Sandi's Blog

“To get along with God, consider the consequences of your behavior” - Lauren Olamina

[repressandobsess]

What is Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism is a community, a response, a battle cry, a home. It is a place where Black writers and readers can explore themselves with no inhibition, and can rejoice with others who feel the same way. It is a response to decades of being pushed out, written out, and disregarded in an entire beloved medium. As if black people cannot exist in the future. It is a battle cry, where black people can imagine what the revolution will feel like, and can write it down into words and share it. It is a safe space to imagine Black life in the past, present and future in the kind of scenarios and settings that are only reserved for white individuals. 

My final project considered the works of the artists we have discussed over the course, like Janelle Monae, Beyonce, and Professor Due. There were other artists who impacted me just as deeply that I did not get a chance to shout out: SUN RA, George Clinton, Steven Barnes, etc. Although I took the more analytical approach to my final project, the artistry within this class is what has had me hooked since week 1. An alternate universe where irishmen were the slaves rather than Africans. A film where America must vote on sending every Black person up into space. A film where a black slave from space crash lands on earth and attempts to find safety. These are definitely far out concepts. But they are so valuable to the community. Social commentary is what makes these works of art masterpieces. I believe that unfortunately, to be black is to be political, and in these works it is no different. But the social commentary, the critiques on hierarchy, the contemplation of true freedom is what transforms your average work of fiction into a lesson or even just a memorable reading experience. There is the idea that being too outwardly political can be dangerous for Black individuals, with good reason. Perhaps that is why these incredible works of art are not often brought up in conversations, book recommendations, or good films to check out. Nevertheless, they are still there waiting to be discovered.

Each and every afrofuturist story puts the control in the reader's hand. Themes that connect so intimately to our real lives cannot be ignored so easily. By taking the time to look past the surface level of these artworks, you find a real treat looking back at you. Questions to contemplate, answers to questions, thoughts you did not know you had in you are all there ready for the taking. Taking this class is an asset to your critical thinking skills, and If I could take this course over again, I would. 

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Greedy Choke Puppy and Black Vampires

Greedy Choke Puppy reminds me of what is so special about a reader’s journey into afrofuturism, especially as a Black individual. The folklore of vampires has been around for centuries,they are the original boogeyman that kept you up at night afraid to look at your closet. They have stood the test of time within media and literature, but despite the pure fantasy that is necessary for a storyteller to base a novel or movie on vampires, the only thing stranger than the vampires themselves would be ethnic vampires. Being introduced to a vampire story that has been infused with caribbean culture is a special feeling, and an exciting read. Greedy Choke Puppy plays all of its cards right, from the use of Caribbean dialect to represent the protagonist's household, to the depiction of the character’s relationships, to the surprise twist where the protagonist becomes the antagonist. The story is impressive in its occasionally subtle uses of classic afrofuturist themes. For example, the granddaughter's worries of starting a family and having not settled down as fast as her peers are common and understandable. However when you consider her eventual reveal as the Soucoyant (a vampiric being who feeds on youth and sucks the soul from babies) we are now exploring a key theme, where the ideas of ancient folklore meet modern day issues. The Soucoyant has existed in African folklore for ages, and the author expertly uses a very common example of a modern day issue to tie back to the Soucoyant’s roots. Similarly the Relationship between the grandmother and granddaughter is more complex when you consider the role of a matriarch within a Black family. There is often an expectation for the Black grandma specifically to act as the protector, not just for their family, but for anyone in need within arms reach. It brings to mind images of my own grandmother feeding the kids on the block around lunchtime, inviting them in for a band aid when they have hurt themselves. Here, we see that relationship depicted with a twist, where the grandmother must destroy her own kin to keep themselves and their neighborhood safe. Killing her child and grandchild are upsetting for the character, but she acknowledges that it must be done.This short story is a clear encompassment of all that afrofuturism brings to the table, a special nuance that cannot be found in general science fiction. 

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Artificial Intelligence

One of the most coveted facets of the future that has yet to be fully materialized is the creation of Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, is the creation of conscious technology/humanoid robots that can hold the same speaking, feeling, and understanding capacity as human beings. They will hold all the complexities of life and have none of the neediness. They won’t know love, happiness, or excitement but they also won’t know fear, pain, jealousy, or frustration. When we crack the code, AI machines will be whatever we need them to be, with only human imagination being the limit.

