Afrofuturism Explained: Not Just Black Sci-Fi | Inverse
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- Опубліковано 5 бер 2018
- What is Afrofuturism?
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In February 2018, Marvel's Black Panther broke box-office records and elevated the phrase AfroFuturism to the forefront of the American lexicon.
But AfroFuturism is a practice that goes far beyond the aesthetic of black people donning cool science-fiction-y costumes. It is a genre of speculative fiction that highlights what regular science fiction can't and won't.
There is a glaring exclusion of black people from works of science fiction and an immense amount of real world problems that black people must face on a consistent basis. As such, one might think that black people would shy away from speculative fiction and instead opt to focus on the present.
AfroFuturism is an artform, practice and methodology that allows black people to see themselves in future despite a distressing past and present.
It calls upon sci-fi imagery and futuristic ideas to reflect upon the marginalization of black people. Practitioners conceptualize an array of visions of what a black future could look like.
But what does that look like? We identified four unique AfroFuturist artists, who have used their work to imagine black life beyond its current state of global oppression.
A 500 year history of colonialism, slavery, racism, and segregation have left people of the African Diaspora with a disjointed idea of what it really means to be at home.
Visual Artist and Hip-Hop MC, Jessica Valoris uses speculative fiction and science fiction tropes to encourage people of the African Diaspora to "Phone Home."
In her play "Enough Vo5 for the Universe" Melanie Goodreaux depicts a world 100 years into the future where God is a gender non binary black person.
It is a vision of the future that celebrates black queer lives in spite of present day queer and transantagonism. A toxic soup of poverty, misogyny, anti-blackness, and transphobia leave black Transgender women and femmes at an exorbitantly high risk for being murdered.
Black people are often caught in the ironic crosshairs of being hyper visible and invisible. Black women for example are often hypersexualized, leaving them at a greater risk for sexual assault and violence. Yet they have also been largely left out of conversations around sexual violence even following the rise of 2017's MeToo movement.
Black people have been engaging in Afrofuturism well before the term was coined in 1994. As long as the state of the black future is in jeopardy folks of the African diaspora will continue to imagine expansive ideas of black life in the past, present, and beyond.
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Funkadelic were Afro futurist back in the 70's.
So true
art form practice and methodology that allows black people to see themselves in the future despite a distressing past and present. that's fire
I would rather see this critical, because it has that slight taste of untrue facts in it. I personally do not really see black people in the U.S. as distressed or oppressed in the present (in the past no doubt though). But it almost sounds like as if there is no future for black people if they don't "create their own" and that I find a bit distracting from all the changes that have bettered the lives of black people in North America and western Europe which will ensure them a better future but in togetherness with other races and not in a mono-race culture which reminds me of certain events of attempts to erase races in the past.
@@Project_2501 wtf are you talking about???
@@butterflymoon6368 What am I talking about? 3 Years ago I made this comment under this video, where I greately explained myself in detail. Have fun reading. I am curious what you think:
""WHERE GOD IS A GENDER-NON-BINARY BLACK PERSON" OMFG give me a break from this insane BS!
First of all, I'd say that if there is a G.O.D., then it is neither a being of gender or race. This video again is just another and perfect example of this tiring race/gender double standard BS which is totally false addressed and sign of absolute stupidity, and susceptibility for propaganda and false beliefs created by pseudo-science pushed by pop-culture and media. This is so f'n exhausting and sad.
"Black Maleness" - "Black Femaleness" "exclusion of blacks in futuristic visions" - such a straight forward nonsense! Let's look at all the Science Fiction stuff from the last 100 years and look specifically at the black(and other "non-white" races) protagonists and their roles/importance to the story and we detect that they are in fact not missing or excluded at all but mostly have a very important role that leaves them often to be the part/symbol of wisdom, hope, integrity, reason etc. Just google for one of the countless numbers of lists that exist in the webs that show you black Sci-Fi protagonists and analyze their stories or read old books under the topic before you just pick up all that c**p that the internet excretes. And it is by far not only Will Smith who plays those roles and it is also not isolated roles just to cover this "viewer attraction black cliche".
