scarscorptrix

[scarscorptrix]

bp 6 afrofuturism

Afrofuturism is a genre that allows individuals the space to imagine, dream, and create. Afrofuturistic works like, Walking Awake by N.K. Jemson are words that give strength to those trying to break away from the worlds of their own. It is a story of a worker confined by the restraints of her job-- and her duties as a worker. Her life is composed of switching bodies and lives out from one another to those in power called the Masters. Throughout the story, she grows more and more aware of her stance-- and realizing that taking none is siding with the oppressor. I think this is really relevant to what we see in the world today whether it is about racism, Black Lives Matter, or Israel-Palestine conflicts. There are a huge amount of people that are blinded by the privileges that they have compared to others. Living in America, we are especially blind because we live in a country that is founded on fragmented truths and manipulative lies. This story is a story about recognizing that privilege and what to do with that newfound recognition and knowledge. It is a battle between comfort or discomfort. It makes us think back to our own lives and what stances we are taking in real time. The beauty of this story is that it evokes thought, change, and action. It requires individuals to reflect on their own lives and inspires them to take some kind of action-- even if they are unaware of what that act might be. It reminds me of the thoughts I have everyday of whether or not I am doing enough with the little power I do have. But as a single person, the only power you have is to push others in order to create a domino effect of revolts and realizations. For the main character, Sadie it was somewhat easier to handle the issue at hand, it was obvious and unlayered. But when reflecting on the times we are in now-- it makes me think of how minimal progress is. It is there, and it gives hope. But, fighting a centuries old enemy with the width of the world is difficult. Anyways, on a less depressing note-- my favorite line was, “No revolution without blood. No freedom without willingness to die.” I think this quote can work physically and mentally or metaphorically. Freedom takes sacrifice.

[scarscorptrix]

bp 5 afrofuturism

Music is similar to a letter to the generations that come after you. With the help of technology, it can transcend time and circumstance. Colliding music with imagery, music videos are little gifts that can be left behind to help motivate and create a world that differs from your own. Flying Lotus’ music video for his song, Never Catch Me, featuring Kendrick Lamar does this for me. I think as I have grown older it has become more and more evident that there are many factors and powers in this world that will try to rob you of your spirit. This is the case for Black children-- ESPECIALLY. To others, and to the world we are never seen as children in their eyes. For Black girls, it is the immediate sexualization and for Black boys, it's the hypermasculinization and dehumanization of both. Although we can try, we live in a world that forces us to grow up too fast. In Flying Lotus’ Never Catch Me music video, it is centered around the funeral of two Black children-- one girl and one boy. As we move throughout the video, there are scenes that are not rooted in sadness but rooted in joy, dance, and claps. I think this is a definite image of afrofuturism-- it inspired me and I would think it would inspire our youth. Living long enough in this world, causes us to grow thicker skin and a resilience that is characterized by transforming our negative experiences into something bigger-- something beautiful. Flying Lotus is leaving a message to the kids of any marginalized community but especially Black kids and telling them that the world can never rob you of your spirit. It is as if he is throwing his middle finger up to the world and saying-- watch me. Even though it is hard to adopt this mindset, I feel like it is something that grows alongside you as you get older. No matter how hard this world tries to kill you with their stereotypes or systematic barriers, don’t forget who you are and don’t let them forget who you are. This little aspect of our livelihood that we have control over, they can’t take from us. Moving away from the imagery, and message itself. Flying Lotus’ music itself, vocals, and beats are an ode to afrofuturism as well. It runs in his family, the gift to bend music and genres-- creating something new out of the old.

[scarscorptrix]

blogpost 4 afut

There have been many attempts to address the faults we see within the places we emerged from. It is these faults that motivate and inspire individuals to rewrite and redraw the future. The film District 9, directed by Neill Blomkamp, attempts to do this.