What is wrong with the way things work now, and why do we need an invention like a sentient robot? The ultimate goal of AI has seemingly been the ability to say it can be done. Past that, it is likely their abilities will be commodified for human use, making a new efficient and totally subservient working class that does not need the grace that human beings generally require. For example, having no familial responsibilities removes issues that keep people away from jobs, like a canceled babysitter, child illness or a sudden family death. No need for sleep means that a quick recharge will have them working like new, and no ability to desire means no rebellion or complaints of being overworked. From this viewpoint, AI tech is all that and a bag of bolts! Still though, I personally hold reservations.

We should take heed from storytellers who have written about how the robot revolution can quickly backfire on the humans who create it. Dystopia and technology go hand in hand, and as life as we know it comes closer and closer to a potential climate induced disaster or social collapse of society, the solution has been to invest in tech. In theory, certain inventions do have the potential to provide relief for these issues, like how a top of the line water purifier could allow us to siphon drinkable water straight from the ocean, or how electric cars will put a significant dent in global emissions. But as we have seen, technology is not always as reliable or intuitive as we make it out to be, and I believe the false inflation of the potential that technological advancements holds has directly led to the fervent desire for a creation like artificial intelligence. If we can believe in the creation of artificial intelligence, we should automatically be considering that if it is possible to create sentient life of hardware and code, it is just as likely that we will lose control, what little of it we would likely have in the first place. 

[repressandobsess]

Daughters of the Dust

Daughters of the Dust is not your typical afrofuturist film, being devoid of obvious themes like CGI robot villains or a technologically advanced dystopia. Initially I wouldn’t have felt that this film was afrofuturist at all. A touching story depicting the generations that build a family? Yes. A heartwarming tale of the excitement and uncertainty of new beginnings? Indeed. An afrofuturist story? Hard no. But my indoctrination into this genre is a steady, slow-going process and I can admit that I overlooked key aspects of the film that add the usual charm of science fiction and fantasy.

What I love about the use of technology in this film is the way it is used to enhance the familial narrative rather than acting as a representation of class. For the time period, I was surprised to see black people who could afford a camera, and my initial impression was that Viola and Mr. Snead were returning home to bask in their better living and newfound wonders on the mainland. Instead, the camera added to the idea of lineage and represented a bridge between those on the island and those moving to the mainland. The subject of the photo matters as much as the camera itself, and here the Peazant family can hold the image of themselves as a whole before the majority make their move off the island, presumably for the last time.

Another element I really enjoyed from Daughters of the Dust was the magical realism. I think one needs to look no further than the film's narrator for how magical realism can be a special tool to enhance the plot of a story. I personally loved the choice of using the unborn baby to narrate, I found her sweet and childlike voice to be a welcome contrast to the tenseness of the film. Hearing her input gave the idea that this truly was a film about a family coming together before they eventually become divided by the changing times, especially when you consider the bond that a new child usually evokes within a family. The magical realism of the child is seen not only in her sharp narration, but in what her character represents. She appears before other characters as a vision several times throughout the film, and each time she acts as an anchor for a character battling a major emotion. Her presence is almost a signal for the audience that life will continue to move on past any hardship, and that your plights are never all your own. As you grow older, you create your own lineage and every hardship you encounter becomes wisdom to pass along for them.

[repressandobsess]

Earthseed Community: Autonomia

Following an irreversible depression that stagnates the economy at the hands of late stage-capitalism, my earthseed community will be seeking a shelter to re-build a better society. The first major issue my community needs to rebuild from is the fall of cybersecurity. By this point in the future, the world has gone nearly completely paperless, with every transaction, correspondence, and advertisement being digitized. This total collapse of cybersecurity has led to the constant hacking, selling & trading of private information. The next major issue that compounds on top of the fall of cyber security is the return of Monopolies. With each industry having one major overseer, prices on everyday items have skyrocketed beyond reason, and the tech monopolies have the freewill to make impactful decisions with no pushback (see: the Apple pay sanctions placed on Russian citizens in the 2022 war against Ukraine).

1. “When apparent stability disintegrates, As it must—God is Change—People tend to give in To fear and depression, To need and greed. When no influence is strong enough To unify people They divide. They struggle, One against one, Group against group, For survival, position, power. They remember old hates and generate new ones. They create chaos and nurture it. They kill and kill and kill, Until they are exhausted and destroyed, Until they are conquered by outside forces, Or until one of them becomes A leader Most will follow, Or a tyrant Most fear.” This quote represents the tyranny my community is attempting to escape. The powerful leaders who chose to invest in themselves over and over to build their personal wealth and power, at the expense of the average citizen, are the need and greed that the community needs saving from. While their power multiplies, lower income citizens' autonomy and power diminishes, effectively conquered.