This "black-empowerment" and constant (and exclusively)"white-bashing" and it's parallels to the modern pseudo-feminism make me sick.
Yes, you(the black race) have your history of oppression but in this vision of "Afro-Futurism" in context of those people who were shown and referred to in this vid, who is excluded? Right - EVERY OTHER RACE!
So don't tell me this is a vision about equality. And also I would clearly separate "Afro-Futurism" as an art form(which I enjoy btw) and to go that far as to take this as inspiration for a model of future civilization (which those people in the video and their sympathizers do).
You don't go for equality or peaceful togetherness - it is just as racist as you claim society would be, but you are so stubbornly unable/unwilling to open your eyes and to objectively analyze your society and just stop victimizing yourselves. Same goes with this neo-feminist/gender BS why do you have to force a concept of a higher being into something like a "gender-nonbinary black person" to fit your propagandistic narrative of your pseudo-scientific agenda of pseudo-equality!? That is both - racist and sexist but most of all unnecessary.
I don't even understand why so many black people hold tight especially to the concept of the christianity when it is the number one tool of assimilation and oppression - brought to your ancestors by the greatest evil you claim there is - the white man. Is that logical? Not at all. All this is so wrong and filled with hate and pseudo-education. Open you gd eyes people.
It is always so awkward to witness (just as in this video) how black history is reviewed and analyzed by black people looking at the undoubtable facts of - quote from this video: "500 year history of colonialism, slavery, racism and segregation...", (I personally would also add murder, rape, cultural and religious assimilation) but this is only viewed again as a "blacks exclusive" issue and at this point I ask you, why do we not look at those same things "White Europe" brought all of this with the tool of Christianity to Asia(especially China and India), the indigenous people of North and South America and Australia as well? They suffered just the same and they also lost everything, including their identities, languages and religions but yet you are the ones to exclude them even though they share the worst part of their history with you.
Imagine if there was a white dude picturing an "ideal" future with only the white race to sustain... oh wait, that not only already happened and there was a whole continent on to realizing that goal and we found it to be what? Exactly - murderous, fascist, totalitarian and in it's most simple way to put it: W.R.O.N.G. - but if black people sympathize with this idea for their own race it is "empowerment" and ofc has nothing to do with racism. But if you think it further - how do you think to realize a goal like this and then pleas ask yourself first: is this morally justified, and second: how would it make you better then "the white man"? Double standards to the right and to the left and absolutely no sensitivity for what is most important: Living together in peace."
Dope convo. Proud Afro Futurist fashion designer here
CHRIS POP TV hella dope. Future Afro-futuristic musician here. So ready to expand upon this ideology.
That’s awesome ❤️🥰
I can't wait until Native American stand up and create their own cultural futurism. Native American are survivors but they need to imagine that their culture exist and is a part of future.
That is pretty hard when white people have worked so hard to wipe them out of existence, their culture, their presence, their history, etc.
A good amount of that exists under the umbrella of post-colonial fiction.
Indigenous futurisms exist. Look it up.
There's a table top d&d like game called Wolf and Crow which takes place in an alternate reality and which an asteroid wiped out most of the European world and native Americans were left to their own devices. It imagines what their world might look like by the year 2230 or some time around there.
I think it's gonna be difficult for them to forget history and just insert themselves into a system that was forced on them. That's a tough pill to swallow. It means they have to give-in. It's not that easy for them, but I know what you mean.
This video is amazing. I love how it provided a picture of Afrofuturism beyond the stereotypical point of view. Expansion.
This video is pure fiction . Black people in the U.S.A. have been portrayed, for many decades, in the Hollywood films.
The 3D Afro-Futuristic/Afro-Cyberpunk architecture is most interesting part of Afro-Sci-Fi Genre.
