afrofuturism188

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Blog #6

Afrofuturism is the Future

At the beginning of the class if you asked me what I thought afrofuturism was I would have told you that it is combining futuristic themes with a Black twist and essentially that’s true. However, as the class comes to an end I have come to realize it’s so much more than that. Afrofuturism is a movement, a way of thinking, and ultimately a way of life. People, media, technology, and so much more embody what it means to be afrofuturistic. Somebody as influential as Beyoncé emulates what it means to an afrofuturist.

Music, movies, and television all have afrofuturistic aspects and I didn’t even realize until taking this class. Prior to this class I never saw Get Out as afrofuturism nor did I think that Janelle Monae was such an afrofuturist. This class has given me an eye for detecting aspects of afrofuturism. In addition, it has shown me that afrofuturism is a big part of entertainment and pretty soon it’s going to be the most popular genre that people look to incorporate into their works. I truly believe that once people start to see how successful afrofuturism is they will want to take part in it. This is what happened when big name companies began to see how successful Black horror was doing. The genre of Black horror started out very little and wealthy white directors and producers didn’t want to take a chance on Black horror until movies started bringing in millions of dollars. Once they got wind that Black horror was profitable that’s when they started to give it a chance.

I believe the same process will happen with afrofuturism. I think that once they see afrofuturism is profitable they will start to invest in it. Once afrofuturism because more prevalent I believe this will eliminate some of the stereotypes that we see throughout the movie business such as the spiritual negro, the Black person playing the sidekick or person that needs saving. Afrofuturism allows for Black people to be intelligent and create new technology like in Black Panther and it allows for us to be innovative like the short film White. It gives us a platform to expand our horizon as opposed to being confined to white movies and the same old genres. Afrofuturism is something much more than a genre and it will provide the Black community with new opportunities, it is ultimately the future.

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Blog #5

Black Women in Afrofuturism

When thinking of Black women and how they relate to Afrofuturism and media as a whole it is a common theme that they are the fragile and weak minded individuals who constantly need saving. However, when we think about the works of Art that have come out lately they have been painting a different narrative about Black women. Instead of being the damsel in distress they are the ones doing the saving. For example, in Black Panther, Black women are the reason Wakanda is saved and the fight is won.

The Black women are not only physically and mentally advanced but unlike other works they are the center of attention. In the movie Us, Black women save the day and do not conform to the stereotype of needing to be saved when in actuality they do the saving. From the daughter saving her younger brother from the tethereds to Red protecting her “family” Black women in this movie play a significant role.

Moreover, Black men don’t seem to take up as much space which is not something you tend to see in Black movies let alone movies at all. Men tend to always take the limelight when it comes to movie roles and if women are in the spotlight it's in a negative regard. They either play a mistress, weak minded, ditsy, or like previously stated needing saving from a man. Another work that has a strong Black female lead is Parable of the Sower. This book makes a Black woman not only a strong lead but the person who saves the day. Men and women follow Lauren to what they believe is safety and adhere to her religion. This is quite a surprise being that Lauren is not only a 15 year old but she is a Black female. Octavia Butler did an amazing job at portraying afrofuturistic themes throughout the book.

From a Black woman taking charge and people following to the climate change that is the demise of Lauren’s home, afrofuturism is all over this book. The last work that seems to highlight Black women and defy the norms that we talked about is Daughters of the Dust which places an emphasis on Black women. This film is set in the 20th century but it is afrofuturistic in that it includes attitudes and perceptions on certain things that wasn’t acceptable during this time period. All of these works paint a picture of Black women that usually goes unnoticed and it is a monumental deal.

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Blog #4

Afro-futurism or Afro-reality...

When thinking of the movie District 9 I noticed that a lot of the themes mirrored reality and that majority of the aspects of the movie involved afrosurrealism. I believe the movie portrayed the classist society we live in and how the rich control the poor. I also believe the aliens mirror Black people in real life and how they attempt to contain them to one area similar to “ghettos” and the tactics the rich utilize to keep Blacks contained such as redlining and gerrymandering. In addition, I believe that the way everyone lived is a prediction of what the world is going to look like after climate change if we continue on the path that we are on.

