OVERVIEW:
Mark Dery's Black to the Future:
http://thenewblack5324.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/mark-dery-black-to-the-future.pdf
An overview from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2014/jan/07/afrofuturism-where-space-pyramids-and-politics-collide
From Ytasha Womack, author of Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/interview-with-ytasha-womack-on-afrofuturism-and-the-world-of-black-sci-fi-and-fantasy
https://aconerlycoleman.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/on-afro-futurism-or-im-a-black-woman-from-the-future/
MUSIC:
Sun Ra:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/15/sun-ra-jazz-interstellar-voyager
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSNvdLpLx-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qjiQwD7VCI
George Clinton (Parliament/Funkadelic):
http://thequietus.com/articles/16045-george-clinton-interview-parliament-funkadelic
http://artery.wbur.org/2014/03/02/george-clinton-afrofuturism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiqmEibSY0I
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ll9zy0/key-and-peele-funky-nonsense
A pride of my hometown, electro pioneer Drexciya's Black Atlantis concept chronicles the survival of murdered African captives who establish a civilization under the waves of the Middle Passage.
http://www.globaldarkness.com/articles/drexciya.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imKh_TKqHt4
Flying Lotus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXD0vv-ds8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rmFTc51Zk0
Janelle Monae:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/aug/26/janelle-monae-sister-another-planet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq74HPAm_wE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHgbzNHVg0c
http://thequietus.com/articles/04889-janelle-mon-e-the-archandroid-afrofuturism
IMAGE:
http://basquiat.com/
https://rootsandwires.wordpress.com/tag/basquiat/
http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/hoban-basquiat.html
From Em:
ReplyDeleteI just want to say that Afrofuturism is a fantastic word.
It’s messed up that such a huge section of the population was and is kept out of a genre like science fiction. Really, any genre, but particularly sci-fi because it can be used to explore anything. The first paragraph of “Black to the Future” questions the lack of diversity in sci-fi authors, and the second explains why this is troubling. Sci-fi has been pushed off to the side as a genre, while black people have been pushed away from most of American society as a whole. Race is still an issue in this country and that sucks.
Most of us in this classroom are white, with a few exceptions. That’s not what the world looks like. All of the authors, with the exception of Octavia Butler and Mary Shelley, were white males. That’s not what the world looks like. I’m sorry I didn’t really respond to the readings, but I got sort of angry. How can a whole group of authors be completely excluded from a genre that’s pretty escapist because they don’t fit the mold of “old white guy”? Maybe I’m overreacting, but I don’t think I am. I took a sci-fi class in high school and Afrofuturism wasn’t mentioned. We didn’t talk about a single black author and the only woman that was mentioned was Shelley. Frankenstein wasn’t required reading though, because the teacher didn’t feel that it was really important to the genre.
From Mike:
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the videos and reading some of the articles that were posted, I was just very kind of confused as to what afrofuturism really is....I still kind of am. I googled it and read some more about the history and I guess its actually kind of interesting. I never would have thought that that type of thing were out there had it not been brought up in class. It is weird to think that something I have never even heard of has not only been around so long, google says 1993, but also how it is in music and everything that is used everyday by normal people. For example, how Kendrick Lamar is featured in that one song. Also how there are all of the videos on youtube that are just out there that are waiting to be watched. I guess it is just kind of mind blowing that all of this is out there and so prevalent in everyday life and I was so unfamiliar with it. With that said, after learning about it in class and going through most of the links, I do find it interesting.....pretty weird, but interesting. I guess that's what college is about, is looking at weirdly interesting things that make your head spin though.
Alright friends if you really want to learn about Afro-futurism, I have found an amazing website loaded with history, literature, COMICS!!! and more. It's literally just Afrofuturism.net and it's a great time. I stumbled upon it while doing my own research into the genre and I was quite amazed. The first thing you read as you enter the site (besides the title obviously) is "The Americas. This is where the end began." God how awful is that? Millions of people have come to america since its foundation for new opportunities and foretold wealth, but for African Americans they've come to experience the destruction of their lives. Personally, I feel like a shitty person after reading and watching the content on the website. I'm sure their goal isn't to make white people feel bad, but they did it pretty effectively. Also I love how the website integrates all kinds of media into their genre. As a music fanatic I'm excited to listen to the long list of audio recordings the site has to offer for I think that would be the best way for me to really understand the genre. I really think everyone should check out this site. It's pretty great and you can learn a lot of afrofuturism.
ReplyDeleteAll I got out of Afrofuturism is that it is about colored people complaining about everything through science fiction, music, art, ect. and wanting to bring power to the people. From what I looked at, It’s not that progressive as all the other things we have looked at this semester. Everything else has been about robots and technology and stuff and this is about the struggles colored people go through. It focuses on people themselves as the novum. I do think it is fun though, but I don’t really care for it. The art is interesting to look at and the music is fun to listen to. Afrofuturism does not really do anything for me though. It is fun, but I find it just a little boring and I just don’t really get anything out of it.
ReplyDeleteFrom Katrina:
ReplyDeleteThis dude did some really trippy work. My first thought when looking at some of his pieces was, "this guy must have done some sort of mind-altering substance." Low and behold, he did. But as a result his art reflects so much feeling and serious issues dealt with during his time period, all while keeping his art stimulating and mind-boggling.
The use of color pulls the viewer in and because there's so much going on in each piece of art, your eyes dance around the piece, it's mesmerizing. I could probably observe just one piece for a serious amount of time, and I still feel like I wouldn't be absorbing everything happening in it.
The first image I looked at didn't seem to have a title, just a quote by Alex Haley. But I really like this one. It reminded me of something I like to do when I feel like I have too many thoughts bouncing around in my head, which is create a thought chart. This usually ends up looking something like this piece, words everywhere with lines connecting them, boxes over particular things, drawings and doodles here and there because my brain can only process that idea in pictorial format. I could totally relate to Basquiat's method of expression in this piece, and I could sense how his mind was functioning at that time.
Basquiat's piece "Riding with Death" struck me the most, possibly because it's such a stark contrast to the majority of his work. It's very plain in comparison but it has such a strange appeal to me. There's no face on the person who is riding with death, just black scribbles, boney arms, and a red torso. And death itself is just a collection of limbs and a skull, no torso whatsoever. I wish Basquiat was alive to explain this to me, because I have a strong desire to know what was going through his head when he created this. Why does death not have a torso? What's in death's mouth? Why the random orange lines over the head and hand? What is going on?