When I was a kid I was teased because I liked Science fiction. reason being say for a few spots actors, there was not enough Black Representation in SCi Fi. Save for Lt. Uhura of Star Trek (Nichelle Nicolas) and Lt. Boomer of Battlestar Galactica. (Herbert Jefferson Jr.) As the Years passed we start to see more and more but we were still the minority in the genre. The Irony was that Science Fiction stories and movies comment on Racism all the time. They just used Aliens as substitutes for the issue. Thanks to pioneer writers like Steven Barnes and Octavia E. Butler the genre has begun to change more. If we want to see more futurism, we have to create the future for ourselves as writers and producers as well as visual artists.
" but we were still the minority in the genre"
Because you are a minority in the country and fan base. You don't see Chinese pitching a fit over crap like you are
@@DawnOfTheDead991 Except Hollywood is currently *bending over backwards* to please the Chinese market, dumdum.
@@Hjernespreng Well, yeah, look at Gravity , The Martian and remake of Independence Day. But the Chinese don't want to see more blacks in Sci Fi films either
@@yahunx1912 Sure, I bet you have lots of evidence, like ancient novels
@@DawnOfTheDead991 Yeah, go research Dogon mythology. Sci fi's been part of African culture for thousands of years.
This is why I want to make a sci-fi magical girl anime with a beautiful African girl as the main character, she’s gonna be a whole cutie.
That’s all I’m saying lmao.
Id pay to watch it.
Im throwing money at your comment while writing this
How exactly does sci fi magical girl work? Its hard to see them coexisting easily.
@kerimcan ak I'm guessing you don't like Star Wars?
Don’t make her bald. That seems to be a trend
Art is the real language of Black People we are good in ALL forns or Art and this is our weapon. Thanks to this we can EDUCATE or people and the others and we can gain RESPECT.
I started reading SF in 4th grade.
The novel was Star Surgeon by Alan E Nourse. The story turned out to be about racism toward an alien though that word was not used in the description.
I read Butler's Wild Seed in the 80s. I regard it as fantasy. I enjoyed it but it is not SF.
Science fiction has been invaded by literary people since the 60s and in general less scientific and technological. SF tropes ain't enough.
Try 'A Fall of Moondust' by Arthur C Clarke
Amazing piece! Love the commentary by Denenge Apkem
Just love this!!!!
Books who are the author's
I love sci Fi ...any blk author's I should be reading ..also zombie and mysteries please ..I use to be able to write but as I grew up on lost it ..but as always loved reading ..y'all remember readers digest books ..
4:12 uncle phill is that you?
Is there a book on this?
Yeah, there are a few. Afrofuturism : the world of black sci-fi and fantasy culture by Ytasha Womack, and Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness by Reynaldo Anderson spring to mind. This is a conversation that we need to promote!
@@yuzhouxingzhe you should let people look it up on their own if they are really interested they will find...look how often Caucasians find out what black people are doing?
@@yuzhouxingzhe much appreciated.
Boundless Creativity is certainly not a spectator sport. However, to be sober and honest (and to borrow a word) I humbly suggest that as a Native People, -Native People's Futurism makes far more humanitarian sense going forward. And it obviates ethno-centric bias. There is still much work to be done on the front-world in order to take just one more step beyond Darwinism.
the great awakening
Thanks
Detroit techno is Afrofuturism incarnate!
I would like to see a literal third world country be like this
Great Video!
Why do they show footage of terminator 2? It was a black man that created the AI for Skynet which lead to the Terminators. He was a hero in that film.
paul paul Terminator 1, 2, and the matrix 1 were all written by a black woman Sophia Stewart who won her court case against the thieving Watchowskis. This information is publicly available. In my opinion 3 of the greatest sci fi films made during my lifetime.
Nothing on this video do I relate too as a Black man I write my own Sci Fi stories.
That's the way to do it!
I said the same. No mention of the funk albums from the 70s that had afro futurism in it (parliament and funkadelic, etc ) no mention of Octavia butler's work (that I didn't hear or see) and whole lot more.
Oh I thought this was about African people in the future... I didn't realize it was about who people choose to have sex with or what they decide to dress like.