This film encompasses the idea of afrofuturism being a movement of revolutionary work because it uses a unique lens, looking at real world problems through the prism an alternate future and history. It also takes the “what if?” approach as it ponders on the question of what would happen if resources were scarce and another life form came seeking refuge. This movie is similar to the other Afro futuristic works that we discussed in class, for example, the movie Us by Jordan Peele although not as futuristic in the sense of aliens and time period it does have similar themes throughout. The first of which is a class war between the rich and the poor which is symbolized by the tethered and untethered. Both works involve aspects of a class war symbolized by different things in both movies. In addition, there were revolts in both movies as the tethereds revolted against the untethered and the humans in District 9 revolted against the aliens. The movie Us also incorporates symbolism of reality similar to the movie District 9.

The tethereds represent Black people in America who are trapped forced to assimilate to their white counterparts which is similar to how the tethereds mimicked everything the untethered did. They basically are unable to think and act for themselves. I believe this is how Black society is viewed as if we can not think or act for ourselves and the fear they have if we do so. We have a strength in numbers so if we did decide it was our time to rise up it would be like the revolt of the tethereds, unexpected and massive. I believe that both District 9 and Us emulate reality by applying the themes of afrosurrealism and afrofuturism throughout.

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Blog #3

Lemonade: Sipping on the Past and the Future

When I used to think about Beyoncé prior to this class I never shed an afrofuturist light on her work or her as an artist in general. I knew she was revolutionary for the simple fact of how much of an impact she’s had on women of the Black community. She paves new pathways for not only women as a whole but particularly Black women.

However, after formulating an understanding of what afrofuturism actually is, I can confidently say Beyoncé is an afrofuturist. The way she encompasses the past into her work while highlighting the future she perceives for Black women and men in America. She always ensures to highlight the struggles of our ancestors while casting a bright light on the future. Her performances include so much artistry and technological features that it’s hard to look away. The cinematography in her music videos exemplify why she is called Queen Bey. Beyoncé has always been about empowering women from utilizing an all female band to writing songs about how women don’t need men and they are strong on their own. She also writes songs that share her pain and struggles. An example of this is Lemonade which she made after finding out her husband Jay Z cheated on her. I believe each of the songs represents a phase of her coping with the infidelity. In addition, there is so much emotion evoked by these songs.

The album Lemonade I believe engulfed afrofuturism and it shows. Her music video for “All Night” is a blast from the past mirroring the 90s movie Daughters of the Dust. The costumes utilized are straight from the past giving you vibes from the early 20th century late 19th century with their puffy sleeves and multi layer dresses. Her video “Formation” combines the the way back past with the late 90s and the 2000s as she utilizes snippets from Hurricane Katrina, what looks to be video recordings from a VHS tape of a camcorder and scenes from the early 1900s.

All of these transitions in time give an afrofuturistic effect because it’s combining the past, present, and future. Beyoncé is a symbol of beauty, strength, and a glimpse of the future. I believe that for the themes of afrofuturism Beyoncé is a good contemporary example of how there’s not just one way to portray them.

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Blog #2

Parable of the Sower

In today’s world we see things on a consistent basis that have been normalized and will ultimately lead to the destruction of the planet we call home and inevitably the human race. Two real life issues that has led me to establish my Earthseed community is climate change and the class system resulting from the income gap. As time progresses, humans continue to create more and more of a carbon footprint and Earth starts reflecting this. Climate across the world is rapidly changing having drastic effects on the people and animals that inhabit this planet. Animals are starting to migrate or die off and humans are suffering from record high heat, damaging storms, and deathly winters.

Not only do people have to deal with the climate change but in the United States the inequality in income between the rich and the poor has significantly increased leading to tension and unrest amongst the poor. With little to no money to afford the necessities of living and providing for their families the lower class begins to convene planning a revolt against the wealthy.

