Shuri from 'Black Panther' just became our new favorite Disney Princess

All hail Princess Shuri! 🙌🏾 No Images? Click here       ‘Black Panther’ actress Letitia Wright hopes Shuri inspires more girls to pursue STEM Letitia Wright, who plays everyone’s new favorite Disney princess in her breakout “Black Panther” role, told HuffPost how much it meant to both her and the film’s audiences for director Ryan Coogler and writer Joe Robert Cole to write Shuri as a multidimensional character. Wright said even she was surprised at the boldness of blackness and the motherland shown on-screen. But from comic book pages to the MCU, the marriage of positive images of Africans with technology in “Black Panther” is important for fans to see, she said. “Even reflecting on it now, I can see little glimpses of when they go down to the Great Mound and go down to Shuri’s lab how beautiful that is. Just seeing that there’s young kids in Shuri’s lab, teenagers and people coming together to create technology. That’s beautiful,” she said. “All together, it means a lot to see the continent in that way and see the motherland in that way ’cause it’s such a beautiful place.” The actress also said she hopes young girls will unlock their potential when watching Shuri, especially when it comes to STEM, where women of color made up less than 10 percent of working scientists and engineers in the U.S. in 2015. READ MORE In case you missed it   These photos of black kids watching ‘Black Panther’ highlight why this film was needed   Sade to release First song since 2010 for Ava DuVernay’s ‘A Wrinkle In Time’   Serena Williams almost died after giving birth. Now she wants to save other women.   ‘Black Panther’ is breaking an insane number of box office records    . What's trending Danai Gurira: The Dora Milaje reflect real black women, except they’re respected One of the most powerful scenes in “Black Panther” is during the coup d’état ignited by Michael B. Jordan’s character, Erik Killmonger. As the Dora Milaje and the Jabari tribes fight to defend Wakanda, W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya) charges full steam on the back of a vibranium-armored rhino toward M’Baku (Winston Duke). Danai Gurira’s character, Okoye, steps between them, taking the side of M’Baku, the man who’s helping her save her nation. Okoye stands, spear in hand, ready to take down W’Kabi, her love interest.  Gurira thinks the message in that scene is vital for everyone, especially women and girls. “You expect to use your love for me and our love for each other to actually get me to betray my nation, and I would kill you first. I love that,” she said. “I think women don’t often get to portray that sort of nobility and that sort of integrity, especially [choosing that] over their love.” READ MORE   ‘Black Panther’ hairstylist on creating Wakanda’s free and futuristic black hair Marvel’s latest blockbuster, ”Black Panther,” literally ventures into lands unknown ― the storied, albeit fictitious African nation of Wakanda and all its trappings. But Wakanda’s dress and decoration did not appear out of the ether. They’re not simply retreads of traditional African architecture, garb and hairstyling, but instead the calculated vision of the film’s production team, who were tasked with constructing the aesthetics of a black future.  Hairstylist Camille Friend was vital to the success of this project ― essential to creating a world in which black hair is assertive and unbound by restrictive notions of respectability.  HuffPost spoke with Friend about how she prepared for styling the “Black Panther” cast, the challenges she faced along the way and the future of black hair. READ MORE    .     Stay plugged in with the stories on black life and culture that matter. Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Subscribe here! Like what you see? Share with a friend! Want more? Check out Black Voices.  ©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe    . - - Preferences  |  Unsubscribe