Curious Ny

A series of thoughts for my horror lovers 🤍

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A Conclusion to the Afro Fut Course

I love the fact that the professor is so optimistic about the Future of Afro-Futurism. I think it was a beautiful way to end the course as it really emphasized that there is a future. All of these themes and concepts come to life with a new generation of revisionary and revolutionary writers and filmmakers. Even within the student showcase you start to see a becoming of visions and dreams. Before Afro-futurism was even coined back when African Americans were only portrayed through a colonizer's eyes it truly is refreshing to see all the material we have now. But I don’t think we should settle for what we have now and I truly believe we should continue thriving and trying to out beat each other to create that work that transcends time and even becomes a reality. I wish instead of a concept Afro-futurism was its own alternative universe, but with the way some writers write and some filmmakers create, maybe I would be better off searching for the nearest theme park. Similar to when the concepts of backrooms arose, there's this fear about the hidden things we don’t know. But it’s really sad to see Professor Due have less faith in Hollywood, and to know deep down inside that it is the truth. But this just shows us that as a face we need to stop trying to fit in with these white powers and slowly start to create our own. If Nigeria has Nollywood, and India has Bollywood, I think it’s due time for an Afrowood. And when we talk about certain concepts like seeing Afro-Futurism through a colonist's lens, it is clear to see that they do not like us, not only do they not like us, but they are actively against us to gain the benefits that come from oppressive systems like capitalism, racism, and honestly all the isms and phobias. But to see a future with Afro-futurism and not just become a flopping trend we are most definitely going to need to outreach and grow more within the black society, and even though I preach how we need to do A, B, C, and even D to be successful this doesn’t take away the reality of this being unplayable due to the laws and systems keeping us down.  But we are already on the right track, the first step is awareness, and by having these films and short stories out maybe we can start to desire more about what is possible for us and what can truly become our reality.

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Afro-Fut Class Rant

This week reminded me the most of the Afro-horror class. I love how Professor Due uses some of the same elements that you can see all throughout her courses. Like who would even think about Futurism having the same horror elements of Vampires and even worse, colonizers...yikes. But it’s really interesting to have a different perspective on Afro-futurism and honestly to just acknowledge why we even had the need to create an aspect like Afro-Futurism and what it means not just for us as a race, but for us as a nation and as the world. But at the same time, part of me is so resistant to seeing Afro-futurism through a colonizers lens, I see Afro-futurism as this safe heaven to a world where racism doesn’t exist, and see that through a colonizers lens or even broad streaming makes it seem like it’s no longer as special or places it at a risk to being stolen or tarnished because as we know very well and honesty every other race except whites know very well, colonizers are known for their pillaging and destroying. But when reading greedy choke puppy I was a little confused by certain phrasing and words I haven’t heard of before, but once I got over that part and understood that this was a dramatized folktale it became a little easier to understand how being too greedy can lead to choking but I think it’s also important to understand that food and water are daily necessitates, but at the same time, too much of anything, can be a bad thing. But when discussing the movie District 6 about a spaceship landing in South Africa I thought it was interesting, especially the professor's take on apartheid and how the races were still being separated. And tbh, I wouldn't mind being separate but equal. I can’t speak for counties outside of America, But I feel like one of the prime factors that lead to us (African Americans) being in the disadvantaged state that we are in is because of integration. We had beautiful cities and we became dependent on ourselves to get certain things because we were not allowed to seek them anywhere else, but when integration happened we became dependent on the white man’s capitalism to thrive within a society that hates us instead of a society that loves us and wants to build us up. But I don’t agree with the way people were treated within apartheid, equal rights and equal opportunity should be given.

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Small Snippet on Beyonce's All Night Music Video (Afro-Fut Take)