Long Live Sun Ra!!!!!!!!!!
1:16
I can see where this comes from. Black people hate their past. They hate their present. And many of them are opposed to becoming part of a middle class which is defined as being white. Where is the black Buck Rogers? Where is the black Luke Skywalker?
You think we all live in poverty?
@@TIENxSHINHAN No, but when people think of "black culture", most of the things they think about sprung from poverty. Black Americans, specifically poor black Americans, created blues music, gospel music, ragtime, jazz, rock 'n roll, and rap. Black cuisine, "soul food", developed in the days of slavery when black folks had to make do with the parts of the pig that white folks didn't want. I know I'm generalizing, but there is only a poor black culture. If there is a rich black culture, it probably survived for only a few decades of the Harlem renaissance.
@@booksteer7057 you have no idea about the jack and Jill culture? Fraternities? Etc.
@@booksteer7057 Money is nothing new to FBA's. Foundational Black Americans invented the lottery.
Am I the ONLY Nigga that likes Star Wars
The problem with programs trying to get black youths into STEM is that it mostly caters to Black Girls, Not Black Boys.
In high school I attended the black youth Stem programs in DC area and Me and my black Male peers were discouraged and dropped out. All they preach about was Movies like Hidden Figures and Astronaut Mae Jemison. I didn't know nothing about Black men scientists like Garret Morgan until I was an adult and I tought myself that knowledge.
Black boys in STEM are poorly under represented.
Say it louder for the people in the back!!!!
Nowdays I think its doing pretty okay I guess.
I'm an IT student and I know a few other black people who also attend the same classes (mainly men). Issue is that the amount isn't that big and there are definitely more asians (south east/ east) along with white people compared to any race there. I don't keep a tally in my head of course but that is what I got from my surroundings.
I wouldn't say discouraged and in fact the black guys I know In my class are actually the ones in my personal expereince who takes their classes very seriously (except for one I can think of lol). I think it just depends on the place. But I guess you can say there isn't a sense of belonging due to under representation.
so a sci-fi genre about only being black and its black identity. that's dissapointing cause that view of the world is still very western. I thought I would be getting an african born and raised stories with a whole different perspective then the western one where race isn't the main focus. :/
I feel that this sort of afro futurism would be a good thing.
I mean, you still can.
But Afro is a American thing, Afros were started in the 70’s, I don’t know if Africa was rocking them though....I know that the original black panthers wore Afros as a rebel against racist White supremacy, and also to protect fellow black/Africans and identify as a groups
Usually race is focused because racism is still a problem and if we don’t focus on it, it’s going to live on and our children with get hurt over time and won’t even know how to defend themselves from racists.
Ignoring racism is going to hurt us more than actually acknowledging it’s here. Only reason people ignore it is because they had to admit it’s still a problem, they thought racism was over with DR MLK, those were all lies obviously to shush up everyone because there is still police brutality, gentrification of the hood, lynching, rape cases of black girls missing and ignored, and so much more that people choose to ignore.
Especially how BLM was pushed as a “terrorist group.” Just like the black panthers were, so no.
Racism is still here, and it’s always going to be a focus. >.>
@@quwandathornton afro the hairstyle originated from Africa, it gained notoriety during the 70 as black power in contrast with conk hair.
@sansan that would be Africanfuturism where the stories and views are centered around issues and cultural identity relevant to continental Africans & Africa. This genre is also still developing and closely related to Afrofuturism (if not presented as such)... Ultimately they both run the risk of possibly dividing and alienating each other where there's no commonality in the respective genre's.
Dressing up in costumes and envisioning yourself in the future is not afro-futurism, do you think that space gives a damn what color your skin is ? I hated the movie black panther because it never explored the origins or the science of Wakanda. if a meteor hits earth 50yrs from, now will it matter what color your skin is or how cool your costume looks. We need to be ready when mankind finally goes out into space, we have to assure that we can colonize and populate planets so that our race is not left behind to wither away. Science and technology does care about your skin color, clothing or how cool you think you are wearing big glasses or glittery clothing. That will not ensure our survival in the future, what good is afro -futurism if we do not exist.