Once the film finished, I had thought it was a really good film. It kept me engaged throughout and was filled with action and suspense. At the same time, with a growing critical mind I had been partly watching the film from a new lens. In the beginning scenes of the film, I had recognized the deep connections between the representations of aliens and Black people regardless of location. The descriptions of the aliens as prawns, aimless, and lost resonates a lot with how Black people were viewed at the ending of slavery and the beginning of Reconsturction. Instead of being “the negro problem”, this film centers around “the alien problem”. Although it does a decent job at mirroring the racist histories of South Africa and by default the United States, there are still flaws within the film that were molded from a White lens.

Having roots and being raised by a West African QUEEN- my mom, the depiction of Africans in this film was very confusing and dehumanizing. The little amount of Africans or Black people that were in the film weren’t any form of representation besides the color of their skin. The film depicted Africans as gang leaders, similar to drug lords and borderline cannibalists. It was just a re-utterance of a stereotype that has been passed down through generations. Me, being Black, had empathy for the aliens the minute I saw the harsh treatment that was being imposed on them. But, for some reason the film did not address this. The bonding of individuals who are always deemed and viewed as second class citizens. This is yet another area where the film gets it wrong. There is an abundant lack of humanity shown in the representations of Black and African people throughout the film.

But to not end on a bad note, I think one of the scenes they get right is when Wickus, filled with anger abandons Christopher, after all he has done for him and takes the ship for himself. Considering aliens are a stand-in for the other, black people, and marginalized communities-- it makes sense. It shows how often we are there for others, fighting their fights and being allies yet our kindness is taken and abused. Even after all of this, Christopher still offers to not leave without Wickus. This is where our true character and empathy and humanity is shown-- yet it is sad it was not shown in human and our true form.

[scarscorptrix]

blogpost 3 afrofuturism

Afrofuturism is more than what the name gives off. It is beautiful to see Black people represented in worlds far from our own-- and worlds we have created for ourselves. Many artists have taken the route of Afrofuturism that isn’t based in the world we find ourselves in conflict with everyday. The film, Daughters of the Dust by Julia Dash opposes this. The film confronts us with the real world yet takes us even deeper-- to the roots. It is a story that centers around the history of being uprooted and growing out of your roots. I think it is a beautiful reminder for everyone but, ESPECIALLY Black people. It is a reminder of who we are, where we are from, and the power we have to force the world in our favor.

Centering around the lives of Black women and their quests of self-discovery and finding a place in their worlds, Daughters of the Dust gives a realistic and differentiating depiction to the common theme of Black women as the savior. In a number of Afrofuturist films and stories, Black women save the world in some extraordinary or action-oriented way. It is a fantasy-like metaphor for what Black women have been doing since the beginning of time. Daughters of the dust contrasts this-- depicting saving as simply existing. The mothers and grandmothers who have come before us set the path with no tools, no aid. They made this world from their own clay and passed it down generation to generation. Staying alive and surviving through the struggles they faced is the ode that this film leaves for us. It reminds us that there is no way of knowing how your actions will pan out but-- they will. Your existence and your presence is afrofuturism in itself. The interconnectedness of the film-- being narrated by an unborn child is a means of symbolizing the connection between the past and the present. Every act you do is a brick for building the future of your families and your community. This film is really a thank you letter to the Black women that have come before us and opened the doors for us to be represented yet simply be alive. They took up space for not only themselves, but for all of us. In this sense, Afrofuturism is the reconciliation of the past as well as the reimagining of the future.

[scarscorptrix]