I can’t even begin to describe where we were as a society when Beyonce's Lemonade came out. The last I had heard of that famous family was Solange beating up her cheating brother-in-law and well-known rapper Jay Z in the elevator, now that was a sight to see if I do say so myself. But they were surrounded by scandal, it was an era of that and the events that took place 6 years ago that truly made the whole album an astronomic success if you ask me. But the reason why I mention this is that I feel like we can’t talk about the Beyonce song all night long without talking about the success of the whole album as a whole and just the emotions she went through and even the hints of witchcraft and voodoo found within the deep southern culture and clearly within Beyonce culture as well. I wish I had the time to go into things Beyonce related like the new show Swarm that came out to just talk about the cultness of fandoms and how we basically grew up admiring, listening, and loving Beyonce. But since this course and this blog is strictly Afro- Fut related I want to bring my thoughts and ideas back to the topic at hand, The all-night music video. My first thought when seeing the video again after years in class was is that Blue Ivy?? When we think of the future we think of children and kids, so the first futuristic aspect I saw within the music video was the children. And then my second thought, when I saw them harvesting the food and carrying it inside, was the Parable and the Sower. If I were to think of that fresh start the need to be self-sufficient and self-reliant my mind goes straight to there. Now I have no idea if Beyonce has read the Parable of the Sower or etc, but I’m sure some of her writers and creative directors have. And my last thought was that there can not be a future without a past, so I loved how she honored her grandmother and really focused on the aspect that the knowledge we even have today was taught and passed down to us. The people before us created something out of nothing, and if we keep on acknowledging that, I truly believe the future will be limitless.

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Religion and Afro-Futurism

Listening to the song “Rockit” by Herbie Hancock it’s crazy how simple music videos and messages could be. The beats were so groovy and I’m sure that beats and music videos like this exist today but with mainstream music becoming more and more similar each and every day finding unique artists is like a diamond in the rough. But it’s also very scary to me on the basis of my religion. Being Christian and experiencing afro-futuristic music like this and Dirty Computer where love is love and we have the freedom to express such love, I find it hard to see myself within this afro-futuristic world. And with a lot of the Christian community talking about how demonic certain types of music, songs, or artists can be, I am wary of branching out and discovering talented artists like Herbie Hancock since I don’t know what they are and who they believe in. Especially when we get into the mindset of transcending not only time but our own physical bodies right. Where we are no longer limited by our flesh and instead become smarter, fast, and more talented by using or becoming robots. Not realizing the dangers and concerns of things that we should be worried about when we try to create things that are bigger and greater than we are. Although we are creative beings who do belong in the future I sometimes worry for us, especially with the wealth gap that is never discussed in Afrofuturism. What about the poor who can’t afford the newest gadgets or the older generation who wants to be more traditional in the way they do things or honestly even the laws that would need to shift and change? But I really enjoyed Herbie’s music and I went on this whole rant about my religion because of the way he expresses his creative vision. In religion or even olden-age poetry, things like birds, skeletons, or even mannequins were portrayed as and seen as evil or a vessel for demonic spirits. And I feel even silly for writing this right now because if someone is not currently in the religion or etc, they just won’t understand. But with Afro-fut there are two sides that are clear to me on how the future can look like. The first side is where anything is possible and the lines of how things should be blurred, and the other side is where it is extremely strict, and we have to follow those strict procedures in order to survive. 

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Create Your Own Earthseed Community (Parable of the Sower Quickwrite)

It was a bright sunny day in the country of Persusia, June stretched his arms above his head, his shaggy hair covering half of his face before he pushed it back behind him. Today was the day, the day that he dreaded, citizens of Persusia have been talking of a strange plague that is overtaking the animals and rain hasn’t come for 14 months and counting. The end was here and he knew it was. But he didn’t worry too much, he had a plan. The other day he told his girlfriend of five years to meet him by the old crooked farm so they could escape. Not having a father or a mother, for June his partner was the only thing he had. There was an abandoned mill factory 56 miles west, he knew of it from stories old drunkards spilled while he was on shift. It would need a lot of work, but it was far away enough from infected animals and close enough to a hidden cave of water that no one knew of. He never felt that it was anything other than real: discovery rather than invention. While a part of him felt bad for not telling the rest of the town members about his plans, he knew deep down how greedy humanity can be. He told his girlfriend to bring her mother and younger brother, her father was abusive and they needed an escape. One that June was certain he could provide. All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you…God is change. This was going to be good for all of them. June wasn’t an authoritative man, but he understood that order was needed in order for their new safe haven to thrive. This is why he hoped to rule with a transformational model of leadership. If they are constantly pushing to think of new things together as a society, maybe we can find a solution to the plague affecting the animals, and if God prohibits it, even the lack of rain. Looking down at his open hand he stared at the tiny device he’s been working on for the past few months, he called it Entuisha, when inserted into an animal it cleared the plague long enough to make the animal edible, another reason why he was scared of the town finding out about their plans. He was scared of using force but will do whatever means necessary to survive, while he worked at the bar he bribed some of the security guards to help them sneak out of the passage, while the journey is long and tiring, they have enough provisions and Entuisha to survive. The lack of water is troubling, but if we keep purifying the water in our bodies hopefully it’ll be enough. And once we settle down, we can create an Entuisha farm, full of animals safe to eat and drink from the water in the hole. And once we build a lab to further develop more technologies, we’ll come back, and save this town. But first, we need to save ourselves.