It’s actually sad to see black artistry become Afro futurism and Afro surrealism. Especially while simultaneously ignoring the truth of our people. That we don’t all look the same. That we had kingdoms and don’t need fairy tales when we have a stolen history. It’s crazy.
I personally would like to see art that is grounded in our rich history and less of this *aesthetic* , underdeveloped, Black panther looking stuff.
@@ijeomafarrakhan4020 thank you. Mixing tribal cultures for a look is really insulting to who we are as a people. There are places where that would get you killed. Gang bangers have more respect for their “tribes” than we do as a community. We can’t even decided who does or doesn’t make the cut. There are people who look “white” that are black as I am. Our history was white washed and I see this as just a continuation. As an artist I’ve always disliked the world of arts. It’s all inflated ego. My reality isn’t crazy or above everything. It’s day to day and just ignored.
@@vikkidonn i think one of the lasting effects of slavery is that as Americans we no longer have a full understanding of what it means to be from a specific tribe or ethnicity. Europeans mixed us by force. We are no longer rooted in tradition and language like our ancestors were or like our cousins on the African continent. We are a mix of tribal cultures, so how do we deal with that? I think that change makes navigating and building collective movements incredibly difficult. What does it look like to thoughtfully and respectfully mix culture by choice rather than slapping stuff together randomly? The intentional choices that runaways in the US made about how to mix and who to mix with has been buried by white institutions.
@@vikkidonn the gangs are a good example. it can be a strength or a weakness depending on the situation. The Indigenous African and American tribes had a short sighted "only me and mine" mentality and now the invaders are ruling North and South America. They say when you know better you do better. What does better really look like though?
@@ijeomafarrakhan4020 In my experience “we” spend more time trying to create and pretend to know what our space is instead of finding out who we are. My mom proudly calls herself a wakandan…… Angela bassets characters tells tchalla to show them who he is. My mom has no idea where her lineage comes from. However she has pictures,stories, and legal documents spanning back generations. But her energy isn’t there but in the white washed Hollywood art.
Myself and a few people I know have researched and gotten a general continent but not tribe or region. However we get called extremists.. my mom openly mocks me as a radical and that I would have been an active member of the rainbow coalition etc etc etc. it’s a strange thing to see but All I can do personally is educate and hopefully someone can have some peace from that.
THIS IS NOT AFRICAN OR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE..
God isn't man or woman, like how a man and a woman need eachother to be complete, God is already complete
You mean like any sci fi based anything? You have detach yourself to make a sci fi based movie or book? What?
Ar
Bunk
and hip hop is really the epitome of sci fi. please.
I sense that the Black culture is being exploited by an unknown foreign entity that is seeking to use it as a metaphorical wrecking ball of current culture.
I also sense that each culture has certain energies.
African and Black American culture emphasizes immanence (being in touch with the physical, with our bodies) and not transcendence (being taken away to another world, where race is nearly an afterthought). This isn't bad, but it does seem to explain the energy of Black art as resembling the work of many woman artists.
It proposes a unique complex wordy exploration of a unique identity, but at face value it can be boiled down to an embrace and celebration of sensuality and of the body and of "bodily concerns". For one reason or another, both tend towards immanence, and not transcendence. For me at least, art is about transcendence.
What is Black identity?
We are only given what seem to be three options:
1. Traditional Blacks - like hip hop, rhythm and blues, urban, slang, physicality, sensuality, immanence
2. Anime comic con video game Blacks - seem to resent being Black in favor of the fantasy that suits them, running away from their essence
3. African Blacks - more primal than Black americans, more immanent, resistant to "progress"
As it turns out, not all Blacks fall under these three, but these are the only three that seem to be championed, which I believe has reason by evil.
*Black women, and really primitive or more primal cultures (Native Americans, Hispanics, folklore Whites) seem more hypersexualized.
