I write about this in the Time Travel section of my book. This cyclical, time travelling aspect is what makes Afrofuturism unique.
Thanks everyone for checking in. I had a great time. Thanks @io9! Afrofuturism is in flight!
Afrofuturism is very nonlinear and zips through time and space. . .for a very long time some people just did not know what to make of it
Technology has completely changed the game. People with an interest in how black culture, technology and the imagination intersect can now connect online. In fact, the early academic writing on the subject in the 90s, when the term Afrofuturism was created by Mark Dery, was developed largely because Alondra Nelson…
Afrofuturism is very cyclical. In addition to zig zagging between the past and the future, plucking cultural nuggets along the way, the aesthetic is equally influenced on all sides. The term Afrofuturism was created in the US and uses African metaphors. Many people in Africa now use Afrofuturism to describe a cultural…
Afrofuturism covers the black diaspora at large - which means that people of African descent who live all over the world have helped to shape it. Many of the artists who are referenced including Sun Ra, George Clinton and Octavia Butler are American. Nalo Hopkinson has Caribbean heritage. Kodwo Eshun, a critical…
Sun Ra, the avant guarde jazz musician created the foundation for what we view as Afrofuturism today in the 50s. However, there were black speculative fiction writers, some of whom were activists in the late 19th century. W.E.B. Dubois wrote a science fiction story. The mythology and creation stories that many writers…
Afrofuturism, in addition to being a great lens for creativity, is also a way to view race critically. Using the metaphor of alien abduction when viewing the TransAtlantic Slave Trade or looking at otherness through the idea of being alien are examples of this. I think the idea of otherness through alienation is one…
Thanks! Yes . . .I am familiar with many of them and wrote about Sun Ra extensively in the book. Hip hop is chock full of Afrofuturist themes and messages.
Black is both a cultural and political term, but how it is defined shifts depending on the country you're in, etc. Afrofuturists see race as a technology in that it is a man-made creation. Many Afrofuturists include a host of cultures and people in their storytelling because this idea of race as a creation impacts…
Afrofuturism triggers the imagination. In my opinion it creates a different cultural lens through which to view the past, future and present. In that sense, it can be very expansive and demonstrates that people of African descent have always contributed to visions of the future, technology, and the sciences.
Afrofuturism demonstrates that there are other ways to tell a story. . . there are other cultures, mythologies, histories and perspectives to pull from. I think it is exciting to learn how other cultural influences can inform or shape perspectives, science, the future and the imagination. Afrofuturism is very…
I love that Afrofuturism stimulates the imagination. Anyone can have a vision and anyone can act on that vision. Creativity, or seeing beyond your circumstances is not just a luxury for the few. That said, attaining the resources to bring this vision into fruition can be influenced by location and circumstance. SF in…
It already has. But with so many independent artists on the rise, I'm sure that you will see more. For a long time, the challenge was convincing others that there is an audience for the work. Now the audience is obvious.
I didn't create the term Afrofuturism. The term was created by culture writer Mark Dery in the mid 90s. However, I wanted to write this book because I believed that many people would find the ideas and the many people who have contributed to the aesthetic to be quite exciting. Afrofuturism can be very expansive with…
Absolutely! Creators can go directly to their fans or find those with interest in Afrofuturism or other projects and get backing to bring their projects to life.
Sweet!