Once word spread that a rebellion was is the near future I decided it was time to flee to the island of Mahé in Seychelles which is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. This is not only the largest island of Seychelles but it’s diverse geography and climate increases our chances of survival. There are beautiful beaches, dense rainforest, and rugged mountainous terrain, all of which are going to be useful in how we survive. The people who would be allowed to come to the island and be apart of the community are those who are willing to submit to the beliefs and rules of the community. Those who are unable to follow the rules or accept the leadership of the community. In order to formulate leadership roles their would be a community committee. There would be a position for each aspect of life. Someone would be in charge of food which would be hunting and gathering, someone would be in charge of protection which includes fending off enemies and unwarranted attackers, there would be someone in charge of shelters, water and irrigation, and lastly there would be someone in charge of enforcing rules and community guidelines who would work closely with the protection committee. We would hold weekly committee meetings and hold votes on topics and issues that affect the community. We would work to establish more effective methods to extract and filter water. We would work to create a technological advancement that would funnel gallons of water at a time and instantly filter it. You could take a small enclosure of salt water and run it through the machine and now the water is filtered and able to drink.

This will allow us to have an endless supply of water to survive off of. Education and conservation would be the two areas of focus for my Earthseed community. We would ensure that everyone has an adequate education and give them the tools to teach others this would ensure that everyone for years to come would remain educated. We would focus on conserving resources to ensure that we don’t over consume. Teaching new ways to make sure that we utilize materials to their full capacity and not wasting anything. This would expand the lifespan of our community and make sure my Earthseed community has a positive impact on the world.

“We might have to rob to survive, and even terrorize to scare off or kill enemies. We'll have to be very careful how we allow our needs to shape us. But we must have arable land, a dependable water supply, and enough freedom from attack to let us establish ourselves and grow.” I would apply this quote to my Earthseed community. We will utilize the methods in the quote to survive. We might have to rob and terrorize for the greater good. The many terrains of the land allow us to survive and like the quote says provide enough freedom to grow. This would be necessary to survive because it would enable us to get into mindset that would promote growth and allow us to settle into our new Earthseed community.

“Respect God: Pray working. Pray learning, planning, doing. Pray creating, teaching, reaching. Pray working. Pray to focus your thoughts, still your fears, strengthen your purpose. Respect God. Shape God. Pray working.” I would utilize this quote to formulate a strong foundation of respect. Everyone needs something to look up to and respect and this would establish a routine of prayer, respect, dedication, and order. This would establish community guidelines as well and an order for the Earthseed community.

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Blog #1

What is Afro-futurism?

When thinking about afrofuturism and the themes that go along with it, the first Black film that comes to mind is Black Panther.

This film is filled from start to finish with afrofuturistic elements from the costumes utilized in the movie to the equipment and technology featured in the film. After the first couple of classes I realized that another movie that features afrofuturistic themes is the thriller Us by Jordan Peele.

This movie had so many plot twists and turns that it was hard to keep up with who was real and who was a tethered. The movie implemented many themes of Afro surrealism linking a fictional world with ours. I believe that Us was a phenomenal movie however I didn’t like the fact that so much was up for interpretation. Major points in the plot were up to the audiences discretion of whether they believe something was reality or not. For example, whether Jayson was a tethered or not, or what the hands across America symbolized and why it was important. Also an important aspect up for interpretation was why all of the tethereds were wearing red or why they stabbed their victims in the neck. All of these aspects made the movie too open for interpretation which is why I liked Get Out more.

Get Out left some things up for interpretation however the difference was the themes of Get Out were more relatable where the themes of Us were based on each person. Us could be about capitalism and the effects of the income gap and class war, or it could be about something completely different. However, the film did an excellent job portraying Blackness in an ordinary light. Jordan Peele left out the Black stereotypes of being hood, uneducated, gang violence, etc. In addition, I feel as if the afrofuturistic ideas come into play when looking at different aspects of the movie such as the two different worlds and how the tethered people mirrored everything they did in reality such as eating, playing games, and riding the rollercoaster. Jordan Peele did an amazing job at incorporating many aspects of both Black horror and afrofuturism and morphing the two genres together to create a futuristic horror masterpiece. I would highly recommend this film to people who like to think and decipher movies but if you’re just looking for a movie to enjoy or go see once I don’t think this movie would be right for you because it would leave you lost, confused, and left with hundreds of questions.

