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.
