Monáe’s Dirty Computer is a vision of the future from a point in time that is clearly not the present, but more like the late eighties or early nineties. Honestly the setting in certain scenes reminds me of the 1980’s scenes from the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror. Monáe fuses the future with movements from the past, from fashion and music, to feminism and free love. Continue reading “Retrofuture of Dirty Computer”
Afrofuturism and the Future of the U.S.
I have long struggled with the concept of Afrofuturism although I have had it defined for me several times. I think that the issue for me is understanding the real world application* of the Afrofuturist philosophy. I warn that I will present no answers here, indeed I possess none, yet I will ask quite a few questions. Additionally, I hope I do not offend any Afrofuturists or anyone for that matter, with my questions–they come from a place of ignorance not malice.
It is Better to Be Loved than Feared: A Not So Tale on Machavalliean’s Concept of Community and Belief
It can be understand that human beings by all means are social creatures. In fact isolation, particularly extreme cases, it has shown to cause debilitating affects. As such, it makes sense we form communities to face precarious situations and the excerpt of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower and short story “Non-Zero Possibilities” connect back to this concept of: community and belief. Furthermore its connection to community and belief are important aspects to afrofuturism.
“Non-Zero Probabilities” and the Afrofuturistic
The piece by Jemisin was a great read that even though it was about someone just going about their life in a “more” luck effected city, it made me want more. With that said, this piece, in my opinion, is not overtly Afrofuturistic, and the sci-fi influence is even in question by the protagonist, Adele. Continue reading ““Non-Zero Probabilities” and the Afrofuturistic”
Afrofuturism in Music: King Kunta by Kendrick Lamar
Afrofuturism can be shown in many ways such as fashion, art, architecture, and even music. To me afrofuturism is bringing in a little of the past, putting a spin to it by bringing current trends/events. In black culture especially you can see this. Continue reading “Afrofuturism in Music: King Kunta by Kendrick Lamar”
Repetition in Black and White Cultures
In James Snead, “Black Literature and Literary Theory” he goes in to talking about Black and European cultures. Specifically the meaning of repetition and circulation and how that contributes to the two different cultures. On page 67, the second paragraph, Snead explains how in black culture repetition gives a sense of equilibrium or state of mind. On the other hand European culture, repetition can not be shown everything must seem like a progression even when it is not. I agree completely with this statement and to add on you can see this even now in today’s society in American culture as a whole. In African American culture we often love to incorporate history in our music and arts. As a way to never forget where our ancestors and people before us came from. In a way this gives us a state of mind.To remember we got this far from the struggles we face before. Continuing to give this cycle of remembrance brings a sense of pride and faith to the black culture. However with European culture I feel like it’s the exact opposite. You can noticeably see this in American politics as well. On media politicians like to sell themselves as being able to make progression happen in America. Politicians make it seem like America is at a standstill, America needs help and it needs a goal and they can help achieve it. This sort of need for progression and goal reaching is what people from western civilization want. Many do not take a step back and look at the things America has overcome as whole.
Liberia? Melvin Tolson
“Liberia?
No side-show barker’s bio-accident,
No corpse of a soul’s errand
To the Dark Continent:
You are
The lightning rod of Europe, Canaan’s key,
The rope across the abyss,
Mehr licht for the Africa-To-be!”-Melvin Tolson, “Do”
Liberia and Africa as a whole from the western perspective is often seen as impoverished a and dying land. Tolson uses a different perspective when talking about Liberia. In his poem “Do” he starts each stanza with “Liberia?” and he starts off with the negative connotations of Liberia then as a rebuttal says what he sees Liberia as. To him, Liberia is what lights up Europe, in a way Liberia is what makes Europe Europe. Without Africa how would Europe be now in today’s society? This stanza reminds me a lot about activism. To me, activism is about going against something or defending your belief. Tolson throughout this poem defends his beliefs about Liberia. In a way, this can also connect back to Afrofuturism. Afrofuturism can deal will the progressive nature of African culture specifically Liberia’s culture. Afrofuturism can be about accepting and taking pride in your culture. Especially since African people are usually forced to assimilate into European culture.
A poem of Tolson’s I had difficulty understanding was “Mi”. Throughout the poem he repeatedly uses the phrase “Future Afrique” I tried to research the term but nothing seemed to define what it meant. However, if you were to split future Afrique it kind of sounds like future Africa. Which can also relate to our topic of Afrofuturism.
How has Hegel contributed to the stereotypes of Africans?
Uniqua Jones Afrofuturism
“Religion begins with the consciousness that there is something higher than man. But even Herodotus called the Negroes sorcerer’s:- now in sorcery we have not the idea of a god, of a moral faith..”-Hegel
Religion to many is to have faith and belief in a higher power. It is to be fully devoted to a way of life. History has shown that religion can bring together people but also destroy relationships from anything to family relationships or friendships. In this excerpt, Hegel has used religion to his advantage to create this image of Africans as savages with no structure in their lives or communities as a whole. Hegel’s ignorance about the different cultures in Africa lumps Africans all in one group. Hegel then goes on to say Africans don’t have religion and because of this, they are sorcerers.
Many people who do not follow a particular religion or do not believe in a higher power at all are often looked down upon, this was particularly prevalent in the past. Hegel contributes to the western views and ideology that all people in Africa need help. That Africans are not civilized, have no structure because they have no religion. He then goes on to invoke fear into people by calling Africans sorcerer. “Sorcerers”, people who deal with magic or witchcraft are feared because it is a practice many people are ignorant about. As a result, people reading what Hegel is saying often start to believe what he is saying because they are ignorant. This contributes to the negative mindset associated with Africans.
Parable of the Sower
While reading Chapter 6 of Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler I realized this book has a lot to do with futurism. From reading Snead’s article and from the discussion we have in class I think it is safe to ass futurism has something to do with. Continue reading “Parable of the Sower”
Afrofuturism in Music
As we discussed in class, Afrofuturism in music is an interesting avenue to explore, with artists like Erykah Badu or Janelle Monae. After some searching, I found an episode of This American Life that discusses Afrofuturism. It led me to a song called “The Deep” by a group called clppng which features Daveed Diggs from Hamilton. The podcast explains that, “The song is based on the underwater mythology of the 90s Detroit electro band Drexciya.” The song works with a mythology that imagines that pregnant women who were thrown off of slave ships birthed their children in the water and these children were able to create a thriving civilization under the sea. The intro to the song states, “We built our home on the sea floor, unaware of the two-legged surface dwellers until their world came to destroy ours. With cannons, they searched for oil beneath our cities. Their greed and recklessness forced our uprising.” The song goes on to talk about an uprising from these people after the people on the surface ruin the peace in the civilization down below. The song imagines great peace in this civilizatoin built from children who would have been slaves, and deals very openly with the questions, “what if we had never been colonized? What if we have been left alone?” This kind of imagined separate space makes me think of “the quarter of the negro” that Langston Hughes discusses. Although this space can sometimes be negative in Hughes’ work, both discuss a space purely for black people, without interruption from any kind of white colonizing power.