blogpost 2 afrofuturism

My earthseed community would be birthed from being on the run from issues surrounding racism and immigration. America is at the point where it is capturing anyone that isn’t of white or European descent. Individuals outside of this ethnicity would be paid a small wage to serve as spies that kidnap individuals of other ethnicities. In order to get away from this regime, I would set up my earthseed community along the highway towards Nevada from Los Angeles. There is untouched soil and ruins there. I would set it up deep within the field so it is unseen and inaccessible from the highway. Under these circumstances, it would be difficult to determine who could be allowed into the Earthseed community. This would have to be decided by everyone in the group and be determined during a council meeting. I would only allow individuals who know loss-- the type of loss that almost kills you inside but they have the strength to keep surviving and living. Individuals who can explain this loss and explain the trials they have faced within themselves towards the path of self-discovery and self-healing would be allowed in my community. This only applies to people of color. My earthseed community would be composed of a colorful council where everyone is equal in power-- an egalitarian society. Our main mantra would be the Earthseed verse “All struggles Are essentially power struggles Who will rule, Who will lead, Who will define, refine, confine, design, Who will dominate, All struggles, And most are no more intellectual than two rams knocking their heads together.” This verse would serve as a reminder of the ignorance that accompanies the need and lust for power. It would serve as a reminder of equality amongst the community. This would be the key to our survival among many others. There would be a constant shift of duties from gardening to teaching. While everyone can contribute one of their key talents or gifts to the community-- there will be assigned rotated roles that each person must abide by. Education would be a core aspect of our Earthseed community-- not placing an emphasis on just teaching english and mathematics but also placing an emphasis on educating in the realms of creativity. Whether it is music, art, poetry-- this will serve as an outlet for the upcoming generations of the Earthseed community. Our main goal would be to teach them a way of thinking that goes beyond our own-- “Any change bear seeds of benefit. Seek them out. Any Change may bear seeds of harm. Beware. God is infinitely malleable. God is Change.” We wouldn’t encourage conformity but authenticity. Individuals who believe in change and accept it whether it brings joy or sorrow. A future technology that would aid our community would be the use of a 3-d printer that helps with medical problems that may arise. This printer would be used to print limbs or body parts that may be vulnerable under an attack from the outside. The printer would also aid us in printing tools that would be needed for our community to persist.

[scarscorptrix]

blogpost 1, afrofuturism

Being a Black woman in America is accompanied with viewing yourself through a lens that doesn’t match your own. It consists of living in a world that you can’t see yourself in, a world that places you at the bottom of the barrel. Afrofuturism is a realm where true realities and fantasies come to life. Through the musical works of Janelle Monae to Beyoncé, Black women are shown who they can be, and ultimately who they really are.

Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer is an ode to any Black woman and any other who feels as if they are an outcast. She undergoes a cleaning ritual in order to erase her memories-- an erasure of herself. This resonates with the experiences of many-- if not all Black Americans and their relationships with their lineages and past histories. Although it is clear where Black people stand in America, America is still a lost land for many Black Americans. Monáe’s theme of erasure is definitely a metaphor for this specific experience. As it pertains specifically to Black women, Dirty Computer is a work of Afrofuturistic art that accepts and promotes not Black women as a monolithic stereotype but embracing the range of beauty that exists within African-American women. Whether queer, straight, outcasted, or accepted-- Monae creates a space that serves as a mirror for many Black women in a world that reflects Black women’s expereince and existence through a cracked lens. Taking this a step further, Janelle Monáe takes back the narrative and hypersexualization of Black women and defines it for herself and what it means to her. This is a key aspect of afrofuturism-- taking a world that is given to you, rewriting it and burning its barriers.

The reimaging of Black women is not solely specific to Janelle Monáe’s work, Beyoncé in a vast amount of her works creates an unworldly and godly image of Black women that is often dismissed from common culture. In many of her  performances she calls onto African History and goddesses as a reminder and reflection for Black women of their true roots-- ones that are not erased and rewritten under the hands of white supremacy. Specifically, in her 2017 Grammy’s performance she presents herself as Oshun: a goddess associated with sensuality, femininity, purity, and pure feminine energy. Like Monáe, Beyoncé is making a space that reflects Black women in their purest form-- beauty and fragility instead of the hypermasculinized and oversexualized version that is repetitively shoved down Black women’s throats.

Artists like Monáe and Beyoncé depict one road of Afrofuturism that is utilized through music and its imagery. Every aspect of their art from their lyricism to the imagery in their music videos create a world where one can feel seen, loved, and appreciated.

[scarscorptrix]

blog post 6

Oftentimes, intersections of identities are left out of the movement towards liberation.  There is a higher emphasis placed on males due to the patriarchy’s reach of going beyond racial barriers. Within the Black community, it can be safe to say that it is the Black woman that faces the most disparities, it is the Black woman that is left at the bottom of the barrel yet still fighting for her natural god given right. The realities of Black women are unconsciously, highlighted in cinematic films-- a reality that intersects the oppression of being a woman and the oppression of being Black. 