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Blog #6

The First Purge Mirrors Reality

When I initially watched The First Purge I didn’t really look at it like a Black horror film but after watching it in this class I see it through a completely new perspective. This is the first time I’ve seen a horror movie told through a Black perspective. It portrays the world the way we as the Black community view it. We essentially inhabit a white space and are constantly made aware of it in our everyday life. The scene in the movie where everyone is out partying in the middle of the street shows how carefree we as a community are. Our idea of illegal activity is partying in public spaces where we are generally policed for being at.

Then you have skeletor. I believe he represents how white people truly view Blacks, animalistic and savage. His character throughout the movie exemplifies how they believe Blacks have no self control and have an inherent savage nature. He also emulates what the Purge creators hope the purge will be. They want people to not have any self restraint, tap into their inner beast, and kill as many people as they want. The movie seems to encompass many of the Black stereotypes we see in real life but give them a different twist. We see gangs, low socioeconomic neighborhoods, and the Black community are all transformed in this movie. The gangs are shifted from the antagonists of the neighborhoods to the heroes. The low socioeconomic neighborhood banded together as a community undivided in order to survive.

The Black community was represented as the victims and the whites were represented as the villains that they are. In reality, Black people are often criminalized even when they are the victims in the situation. Their pasts are brought up to justify why they deserve what happened to them, whether it be that they are killed by the police or that they are killed in general. Gangsters are portrayed as a nuisance to society and are viewed that way by most of society. Moreover, the movie sheds light on the real purge that is taking place in this country. How the government and the police are at odds with the Black community. Killing and arresting innocent Black people as a means for population control. They are throwing these innocent Black men into prison to gain free labor in this system of neo slavery. The movie The First Purge symbolizes everything wrong with America pertaining to Blacks and how white society really views us as a community at large as something that is not only disposable but as inconsequential highlighting that our very existence is both unwanted and unneeded.

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Blog #5

Eve’s Bayou and Themes in the Black Community

In Eve’s Bayou the theme of magical realism is prevalent as the director conveys his belief that there is a touch of magic throughout the real world. In the movie Eve has the gift and what can be seen as a curse of sensitivity. Aunt MoZelle is bestowed with the gift of sight. This movie takes on Black southern mythologies with voodoo and magic being the center for the supernatural monsters in the house. The house that they all live in has been devastated and fractured so much due to the father that even he can be seen as the monster of the film. The director leaves it up to us to sort of determine what actually kills the father. It is a question of whether voodoo or his bad habits lead to his death.

The debate is whether or not Samuel is the only monster in the house because it can be debated that secrets are also a prevalent monster that haunts the house. This is not an uncommon narrative for secrets to be the monster of a household. They lurk around the house terrorizing those that keep them and endanger those that are unaware. In reality secrets are one of the biggest monsters that we see. It is often that there are secrets in every single household. It is the most common thing that destroys families, friendships, and relationships. Secrets eventually result in lies and deceit which is devastating to the foundation of a good home.

Another detrimental theme that affects the Black Community is slavery. This theme was prevalent in the film Beloved where slavery was the monster that haunted the family. Sethe’s unwavering fear of her daughter being sold into slavery is what led to her untimely murder. Beloved’s throat was cut open due to the horrors her mother faced. The film is set on a plantation in a house that haunted by the spirit of Sethe’s dead daughter. A lot of the things we see amongst the Black community stem from the horrors of slavery. For instance, light skin versus dark skin, the hatred towards interracial relationships, and the relationship between educated and uneducated black people. These clashes are rooted in slavery. In Beloved we are shown the glimpses of what slavery did to Baby Suggs, Sethe, and Paul D and we see how it has affected the way they see the world. Both films Beloved and Eve’s Bayou paint a picture of the world through themes that highlight Black horror both real and supernatural.