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Dirty Computer and the Presence of Love in the African American Community.

Blog #1 I really wanted to focus my blog assignment on Dirty Computer. I mentioned a few times during the discussion how the biggest theme I found was Love. I started reading this book called Black Love and Why Black women can’t get it, and it really showed light on the history of slavery. How historically black women have never been able to pick and chose their own mates, and if they did happen to fall in love their husbands would be forced to watch as the master raped the woman, sold their children, and beat both into submission. There was no room for love, love was never something that was never seen as accessible for African Americans. Nevertheless the choice of polyamory. This is why I think that it is more important than ever for Afrofuturism to have love in it, more importantly, Black Love. I truly do believe that it is so important more than any other thing because of the fact that it has been seen as inaccessible. Even within social media today, black women are shamed for s interracial dating while black men are praised for having what one may call a “snow bunny”. We are so divided as a race that Janel’s representation of not only queerness but also of both partners being black, is an embodiment of the feminine and masculine traits of blackness. Black love is something in the future for us, we are no longer forced to be breeders for the master, within the walls of Afrofuturism, even the current institutions of incarceration can’t stop us from experiencing the freedom and beautiful forms of expression that comes with loving one another. And that beauty and need for love births creativity and even passion. My favorite song in Dirty Computer was Django Jane because not only was the flow crazy wild and a switch-up in comparison to their previous shows but it really felt like an “I’m that being '' and I am the shit kind of behavior. She uplifts the community by also uplifting herself and I feel like another bigger aspect of Afro-futurism isn’t just the possibility and reality of romantic love, but also self-love. Where we are fully embracing our identity through our fashion (Janelle’s use of embracing their black and white since it’s always been their “camo”), dance, and so much more. This is why when we get closer to the use of certain beats and instruments like the significance of the Djembe drum, it's clear to see that black people don’t just belong in the future, but that we are the future.

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Art or Trauma Porn?

Professor made a good point in communicating about the difference between a work of art and trauma porn, and how the effects of these triggering images can take a toll on our minds. Looking at the works we overviewed like Suicide at Sunset, The Girl With Gifts, and more, it's really striking to me the contrasts of the work, from enslaved people to civil rights to even vampires and ghosts. But beyond the crazy contrasts, there also was a focus on the theme of racism that really connected these works not only together, but also connected the works to horror. The horror of grief found in Please Momma where I can't imagine how one processes grief, especially to the point where it's a child and a mother. I haven't lost someone close to me since I was young and the way of processing those emotions and even just going through the emotions seemed like a distant memory in a way where I feel detached from the emotions one might feel about it. Even the woman who decided to write a book, I'm not sure I would have the strength non the less the courage of being able to do that. I would probably react similarly to the way the mother reacted in this short story, throwing fits, isolating myself, and being delusional! While I may react that way, I don’t condone the mother's treatment of the other daughter, if anything, some mothers tend to become overprotective and more loving on the only child they do have left. The second theme similar to grief was a loss, the loss of our culture, lives, identity, and history. I mentioned this in my lecture reflection but the thing that stood out the most to me in Devil in America was when Professor Due mentioned how the main protagonist didn't understand how to use her ancestral powers, It really ties into the themes of racism and isolation because even nowadays African Americans are separated from our culture and identity. it stood out to me so much because it made me curious about how our lives could be different. Or even the powers we may possess but do not know. And how isolating those feelings are, it's like retribution and revenge are so close at your fingertips, and then it's gone. That's the real horror, helplessness. But otherwise, I had a really enjoyable time reading the large variety and watching the short films showcased in class!

