The resurgence of Afrofuturism goes beyond ‘Black Panther,’ to Janelle Monáe, Jay-Z and more

Washington Post ^ | February 17, 2018 | Sonia Rao

[C19fan]

The long-awaited “Black Panther” will dominate the pop culture scene over the next few weeks, and amid praise for the cast and Ryan Coogler’s astute direction, you’re likely to hear one word quite often: Afrofuturism.

The term, coined by cultural critic Mark Dery in his 1994 essay “Black to the Future,” refers to an aesthetic that infuses science fiction and fantasy with cultures of the African diaspora. It shakes up our preconceived notions of history and race by envisioning an often utopic future shaped by black technological innovation. Elements of it predate the term, going as far back as the 1950s, appearing everywhere from visual art to novels to comic books to music by the likes of George Clinton and the jazz musician Sun Ra.

[C19fan]

Of all the let us say futurist or [blank]punk vision this has to be the most inconceivable. Rather live in Victorian Steampunk than some Afro ****hole future.

[dfwgator]

So when are they moving to Africa to make their vision come true?

[grobdriver]

envisioning an often utopic future shaped by black technological innovation

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahahahaha! ! ! !

Wishing won't make it so.

More like everyone running around shooting each other while wearing their hats sideways and their pants down around their knees.

[fieldmarshaldj]

This thread needs a Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington double facepalm.

[Jewbacca]

“Africa untouched by colonization”

The entire premise is absurd. White people didn’t screw up Africa. Africans screwed up Africa.

That’s why it was, and is, subject to outside forces.

[ThePatriotsFlag]

These people amaze me. All worried to a dither about the killing in Florida, and they promote a move that has 163 killings in it. The teen brain isn’t “rational” until age 25 ... and they wonder why OUR KIDS are killing OUR KIDS? Either hypocrites or incredibly stupid.

[vladimir998]

“It shakes up our preconceived notions of history and race by envisioning an often utopic future shaped by black technological innovation.”

Right, it’s FICTION.

[AzSteven]

As it happened, the film has a noticeable SJW bent to it (no surprise), but the surprise was the primary baddie is a hardcore BLM type. It is interesting to see how, in the storyline, the protagonists are opposed to sharing the wealth and technology of Wakanda to the rest of the world, and are unwilling to help other Africans. Of course, the endgame has the protagonists realize they have to help Africa, but they reject the BLM 'get whitey' plans of the badguy.

Also surprising - the white CIA agent turns out to be a good guy with an important part in the final battle. Really expected the 'evil white guy' thing to come into play with him in particular.

[RegulatorCountry]

Am I wrong in suspecting that the term “Afrofuturism” began as a roundabout way of referring to the “mothership” of the Nation of Islam?

[RegulatorCountry]

Also surprising - the white CIA agent turns out to be a good guy with an important part in the final battle.

Step back from that sentence for a moment and then revisit it.

[tbw2]

Someone said to imagine what Africa would be like without the colonialism, what’s the comparison?
I said it was Syria and Egypt versus UAE and Kuwait. With the Western scientific and technological innovations, you get two countries that have first world standards of living fueled literally by the resource extraction the West developed and buys. Syria and Egypt are dirt poor, over-populated, and wish they had oil.
Without the Western scientific and technological innovation, without Western institutions, all of Africa would be the poor rural lands that the undeveloped areas STILL ARE.

[polymuser]

Google images for “American scientists and inventors” using the quotes.

[dfwgator]

Africa...


"Cradle of F...... Civilization!"

[polymuser]

Well, where was our continent when Europeans arrived? What had ‘native Americans’ developed on their own?

[Midwesterner53]

If you want to shake up our notions, think of less black crime. That would really change things!

[Da Coyote]

Didn’t happen then.
And, given the present culture, won’t happen evah.

[PapaBear3625]

In a breakdown of science and engineering PhDs awarded by race, overall, blacks accounted for just 2.7%

[Eagles6]

If humanity actually did start in Africa and spread out shouldn't they be much further ahead, technologically, politically, standard of living than everywhere else on earth?

And yet...

[lee martell]

I think I just smelled a
Farrakhan! The more I listen to the feedback, there seems to be a lot of Black Liberation Fantasy associated with it.
I hope that’s not the main message of the movie. I was thinking of seeing it later this year, but not if it’s an openly racist piece of propaganda. All I want is a little diversion and entertainment, not any strange mix of Black Power and Scientology.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

AfroFuturism is a desire by some blacks to have a unique, ethnically black homogenous culture that is more advanced than, or at least at parity with, white culture.

At one level, I don’t see anything wrong with this. Science fiction writers and futurists dream up Utopian societies all the time and some of them are ethnically homogenous. But they need to be recognized as just that — literary or movie fantasies. They aren’t reality. There is no greater meaning in them.