In the film Abby, it highlights the hidden assumption of what makes a Black woman monstrous. What once was a man’s wet dream: a dainty, pure, kept woman-- a woman that abided by all the stereotypes of what a woman should be turned into a “beast”, possessed, and monstrous. Abby’s turn from purity to insanity is cinematically represented through sexualized acts. The first scene of her “demise” was an act of pleasure-- suggesting that an attempt of pleasuring oneself as a woman is a means of destruction. This solidifies a norm that has been imposed on women since Adam and Eve-- that one should be wary of a woman’s curiosity. It perpetuates an image that a Black woman being sexual and enjoying pleasure is an act of unholiness-- it is something to be ashamed of rather than embraced. It reminds me of all the hate Chloe Bailey, a singer in the group Chloe x Halle, has gotten in the media. It’s almost as if the world wanted her to hate herself. Connecting this to Abby, both experiences of these women highlight how the world preys on Black women’s complicity and conformity. When Black women choose to embrace their womanhood and sexuality, it is always met with insults, or comments that yearn to put them down. It is as if the world wants to keep Black women in a box-- never ranging too far from what is expected of her. Black femininity as monstrous is a trope that exists in horror films but definitely can be found in the everyday experiences of Black women. Abby could somewhat be an inspiration-- an image of breaking out of that box, and embracing all sides of yourself with no constraints and redefining what it means to be a Black woman.

[scarscorptrix]

blogpost 5

One of the hardest challenges in life is knowing when to let go. It is a repetitive lesson that is imposed on individuals through the years. An even harder task is dealing with the guilt of letting go. It feels as if one has failed, has given up. Yet instead, most individuals deal with the burdens of the past by letting it live within us, our minds, and influence our actions through the unconscious. It is a massive burden that begins to eat you from the inside, out. “The Destroyer” by Victor La Valle and “Please, Momma” by Chesya Burke share this common thread in their stories-- highlighting the effects of a burden as big as grief.

Being Black sometimes feels as if you're living in a constant state of grief-- we begin our lives in this world at a loss, or deficit. We see the world and our people in a state of loss, feeling like we live in a world that capitalizes on our lost lives, and our lost potential. Yet, we persevere. The Destroyer sheds light on loss being birthed from police brutality-- an image that is repetitively shown in the media, and a threat that follows Black folks all throughout their lives. The mother in the story has to deal with the grief of losing her only child to the inhumanities and atrocities of the world.  Knowing there was nothing that could be done, and no action of retribution or redemption. As most Black women do, she takes it into her own hands. Yet, she is not capable of letting go and accepting what is. There is a real horror that underlines this story-- the resistance of acceptance leads people astray from themselves. Without accepting what has occurred, slowly one loses sight of the world, and eventually themselves. By the end of the story, it is the mother’s grief that eventually consumes her. Her rage and her pain took charge-- that is the horror of trauma. It’s silence eats away at you until it is too late to realize the damage that has been done.

“Please, Momma” shares similar roots-- shedding light on grief and holding it accountable. The mother in the story has a parasite within her-- it is a metaphorical representation of grief itself. A parasite that slowly kills and is never satisfied. Without acknowledging and accepting what exists within you, people often retreat deeper and deeper into their pain. It is impossible to ignore yet hard to know when it has taken control over your livelihood. Ultimately, both stories are cautionary tales. It may not have been your fault, but it is your duty to yourself to correct the harm that has been inflicted. If left untouched, unnoticed-- it will eventually take you down with it.

[scarscorptrix]

blogpost 4

Candyman... Candyman… Candyman… Candyman… Candym-- … It reminds me of the times I had a White professor teaching a multicultural class. I admire the effort, but it is not enough. At first glance, overall, Candyman may seem as a “for us, by us” Black film. But, having black people in a film isn’t as revolutionary or representative as the makers would have hoped.