Immanence is about what we can see (the body, sex, food, survival).
Transcendence is about what we can't see (the soul, meaning, the divine, transcendence).
Wakonda is a tiny town in South Dakota. I don't think it's the future for black people. 😂
the future ua-cam.com/video/5pQvM9ZY41k/v-deo.html and what await us .
How can Black people have a future when there minds stay in the past. Black people are not the only people on this planet to have it rough in the past. I think they need to get over it.
Massive corruption in Africa doesn't help either. Please dont hate me for saying these things, its just how i see what is happening.
You're very ignorant
2:28 GOD ISN'T HUMAN, HE DOES HABE GENDER, OR FORM HE IS TRANSCENDED
No one in this video said god was a man, woman or human. What they specifically said is God's always imagined as a man. Why can't god be imagined as a woman sometimes. You also contradicted yourself by calling god and saying he doesn't habe gender. So even you view god as male.
We gun be space kangz
From my observations, all evidence and documentation of futurism points to China
There are all kinds of futurism. India is also going to rise in importance in the coming decades, while Africa will represent a third of the world's population by the end of the century.
If you want to know the god that is representing black and is both man and woman, I'm introduce you Shiva.
Preface to my rant, what I'm talking about is specifically about why black people aren't a major part of a lot of stories. Rant: I'm so tired of hearing about "why are all these scifi/fiction shows just wypipo" when the fucking shows and literature themselves are written by white people. If you read manga or Chinese comics then everyone is Japanese/Chinese but no one cares, its the same fucking thing. When people write stories they tend to make the characters in their own image. It seems like Black Americans just want other races to write fiction for them instead of they themselves writing their own fiction. Its played out by now and shit like this is why the far right is getting more voters and as a center/left winger that shit pisses me off. Hop off the woke train and look at social issues from various perspectives, you're shooting yourself in the foot and if don't believe me just watch these next few years if nothing changes.
@MyNameisZack
Preface to my rant, what I'm addressing you about specifically has do with your overall ignorance in his matter; Afro-surrealism as well as Afro-futurism or Black Sci-Fi has existed since the 60s and 70s. We've written own stories, they don't come to light until someone white puts their stamp of approval on it; Stephen wrote The Shining and wrote a black character (his description of the character was unintentionally racist, putting emphasis on his big black hands). Even he was angry at Kubrick adaptation that killed said black character off; if we aren't excluded we're side characters, these blacks aren't complaining about not being written well by whites they're doing exactly what your complaining about black should do. They're writing their own stories, did you read the title; did you take your time to watch the video or jump to conclusions. Or read the comments thag aren't racists throwing fits; when I watched Star Wars, Star Trek, hell even Lovecraft Country it was considering white people shit because you only saw white people. Ironically other people of color put us in their films; made us human, as a matter of fact blacks and other POC were more alienated than actual whites in this country. The real Lone Ranger is black; sadly he isn't the only cowboy or black figure literally shown as white on a television or book, we've always made our own things when whites neglected us. Country music, Rock n Roll, Blues, Jazz, Hip Hop, Disco, Break dancing, Graffiti, HBCUs, etc.
Respectfully, you have no idea just how much us black people create and how much our work is appropriated/stolen or outright ignored. This is precisely why there’s a push for more diversity behind the scenes in big studios, so our work might actually be seen. It’s not the same thing as Japanese and Chinese comics. These are are massive and established industries run in wealthy nations Japan and China that are made for and readily consumed by their populations. Why not Africa? Firstly, I’s not a country, it’s many different countries. Secondly, it was heavily colonized and destabilized. Thirdly, a great deal of it is a desert. You don’t build cities on deserts. Fourthly, there is plenty of creative work being done in Africa that is being overlooked. America should cater to it’s population as well, and a great deal of it’s population is non-white. We’d gladly create representation for ourselves if y’all would hire us and fund our projects.
and if yall wanted to promote "afrofuturism" maybe yall shouldve used original music instead of a drake rendition about black aliens
It's dope, but keep the brothers strong and let's not make ALL of them gay. Please dont make the women so uber powerful that only they can save the future in every story.Concerned Brother. HARAMBE
#sigh Black Panther is NOT, I repeat, NOT afro-futurism. It has to be written, produced, directed, and starred by Black people, not white people putting an actor on the camera. you lost me right there. the rest is garbage.
