.COM DISCUSSION THREAD
These comments are presented without GIFs. All of these comments are from February 19, 2018. The numbers that are shown are different from the numbers given in that discussion and are added here for referencing purposes only.

From https://www.resetera.com/threads/black-people-in-toronto-are-doing-the-black-panther-greeting.24341/ "Black People in Toronto are doing the Black Panther greeting..."

[#1]
BlackFyre
"We are the most culturally diverse city on the planet and I saw people doing the Black Panther / Wakanda greeting in downtown Toronto yesterday. Saw it at a mall and at a restaurant.

I think it's awesome!!!!!"

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[#2]
Luchashaq
Beardz said:
[quote] 4 people are doing the back panther greeting

"This is going to be more of a thing than you think it is."

Hell I was playing pickup this morning and my buddy asked if I had seen it yet and I instantly knew what he was going for when he put his hand out."

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[#3]
Fulminator
"Kind of cringey but it's fine

Cool that the movie is having such a big impact"

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[#4]
Goodstyle
"This is the black equivalent of white people doing the Vulcan sign at each other.

And since it's black, that makes it 100x cooler"

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[#5]
MIMIC
[#5]
"I think it's a cool greeting. It's really not all that different from gestures I see on the basketball court and elsewhere."

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From https://www.resetera.com/threads/black-people-in-toronto-are-doing-the-black-panther-greeting.24341/page-2

#[6]
Shira
"I've seen white people doit.

It's pretty easy"

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[#7]
Boke18
"Some of y’all literally use the word “cringe” so much for things that aren’t even cringeworthy that it’s lost meaning lol.

Y’all don’t know how many people young and old are advocating that this be the greeting from now on. And it’s going to take off."

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[#8]
Kaako
"We used to do this handshake in high school almost 2 decades ago, please.
X inspired but some fools thought it was dmx inspired cause he was a thing back then lol."

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[#9]
SmokingBun
"SMH at people downplaying a cultural revolution in this thread
I swear if Dr King and Brother Malcolm were still around; they would watch the movie together and agree on its awesomeness

EDIT:

Wanna see Obama and Biden do it"

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[#10]
Kickmaster Kim
"I used to do the Will and Jazz, now time for the T'Challa and Shuri."

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[#11]
Brawly Likes to Brawl
"Can't wait for Fox News to call this a gang sign."

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[#12]
Dark_Castle
#79
"Guys this is not cringeworthy. Cringeworthy is when you try to do that handshake but the other person doesn't reciprocate."

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[#13]
Salty Rice
" "The Black Panther greeting"

Highly doubt Black Panther invented it."

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[#14]
captmcblack
"I mean...people have been doing greetings/fives/handshakes like that since forever, especially in urban communities, so I didn't see this as cringeworthy. I thought it's cool as hell - it's an authentically black thing, so to see that extended in this fictional world of royalty and superheroes was f&&king* dope. They turned a royal greeting into a handshake that wouldn't be out of place in Harlem. Awesome.

I hope I see this more and more everywhere amongst black people.
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*This word is fully spelled out in this comment

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[#15]
Kaako
"I don't think it's lame at all. Variety in handshakes is an art in itself."

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From https://www.resetera.com/threads/black-people-in-toronto-are-doing-the-black-panther-greeting.24341/page-3

[#16]
captmcblack
"Mhaz said:
I'm looking forward to the eventuality of white people starting to do this and then being accused of appropriating fictional Wakandan culture.

"I'm guaranteeing that someone on some crap forum/chan/subreddit is preparing that op so they can get some hot takes/viral videos prepared for *exactly* this."

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[#17]
enzo_gt
"Darryl M R said:
Once Drake does it in his next video it will be cannon.

Facts.

It would be lame if it wasn’t a cool greeting in general. Not like people don’t model their interactions off of what they see in media already."

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[#18]
Aizen-S-Kennedy
"If you think black ppl doing special handshakes are lame then you are actually the lame one in the situation. Look at those black ppl doing what black ppl have done for atleast 70 years what nerds !! Amirite.

Smh that’s that colonizer talk lol."

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[#19]
SaintBowWow
"This is gonna take off and we'll look back at this thread and cringe at all the people cringing in here"

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[#20]
Soapbox Killer Returns
"I thought this was a fairly old shake. Dez Bryant has been doing this for years. Its still pretty dope.

"Cringe culture" has to slow just a bit."

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[#21]
Cuburger
"Man, people are so down on this for coming from a comic book movie or being trendy or being nerdy or being lame or whatever, but the film has already become a legit cultural phenomenon and this is practically people celebrating this shared moment of positivity with a gesture that is kind of cool. Let people have their fun."

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[#22]
y2dvd
"I've seen it done irl a few times already. I love it!"

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[#23]
Playco Armboy
"dudes in here will call this lame but can recite word-for-word the backstory of at least 15 star wars background characters that you can find only in the EU

uh huh"

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From https://www.resetera.com/threads/black-people-in-toronto-are-doing-the-black-panther-greeting.24341/page-4

[#24]
Medalion
"Who cares? Let them have this

Like nerds going around saying May the Force be with you to others... but you know...actually culturally empowering and significant"

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[#25]
T'Challa Shakur
"Bruh...every black person I know is doing it."

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From https://www.resetera.com/threads/black-people-in-toronto-are-doing-the-black-panther-greeting.24341/page-5

[#26]
Bowling Pin
..." I do think the Wakandan greeting can gain traction since it's a simple enough gesture, from an extremely popular movie, to actually catch on with people. We did it a few times yesterday with the group from work I went with, and it didn't feel corny, so...

WAKANDA FOREVER

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