2. “All successful life is Adaptable, Opportunistic, Tenacious, Interconnected, and Fecund. Understand this. Use it. Shape God.” The underwater community does not have a singular God that is being pushed onto them, and every citizen is free to worship as they choose. Within this verse, “shaping God” refers to shaping your reality. The community has been dealt a terrible hand, and is choosing to reshape their reality rather than cower.

To ensure safety, my Earthseed community will create a colony underwater, where no signal could reach. The ocean is expansive and largely untouched, with plenty of edible fish and water that can be made drinkable.

This community is not exclusive, but members will be vetted in a way that ensures no person could provide unreasonable harm to the sanctity of community values and safety. Individuals that display an allegiance to fully digitized services (tech-supremacists) will not be welcome, as well as those who display unhealthy parasocial relationships to the politicians and monopoly owners that forced us out. This is to ensure that no-one attempts to overhaul the community’s mission.

My leadership model for my community will be implementing a hierarchy based on skill. There is no top and bottom for this hierarchy, but whatever skill is needed the most that day. This could be weapon-making if we are under attack, providing first-aid, even being able to play instruments on a day where community members are feeling extra bored and restless. In return for being the most relied on on a given day, you are served first at mealtime, allowed personal time to deep sea dive, and given one rest day when needed (exclusions apply).

A crucial technology for underwater survival would be the ‘oxydome.’ It is a light, portable device shaped like an astronaut helmet, that allows for humans to breathe easily when in water. Our underwater facility has , but with these helmets individuals can hunt for fish and collect fresher water from near the top of the ocean for drinking. 

My earthseed community will be based in the ruins of previous citizens who had attempted underwater living. We would not be the first, but we will have learned from the mistakes of those before us, including: spaced out hunting trips so we don’t permanently scare fish from entering our area (the farther we have to go to hunt, the more dangerous it becomes), stockpiling water purification tablets in the event that we have a system breakdown, daily exercise so the time underwater doesn’t morph our joints, and regularly attending class to maintain a routine. 

My community will survive by creating a system not based on capital, but on bartering skill. Our education system will require trade training, and no skill is invaluable, whether that be having a doctorate in medicine or being able to sew clothes that need repairing. We will also maintain our underwater garden, the key to keeping spirits high and healthy eating. Fresh fruits and vegetables are scarce on the mainland, due to changes brought on by global warming. On the mainland oil drills and pollution contaminate the fresh soil needed for growing these items, but down here we can set up a garden free of those contaminants. 

[repressandobsess]

I am a Dirty Computer

Dirty Computer depicts Janelle Monae at her best, giving voice, power, and liberating minorities through expression and critical thought. Within the realm of Dirty Computer, we see dark themes of hierarchy, surveillance states, even dehumanizing individuals in their world by referring to everyone as computers, and performing “deprogramming” and encouraging repression through forced cleansing. Janelle tells the story of Jane 57821, soon to be Mary Apple 54, as they are stuck in captivity having their memories erased and thoughts and emotions suppressed.

Jane 57821 doesn’t know it (after all most of the time they are being held prisoner, given virtually no freedoms) but through the process of the cleansing, the audience is able to live her memories with scenes of her life being depicted through song. “Pynk” was an obvious standout, and one of the more recognizable messages portrayed in her work. With Pynk, there is no reference to their dystopia or the plight of Jane 57821, and instead we receive beautiful messaging on womanhood and sexual liberation. In other tracks, like screwed for example, we don’t get to see much of Jane’s self expression before she is cut off and facing perilous situations, like being chased by police robots. 

The aspect of dehumanization in Janelle’s work is particularly intriguing, and a favorite theme of mine when discussing Afrofuturism. In their memories, we see Jane 57821 in her truest form, spending intimate time with loved ones, attending parties, and living larger than her surveillance state deems appropriate. These clips of life are immediately contrasted with Jane’s cleansing process, where we find her at her lowest and most vulnerable. Individuality is not celebrated, and Jane’s group find themselves targeted more than once. Their policing seems personal, and the choice to have Jane’s love, Mary Apple 53, be the one to perform her cleansing supports that. There is a clear hierarchy in this society, where technology and conformity are celebrated. Citizens are meant to be calm and subservient, and loyal to the system rather than each other. However in Jane’s group, we see a dedicated and loving support system that likely threatened this conforming system, and ultimately made them worth targeting. 

Dirty Computer could be spoken on at length from many different angles, and that is what makes it such a surefire standout in the field of afrofuturism. Speaking on oppression through song and dance can go very left, but Monae’s authenticity and pure passion comes through clearly and I believe we see a lot of the real Janelle Monae in her character Jane. I believe  that what Janelle and Jane both long for is an emotional revolution, where self-expression and abstract thought is encouraged. It a revolution that I would love to see as well.