Agreed
Gonna make white futurism and it’s gonna be AWEOSME
this is tripe. so sad to see. think tank sponsored divise hatespeech..
Author makes the claim that:
"There has been a glaring exclusion of black people from works of science fiction."
1. Darth Vader (James Earl Jones)
2. Captain Sisko
3. Worf
4. Geordi LaForge
5. Lt. Uhura
6. Mace Windu
7. Morpheus
8. Tuvoc
9. Lando Calrissian
10. Michael Dawson (Lost)
11. Storm
12. Aunty Entity
13. Will Smith from men in black
14. Ruby Rhod
15. Zoe Washburne
(This is just what immediately comes to mind after 10 seconds. The list goes on...)
These are A-List celebrities in MAJOR box office hits here.
The truth: Afrofuturism is dope because it's SciFi. Black people have ALWAYS BEEN integral to Sci-fi, they have led memorable leading roles in some of Hollywood's most notable and treasured classics
Why bullshit people? Instead of injecting so much of your opinion into your writing, just tell the facts, neutral, and let people come to their own conclusions.
You'd have to trim this list a little bit...
1 - Since when was Darth Vader black other than his costume? While he was most certainly voiced by James Earl Jones, by no stretch of the imagination would he be a cultural representation. Additionally, when his helmet was taken off he was most certainly not black.
2. Worf??? - In the "Next Generation", the majority of the Klingons were of a darker hue. This being an "acceptable blackface" because in the eyes of most they were not an attempt to portray people of color but an entirely different species and an alien race. Although most POC were glad to see an even darker Klingon.
3. Tuvoc - Once again as with Worf, he was an alien, albeit noticeably darker than pretty much every other Vulcan ever shown on screen.
The rest of your list is cool for the most part. However, when you break down your list as is... it covers ... Star Wars, Star Trek, Matrix, Lost, X-Men, Firefly, 5th Element, Men In Black, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome... that's 9 movies/ television series where the majority of the individuals are minor or supporting characters and not leads. There is no cultural attachment to them outside fo the skincolor.
This is an extremely short list, 9 in all.... 14 if we give you the entire list individually... Worf & LaForge were on the same show but they only really developed Worf.... I"ll throw in "The Oracle" from the Matrix but still a supporting character and same movie as Morpheus, Windu & Calrissian within the same/related titles...
Yet in comparison, there are hundreds if not thousands of sci-fi movies and series that are out there. So it's not a lie when you view from a quantifiable perspective... It's a glaring omission... Unless you are truly dedicated to searching out these characters to watch, the likelihood of running into them randomly is unlikely. It's like when I have to google black anime characters... Are there some... Yes... I'd like to say of course... But unless you're a diehard anime fan most people would be hardpressed to name 10 off the top of the head. In such cases it's more than the skincolor attachment that most POC are looking for.
I agree that the idea of Afrofuturism is dope as hell, more development would be nice as there are organizations that are out there dedicated to the genre and movement... However, it is still far from being in the mainstream spotlight even with the success of Black Panther even though the ideology and framework of Afrofuturism has been around since the 60's & 70's in literature. That's a long time with barely anything mainstream to show for it ...
Darth Vader lol
Darth Vader? Fake nerd!
@@plopping-wetlyacademyofmot9639 😂😂😂 WTF!
@@Now_Roger_That the reason that (some people think) black people are underrepresented in science fiction, (although nearly every series has major characters that are black..) is that simply not enough black artists create works of science fiction. (Yet.)
Don't like the status quo? Create something. Maybe you'll make it big.
Its definitely not for a lack of black characters, that's for sure.