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Blog Post #4

Themes in Wet Pain with the Real World

When reflecting on the themes that I came across in the short story Wet Pain, I realized there were numerous parallels with what I see in reality among the Black community and society in general. The story personified racism within the character Dean but managed to highlight how racism can take the form of a type of insanity. In reality, most people you come across tend to have some racial bias just based on the way they were raised and the environment they grew up in. However, when you look at the most dramatic cases of racism similar to the case in the story, it appears as if the person is mentally insane. Their way of thinking and perception of race seems so naturally flawed that they appear to be insane. Another theme that I noticed was how the external turmoil in the story mirrored the supernatural. With everything taking place outside of the characters lives being that this was during Katrina, the idea of “wet pain” was deeply rooted in the turmoils that were occurring. Both literally and figuratively the pain was wet and the personified monster of racism was feeding off of this turmoil and intensifying the pain.

In addition, the intersection of racism, homophobia, and misogyny helped fuel the mysterious supernatural feeling that was experienced throughout the story. In real life these themes tend to float heavily around society and the Black community. Women are often being labeled and sexualized in a demeaning manner. From songs to movies, women are portrayed as these sexual beings not capable of more than satisfying men and having babies. Homosexual men are constantly being demonized and harassed for simply existing. Despite the progress that has been made in society regarding same sex couples, there is still a sense of toxic hypermasculinity and homophobia in the Black community. In the story, Dean suffered from both of these and it reflected in the treatment of Taylor and his wife. Dean was a kind and accepting person until he was taken over by the supernatural to embody a racist, misogynistic, homophobe.

The themes of misogyny, homophobia, and racism are experienced by people on a daily basis in society however like in the story Wet Pain, I believe these themes are exacerbated in the Black community due to different reasons. One of the reasons I believe is our choice to ignore the expectations we place on Black men on top of all that they have to deal with pertaining to the outside world. Not only this but the thought that any signs of emotion correlate with being gay when in actuality emotion has no correlation to sexual orientation. Another reason I believe is because of the history pertaining to Black women being the most “unprotected, neglected, and disrespected” people in society. Wet Pain touched many real life issues that it was easy to pick out major themes that corresponded with reality.

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Blog #3

Eve’s Bayou Meets the Real World

I believe the themes that are prevalent in Eve’s Bayou haunt the real world as well. Secrets, bad habits, and incest are all too real and destroy families across the country. Beginning with the topic of secrets, I know firsthand how deeply secrets are embedded into families and how they eat away at the foundation of a home. Secrets between husband and wife or parent and child, these secrets might start off as something small until your house is engulfed in a web of lies.

In Eve’s Bayou secrets were one of the many monsters that lurked the halls terrorizing the home. When it comes to bad habits, it is easy to feel complacent in our daily routines choosing to ignore the toxicity that we might be creating for ourselves and others. In Eve’s Bayou bad habit could be seen as what kills the father. His bad habits destroyed so much and in the end it is these same habits that cost him his life. The theme of incest is a piping hot cup of tea. In the Black community there are so many stories of incest that go undiscussed. So many young girls that are criminalized for wearing clothes to “skimpy” in the comfort of their own homes. I recently watched a video of a 15 year old Black girl who confronted her mother about her mother’s boyfriend touching her inappropriately while she was sleeping. He had come home from a concert intoxicated and persisted to touch and grope on his girlfriends adolescent daughter. When confronted the mother screams at the little girl berating her with blame. Yelling out statements such as “what did YOU do for him to touch you” and “why you tryna steal my man.” For a mother to address her daughters cry for help like this was a sad sight to see. However, these are the realities of so many young Black girls across America.

Uncles, Fathers, Grandfathers, Brothers, and cousins all preying on the innocence of adolescent Black girls all over and we as a community turn a blind eye. This is a topic that we fail to bring attention to, fail to discuss and we ultimately fail our young Black queens in the process. In Eve’s Bayou, the father is someone who preys on his daughters naive nature and need for approval. She just wanted to please her father and he utilized this for his own sick agenda. Incest is a theme that is very prevalent in Black films because it something that is conceptualized only in movies but not in reality.Films such as Precious and Madea’s Family Reunion only touch on the topic of incest but all of these films shed light on this all too surreal nightmare. I believe the horrors that affected the characters of Eve’s Bayou lurk the real world and are actual nightmares for the Black community and society at large.

