Blog Post 1

 

African American Studies 112B - Blog Post 1

    Referring to the Space Traders film by Derrick Bell, something that I really liked about the film was how it alluded a lot to major and relevant themes in the US without directly saying it. Specifically, in the film, there was one scene where it showed the Black Americans being loaded onto the ship and shipped away. This scene looked like it was mirroring and reflecting the transatlantic slave trade that happened years ago. The fact that in both scenarios, they are being loaded onto ships and sent off - it felt as if they were directly reflecting and mirroring each other. Something else that I really enjoyed about this film was how the aliens showed how the US is willing to sacrifice Black Americans for wealth and economic gains. Even though the dispute between the US was with aliens and this is not necessarily a realistic type of event that would occur, the fact that they were so willing to give up their own citizens for economic benefit with such a silly creature has such a large impact and truly shows how much Black lives are undervalued in the US. The Space Traders was such an unsettling film to watch, since it truly revealed many of the oppressions and racism that Black Americans still face today. I really liked how this film showed these struggles in such a unique and interesting way; I have definitely never watched anything like this film. 

So far, this course has definitely blown me away. This is my first African American course; when I signed up for this class, I had no idea what Afrofuturism meant or what I was going to learn, but that is what initially intrigued me. I am really enjoying exploring different types of Afrofuturistic works in varieties of ways, such as readings, movies, books and films. They are all super engaging and I like the variety. 

Something that surprised me about Afrofuturism is how prevalent it is today in many popular artists that I love. For example, Beyonce exhibits many Afrofuturistic themes in her songs and music videos; now that I know what Afrofuturism is, I can better understand the meanings of her songs and videos and what they symbolize about the African Diaspora. For example, on one of Beyonce’s tours, she entered the stage wearing a sort of robot/futuristic type outfit. It was a silver metallic and sort of robot looking costume. Now, when I look back and see Beyonce wearing that outfit, I understand that she is embodying and embracing Afrofuturism in her works. Although, a few years ago, when I saw Beyonce wearing that outfit, I did not think much about it or think that it had a deeper meaning. It is super cool to learn about Afrofuturism in class and then be able to identify it with many popular artists today and truly understand the meaning and significance behind it! I am excited to learn more about Afrofuturism throughout the quarter.