Afrofuturism Across the Media
Rather, it is the contention of this issue that sf and sf studies have much to learn from the experience of technoculture that Afrofuturist texts register across a wide range of media; and that sf studies, if it is to be at all radical, must use its position of relative privilege to provide a home for excluded voices without forcing assimilation upon them. (p. 182)
Afrofuturism gives the opportunity for people of color to be more involved in a field that is predominately white males throughout history. In most science fiction written in the future, there is a vast majority that contain white people in the powerful roles. Most science fiction that included African American characters gave then a role as a supporting character or “sidekick”.
Utilizing Afrofuturism allows people of color to be in roles of power within science fiction, inspiring the African American youth while also giving them a person to look up to their whole life. For the longest time, superheroes roles were given to white males in movies like Batman, Superman, Iron man, and Captain America. This idea of linking superheroes with white males is very dangerous to our society and gives no hope for people of color to strive for greatness. I know it was very important for me to have these role models growing up as a child and I’m thankful to be one semester away from receiving my degree from a fantastic college.
A recent movie that has already incorporated Afrofuturism is Black Panther. The vast majority of the cast is African American and the movie takes place in a fictional African country called Wakanda. This country is highly developed and contains the most important substance: vibranium, which is the strongest material in the world. This fictional substance helps form the culture of this country and provide medical technologies, weapons, and protective wardrobe. The reason why I believe Black Panther is a great movie is because its portrayal of the historically excluded voices among people of color and gives a different perspective of science that others may never have thought of. As of lately, there have been a significant increase in the presence of people of color among movies, commercials, and television shows and this is an important statement because everyone should have a person to look up to in a movie or show so they can relate to this person.
In an interview with Janelle Monae, she explains why she believes science fiction is important to her life. Her art was always influenced by Afrofuturism and she used this as her voice in art. She believes creating new technology and new ideas to help a society strive to be better is vital to advancing as a country. She also goes on to explain an important concept I brought up earlier in this post and that is inspiration from these role models. Having a role model growing up allows the youth to open their mind and give them possibilities nobody would ever think would happen. In conclusion, Afrofuturism is an important aspect in science fiction and should continue to grow in popularity through the future to help this country advance as a whole.
Works Cited:
Bould, M. (2007). The Ships Landed Long Ago: Afrofuturism and Black SF. Greencastle, IN: SF-TH. p 177–186