The first critique I had while watching the film had to do with Candyman’s victims of choice. The first victim I recall hearing about is Ruthie Jean, a black mother. Although the experiences match up to the real life occurrences that black people have to face with the lack of protection from police-- why would he choose not only a black victim but a mother. Candyman was murdered at the hands of racists, what did Black people ever do to him? The film tends towards a white gaze. Throughout the film, it is solidified that he resides at Cabrini Green-- and the overwhelmingly Black population there is who faces his wrath. But thanks to Helen, the great white savior, they are saved. They had her coming out of that bonfire like she was Jesus Christ, himself.  But, if one were to recall… she was the one that brought this upon not only herself, but the community as well. Instead of making this a story about a grieving spirit who seeks to find vengeance for the acts of injustice done towards him--It’s as if the film-makers were in the background muttering that would be too black, too political. I think it goes to show that until this point films haven’t really learned from the past and do not seek to rectify its history. It is reiterating common tropes that serve to stigmatize Black folk and perpetuate negative stereotypes.

Being well-acquainted with public housing, the way it is depicted in this film is annoying and unsettling. It is all around dehumanizing. This film had a chance to really get into the history of public housing-- the redlining, the lack of funds, the ignorance of policy makers. Instead, it is as if it places the blame on the individuals who live there. It is depicting Black life, Black people, Black families as animalistic in nature. As if, these people and these places are something people should fear and turn a blind eye to. Instead of calling out the government and its failures, it places the victims as perpetrators. In essence, it is psychological warfare.

[scarscorptrix]

blogpost 3

Oftentimes, individuals depict horror and fear that result from external forces. Horror is not capable of permeating through one’s own home. A home is believed to be a safe space-- a place where one can find sanctuary and stillness amidst the horrors of the world. The film, Eve’s Bayou places a focus on family life and how sometimes it is the people and places one seeks solace in that can scar you the most.

Through social nuances and norms, we are taught to believe that nothing is thicker than blood- that family should always be forgiven. Through this ideal, many individuals carry a pain within them that offers no resolution or retribution. Eve’s character is one that defies all of these beliefs. As her aunt, she is blessed with the gift of clairvoyance-- with the gift of sight. By utilizing magic realism, this film exposes the thin line between spirituality and reality. Eve is not only capable of predicting events, such as the death of her uncle, but she is the only family member that sees all. She carries an omniscient view of the world, but more specifically her family. That is the true horror in this film. At such a young age, it seems that she aged too quickly. In essence, she lost her childhood. The loss of her childhood was not brought upon to her by any external force, it was within her home, her family dynamics that causes her to live with a burden that is too heavy for a child. Secrets and their cover-ups run fluid in her home that ultimately result in the untimely death of her father. While horrific, it is rooted in reality. Eve’s Bayou serves as a reminder that within a home and within a family there must be transparency. What is left in the dark gives rise to assumptions, thoughts, and feelings that are not actively dealt with. It leads to isolating feelings-- believing that the world is on your shoulders and it is your sole duty to fix it. Most of the black women in this film feel like this. As a black woman, it often feels like the weight is on our shoulders, and most times we carry it with grace and get the job done. Eve, her sister and mother highlight this in the film. They all carry the same fate and feelings yet handle it in different ways. In sharing our pain, it is possible to stop it from being transmitted. Most individuals' first scar came from within their families, and they carry this with them for their whole life whether it is ptsd, attachment styles-- it starts in the home. All it takes is one secret, one event to change the course of one’s life and one’s mind. Sometimes horror isn’t bloody or overt, it is silent and comes in the form of someone you love.

[scarscorptrix]

blogpost 2

I think one of the most terrifying and horrific experiences a person could go through is when their world, and their perception of it shatters right before their eyes. It is something that can happen to any person, anywhere-- it knows no limits. It has a shape-shifting nature and takes its form in deaths, heartbreaks, secrets, and the list goes on. All very different experiences yet lead to the uprooting of everything a person knew was true in the world.