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What does it mean to be human (A social Commentary)

When professor Due was talking about the main characters in Night of The lIving dead it really struck my interest, Especially when it comes down to the role of femininity, or more interesting, the role of dark femininity. The power of having men, or in this case Ben, bend at your will and do things for you due to your helplessness as a woman. You can see this by how differently she was treated in comparison to other women because she acted like a child, but due to that, her life was easier. And so with feminist movements and this reinvention of the common housewife, is it really to the benefit of women? I always reconsider the roles that men and women have, especially during the civil rights movement in which this film was shot. I argue that women can do anything and everything a man can do, it's proven multiple times, but at the same time isn’t it nice to be pampered and tended to? Modern-day women complain all the time that this era of men is too feminine and ‘sassy’. But what if men becoming like that is simply due to our own misconstruction of gender which leads us to this imbalance in gender roles? We can blame men for not opening doors and being the breadwinners of the household when we push these narratives of being self-sufficient and hyper-masculine. But I do agree there needs to be a balance, living in an era (especially during the civil rights movement) where men and husbands have the right to control their wives, rape, and beat them is never ok, I fully support that part. Especially with the surprising image of Ben punching her to the point of unconsciousness.  So sorry for the off-topic rant, the treatment from the character Ben made me dive into how she got away with acting like a child. But in further conversations, the Girl with all the Gifts was INSANE! The muzzle, the face covered in blood?! Her being an experiment?! IS so scary and terrifying, to treat a human being as less than the real horror, not that it’s fictional, but that it's real life. But part of me seeks retribution in the way that she plays a white character, but the fact her actor is biracial really does play into the history of African Americans in this century, especially by being used as studies and research experiments, knowing, and unknowingly. The Tuskegee study is one of many, many examples. 

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The Keeper

The Keeper was a super interesting read, it made me curious about the connection between bugs and horror films. You see bugs used throughout a few major horror films as Professor Due mentioned in her lecture. This causes me to wonder if bugs being a major fear for a lot of people is a reason why it's used in films like the candyman or graphic novels like The Keeper. And if that is the case, is it due to evolution? Is the ancestor's fear of being alive by beasts or poison they didn't have the weapons nor cure for etched so deep in our history that our current fear even as mild as the fear of spiders is caused by irrationality? Next time in class I want to ask those questions and delve deeper into why Professor Due used ants in her story. But besides that inquisition, I can't help but grieve for Aisha's constant loss of her family members and then having to go to school like nothing was wrong. And I feel like part of the reason why I grieve it is due to my own personal connection with it. How many UCLA students have experienced the same or similar experience in their life. Celebrating Dia De Muertos recently I realized how sick American culture is, even when grieving someone. In countries like Mexico not only is death something that is celebrated, but it's also something that is longer than a weekend process of grieving, these people have genuine care and love for the person gone that America as a culture has never taught me. An example of that comes from how quickly Aisha had to get herself together and act like nothing was going on as if she didn’t have a dead body in the room. Growing up as a young girl who didn’t experience the best childhood and definitely gained some trauma I related with Aisha wavering between getting the care and love she deserved at the cost of losing her soul, or defeating this monster that is literally and figuratively draining the life out of her. To the point where we start to wonder why are our own insecurities in life creating this monster within us, is it the human nature to survive, the American culture to not only live, but live well, or this weird combination of both? And it was heartbreaking as well to hear about Professor Dues' family members and I see why one of Jordan Peele's themes in Nope was Spectacle because it's almost as if we publicize our own trauma for another viewing pleasure, but from it, I do believe we also gain freedom of expression. 

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Get Out- An Intro

Entering this class I'm honestly not sure what my expectations were, but I did know that I wanted to broaden my knowledge on a subject-centered around African American studies that weren't something common knowledge. Which is why this class was perfect for what I was looking for. I knew this class was a hard class to get into but I just assumed it was due to the asynchronous of the course, but now no longer being waitlisted I see the reason why this class is so heavily sought after, not just because of the chance to meet Jordan Peele but because Professor Due herself is an icon. And so it really is an honor to not only have a professor with these connections who actually write amazing films but to have a professor that writes! So when analyzing the film Get Out, it’s really interesting to see the different perspectives that arise, with some of my classmates pointing out that the character Chris during his hypnosis with the white mother was in fact picking cotton from the chair, or even how it was weird that the character Chris stayed in the house after realizing something was wrong with the black people in the area. This is a jump to week 5’s lecture on survival within the horror aesthetic, but I truly think alarms and bells would have rung in my head telling me to get out of there once the father said he’d vote for Obama for a second or third term. Even our conversations on how passive progression isn't truly advocacy for black lives, and in reality, can and does hold some racist overtones that became more prominent when Trump came into office and the black lives matter movement came into fruition. I find it really interesting how the movie gets really played into the fears of interracial dating, especially when its time to go home and visit the family and/or etc. But I’m also curious about how this same fear would showcase itself if the gender roles in Get Out were switched, or if due to the fact that we already see the white man as a predator and monster that it wouldn't have even gotten to this point. And while I understand healthy relationships and trusting your partner, that white girl was a little too comfortable with her guests feeling and rubbing on Chris. To the point where it is like she’s never had any love or attraction to this man at all. And I feel like that is the real horror of Get Out.