And yes, Worf was straight up black. There's black Klingons and white Klingons in *all* the star trek series'.
Worfs girlfriend was a white Klingon female. His son, Alexander is clearly mixed. Did you even watch the show? It was on for 7 seasons.
All the original Klingons from the first star trek were white guys. In fact 90 percent of the Klingons on TNG and DS9 are white with makeup. They chose Michael Dorn, a black guy with a badass, deep, black guy voice for a reason.
Tuvok was also straight up black. He was a black guy on purpose. Saying he's an alien was irrelevant. There's black Vulcans and white Vulcans. Just like there would be regional differences in aliens, from other planets, just like humans🤦♂️ he was black, and on purpose.
I don't even think I mentioned Geordi, *another* one of the central, unforgettable characters on star trek that were black, and portrayed in leadership positions. Uhura, she was on TV 60 years ago almost.
This is not a new thing. If anything, sci fi was one of the *first* genres to include black people in significant numbers.
If any demographics are underrepresented in sci fi, it's probably Native Americans, possibly Asian or Jewish, but definitely not Black.
And that's just star trek alone. Lando, played by Billy Dee Williams and Donald Glover, two of the most prominent, and famous black actors, in *the* most prominent and famous sci fi series of all time, Star Wars...
And of course Vader, who was specifically chosen to be voiced by James Earl Jones, another prominent black actor.
Will Smith, men in black, I am legend.
Come on man.
I don't even watch comic book movies but there's no shortage of black characters there either.
If you *really* think black people are underrepresented, (which is clearly false,) Write some of your own black science fiction. Get it published. Hopefully you can make it big. As of now, the black actors and characters that play them get a LOT notoriety.
So, they are distracting themselves with sci-fi. #WTF
Yeah they should stick to gangster rap and Madea movies
@@DawnOfTheDead991 your mad that blacks are expressing themselves artistically? Not the brightest are you. Stick to your confederate flag
@@taniaawilliams5031 Art?
@@DawnOfTheDead991 uhm anything that you use to creatively express yourself is art. So yes. Do you have to like it? No bc its not created for you. Art is objective its neither good or bad. But since you have an issue with it this art probably isnt for you. The statues across the us of racists white men might be more your speed. Godbless
@@taniaawilliams5031 Afro Futurism = European Dark Ages
Meanwhile In Zimbabwe and the Congo😂😂😂😂 yeah. Afroprimitivism is more the term. The bulk of Afro culture outside of America and Europe is anything from futuristic. Africans who are in their own home and under they’re own rule are in vast squaller and beg for colonizers to come back. Take a look at the real world once in a while.
Not sure, I mean sociologically yes - there is a lot of regression in those societies by many whatever metrics (economic, political etc). However, Zimbabwe, for instance, was an early leader in things like mobile banking and solar power uptake - obviously because of those same regressive aspects of their society (like unreliable power grids and crumbling traditional banking systems). DRC, too, as we all know is rich in natural resources that will shape our postmodern times (like cobalt for your gadgets and electric vehicles, and hydro-power potential). In fact, many African countries are rich in minerals that will shape the present going into the future. The point you're missing here is the imagination element - where imagination is a progressive disposition. You don't go forward if you don't visualise it. No one care for colonisers, but we do care for human development.
@@takasimba7881 Zimbabwe is hungry and on fire still left to its own devices - a true embarrassment
my bad if i offend anyone, but this shit this afro ego stuff alway wierds me out. ive never seen a "black" person in my life. that word, and "white", in general is what seperate ppl and keeps the never ending cycle of tensions btwn races nice and strong. there are more than just, black africans and white europeans in this world. the way i see it, if you want to celebrate a culture from another country then by all do so. but when you do so much celebrating that it prevents a NEW country to develop its own NEW culture, you'll never have the kind of "unity" of ppl we all yearn for. we'll continue to be ONE big stupid country of ppl with A BUNCH of different religions, cultures and core mutual values just bcuz we're too selfish to accept the fact that its not just us "black" ppl anymore in this country.
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