The novel, The Good House, by Tananarive Due sheds light on what happens in the dark. Secrets serve as a recurring theme in this story. Oftentimes, secrets are utilized as a protective force. It tends to protect people from judgement, acceptance, and even, themselves. But, what happens when the secrets become overwhelming and the burden is too heavy for the body to carry. There are some secrets within ourselves that we are not yet aware of, they breed in our unconscious mind until a traumatic event tends to bring it forth. Upon her son’s death, Angie was propelled to face the demons that her ancestors couldn’t. While reading this, I connected it to the burden of intergenerational trauma that persists across Black families. The history of Black people in America has forced black men, women, and babies to confront an enemy, an enemy breeding in our own backyard. The demon, Baka, in this novel represents how trauma grows in response to our commitment to not confronting it. It exists in the backyard of our minds and festers until we shatter the world that aided in its existence. Angie had to let go of her previous life, her previous beliefs, in order to face the demon at hand. She had to reckon with the secrets she kept from her son, the secrets her grandmother kept from her, the secrets she was too scared to admit to herself. Letting go of what one previously believed was true about the world makes it easier to view what world and things we are actually dealing with. Even if no one else believes, or can view it. It’s there.

Altogether, The Good House is an ode to black horror within the mind while also putting a spotlight on the horror of Black history in the United States. It is a tale of redemption and the cause and effect of sweeping uncomfortable truths under the rug.

[scarscorptrix]

blog post 1

From the moment I first watched US on the big screen, I knew that I had loved it. I never understood why-- considering I am annoyingly fearful of horror movies. Throughout my childhood, I have always had a weird relationship with horror movies-- so much so that I had nightmares about Scary Movie 4-- a legit spoof. But, despite all of this, US was different. It transcended my feeble mind and deemed itself as one of my favorite movies.

I think there are a number of reasons why US is such an acclaimed horror film but in my eyes, US is a film that simultaneously forces viewers in and out of their comfort zones-- from the skin color of its leads to the questioning of one’s morality that it leaves its audience with.

Us strays away from the stereotypical tropes we have seen throughout history of black beings. It flips the script on white viewers and gets it right for their black audience. Across genres and years, Black people have grown accustomed to the narratives imposed on them by past and present film-makers. Always cast in the shadows, black characters have been always depicted as serving or staying in their place. Films have always relied on Black characters to serve as comedic reliefs or spiritual saviors to their white counterparts-- never showing their agency and accurately doing so. US destroys and rewrites these repetitive narratives. In US, we get to see a WHOLE BLACK FAMILY and not only that LUPITA NYONG'O serves as the prime focus of the film. It is beautiful to see a family and especially a woman relishing and showcasing her blackness to the world: to see a Black woman and family just breathing, living, and being BLACK on the big screen. Instead of being in the background, this family is showcasing black agency. Unlike previous tropes, US is showcasing Black people showing up and fighting for themselves. That in itself, is powerful.

The rest aside, US reveals us to ourselves. It forces its audience to stare into their reflections while re-examining the realities of the world. Sometimes the pains of the world are better left in the dark, individuals believe it is too difficult to deal with. But there are some, who face it whether the choice to ignore is given or not. The juxtaposition between Adelaide and Red showcases this flawed characteristic of human beings. It is sometimes in our nature to pay no attention to the systems, norms, and ideals that are being held into place-- but US serves as a reminder that we are the glue the that keeps it composed.

[scarscorptrix]

is this where the people come to be dramatic

[rnbabes]

the rolling stone cover: sza, megan thee stallion, normani

[fairycosmos]

honestly fucks me up that when ppl see me, my face goes through the filter of their perception (curated by their very specific life experiences n their unique point of view). basically if i truly saw myself with someone else’s brain, i probably wouldn’t realize who i was looking at. my eyes don’t mean the same to others as they do to me. everyone reads each other in a new way and it’s so uncontrollable

[fairycosmos]

keith haring you were a man after my own heart

[neckkiss]

The Hours (2002)

[aleworldaddict]

‘Chasing the Dragon’  Xie Chaoyu by Tim Walker for Vogue Italia November 2018