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My people and Horror

Blog Post #3

I didn’t realize how much black talent and thought went into creating this kind of horror short film, I knew my people were talented, but as someone who never really follows celebrities much less the faces of the background action I find myself gaining insight on not only who Jordan Peele is as a person and as an artist, but the deeper sense of viewing a true cinema lover. I’m not a film or English major and I really took this class because of the really interesting topic and because of the African American history aspect of it and I've definitely made the right choice because I had no idea how much our culture intertwined, like the first stop motion being of a black man riding a horse. But at the same time, it’s also so sad thinking and discussing the ways not only we as humans have been erased but how we as a people have lost our history by not being represented, recorded or even heard. So I applaud Jordan Peele for the work his films do of really really bringing light and reconstruction of the black stereotypes we normally see in film. And then add on to the short film shown on Tuesday! I loved how Professor Due mentioned how it is possible to create a short film with low budgeting, I guess I just worry about not having my story or the story that I’m envisioning play out in a way that is not only creative and eye catching, but also meaningful in a way that it connects back to the class. So if you have any tips at all on that I would love to know. But I really want to go back to Jordan Peele and just debrief on the complexity and differences between his 3 movies. Before attending the lecture I had no idea that he helped write love craft and candyman. Both a show and a movie I have admired and heard renowned things about. I also didn’t know that he was the director and writer of my favorite horror film in the whole wild world, the US. And I love how I can watch each movie without the urge to connect stories or even connect them back to the author. Jordan does a great job of making sure each story is unique and heard. One of the many things I admire about him. As I'm learning more about this person I can’t help but be curious if we’ll get the chance to meet him in person this year. I think he is a person definitely worth meeting.

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Horror and the Get-Out Aesthetic

While isolation in Get Out focused on escape, I find isolation at UCLA to be the absence of individuality, the loss of never being able to be the only one with an experience. Not just the experience of the general mankind, but the experience of African Americans. I can't stand in a room with few black people and a majority of white without being seen as a collective, not an individual. It's like my own personality, thoughts, ideas, and perspectives are crushed under my race. I can’t just be Nyomi, I just need to be that black girl. Just like how Chris, while having a great eye for photography, was still chosen because he was a black man. It burdens me, but beyond that, it isolates me from connecting with my nonblack peers without having my race as a filler answer or a checkbox they mark off when describing me to others. I feel alone because of the white supremacy that has made me isolated, afraid, and defensive. Isolation in regards to where letting go and being vulnerable seems like a pathway to an easy death. I am isolated to where I self-regulate my clothing, my hair, and the way I talk… unlike a white girl who can and will just roll out of bed and call that a fit. Isolated in a way where even our own black men are thriving more and more at the loyalty of black women and the expense of their bodies. When we will be free from this isolation, free from this box they place us in what they call invisible. Hearing Professor Due during a lecture I just can’t phantom how there is not just one category of black horror, but five common themes (fear of white supremacy, enslavement and subjugation, vodu/vodun, ancestors, and retribution). We have so many themes that when I wake up in the morning I question which theme or even themes will I experience today. I really and honestly want to blame everything on racism, that black person didn’t get the job, why? Because of racism of course. Moving on to Thursday's lecture I just want to talk about how fantastic the movie the US was even if we only talked about it briefly for really breaking the trend of white people being the predecessor and bringing this breath of freshness to the movie with the true perpetrator being ourselves, to the point where even standing up for what was taken from us points us as a victim, and that is the scariest part. 

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Love you guys sooo much 💜. You don’t even have to like. And if I don’t know you that well…then I think you’re a wonderful person inside out. Thank you guys for making me laugh,smile,be stupid,be funny,understand what having a best friend/friend is like…just knowing you guys make me joyful,so thank you guys again! - to friends and future followers around the world.

Since this is my first post…it’s also a promise to fulfill your laughing tanks and talk to you about things I believe you guys deserve to know about in the real world we have now……thank you