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Blog #2

The Themes of The Good House

Some of the themes we discussed in class regarding the Good House I believe affect numerous families in the LGBT Black community. We talked about how the themes of isolation, Secretary , and being the outcast are sewn in throughout the Good House yet I saw many parallels to the LGBT Black community. I strongly believe that they Black LGBT community suffers the most from these themes. Among the black community we do not discuss the commonality of hypermasculinity and the fact anytime a man shows any emotion it is seen as being too weak or feminine. We have established a correlation between sexuality and masculinity as if they are oxymorons. Many Black LGBT people feel a deep sense of isolation because they are ridiculed by their own people. Black people already receive so much hate from the rest of the world you would think that our people would accept and uplift our own kind. I also believe that secrets are common among Black LGBT people especially black men. Gay black men go through their whole lives living a lie keeping their true identity a secret. They create families and get married afraid to break beyond the shackles of heteronormativity. They also do so to prevent from becoming an outcast. They don’t want to be ostracized from their friends and family and the rest of society and I think it is very unfortunate. Myself, I am a heterosexual African American woman and despite the fact that I am black and a woman I still have to check my privilege of being straight and the luxuries I have to express openly who I am when my LGBT brothers and sisters are not afforded to do so. In the Good House, Angela attempts to escape who she really is by losing connecting to her creole heritage, assimilating to her white counterparts and becoming thoroughly citified.

This is similar to how Black people within the LGBT community try to escape who they are and suppress their feelings for the fear of not being accepted. I have seen families torn apart by the secret of someone being gay. Parents disowning their children is more common than not among the Black LGBT community. Another reason this is so unfortunate is because we don’t take the time to address this problem. Just today Empire star Jussie Smollett was brutally beaten and attacked in a racial hate crime for being a Black gay man in Chicago. The Black Community loves discussing topics such as anti blackness, and colorism but when it pertains to discussing the mistreatments of our LGBT black brothers and sisters we stay silent. The themes of the Good House extends beyond the tales of this book but emphasize the horrors and harsh realities of the LGBT people within the Black Community.

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Blog #1

The Paralleling Theme of Get Out with America Today

When I initially heard about Get Out I was so excited and shocked to see a movie with a black lead character receive so much hype. When I first saw the trailer I didn’t think of it as a black horror film only because when I think of Jordan Peele I automatically associate him with comedy. Not that I was expecting Get Out to be comical, I definitely did not think it would shake me as much as it did. When recollecting the film the scene that stuck out the most was the auction. This immediately replicated a slave auction when black slaves would be auctioned off based on how they were built and their skill set. It wasn’t until I found out that each black person was inhabited by a white person when it all clicked. The theme throughout history in the United States of black bodies being exploited for the benefit of white people was sewn throughout the film. All of the black people we saw were utilized for their skill sets that the white people found advantageous to them. For example, the blind artist Jim Hudson wanted to inhabit Chris due to his phenomenal eye in photography.

The grandfather Roman Armitage inhabited Walter due to his speed and size. In the film “the sunken place” is an apparent metaphor that I believe is the suppression of one’s true identity.

For Chris, like many others in the film and reality, it is his sense of blackness in such a white society. For instance, the scene when Chris attempts to fist bump Andre and Andre who isn’t himself attempts to shake his hand. In real life this looks like someone black changing the way they speak, their hair, or the clothes they wear to assimilate to their white counterparts. This inherent need for assimilation is our “sunken place.”

Another example the parallels with the film is sports. Black athletes are a commodity that are owned by a group of white men. Not one football owner is a person of color while over 70% of the NFL players are black. Even within the administration only 9% of managers are black. This correlates with the film because white people thrive at the expense of blacks. This was evident in the film and I think that is why it resonated with me so much. Get Out wasn’t a horror film to me in the sense that I was scared but it exemplified the horrors of our reality that we have yet to acknowledge and deal with.