afrofuturism-blogs

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Blog Assignment #6

Borna Haghighat

One work that I found very fascinating was the short film The Courier. Essentially, this film is about a pharmaceutical company that has created a virus, but the whole does not know that. They believe the virus came about naturally, so they are being lied to. In addition, one of the employees who works for the company created an anti-virus and wants to reveal it to the world but the company does not want her to do so because it will ruin their company and expose their lies. As a result, she gives the virus to a courier who is meant to deliver it to a person and the main plot of the movie is the company trying to chase down this courier in order to get the anti-virus back and keep their secret safe. This story got me thinking about the real world. While there isn't a direct parallel it got me thinking about the high medicine prices in the United States. This is due to a variety of reasons but above all is profit and corporate greed. As a result, drug prices are very high and many Americans can not afford medication. Just like in the film, it gets me wondering, do these pharmaceutical companies actually care about getting people the care they need, or do they only care about making a profit? Overall, I believe there is a need for a complete overhaul of the medicare system in the United States. 

Furthermore, one student film that I thought was very good was the film called The Others. This film was about an African American student who is on campus and doesn't see people like her on campus because the college doesn't want her to see people like her. One way this is shown is through the use of headphones that are meant to hypnotize her and control her. I really liked the way the filmmakers decided to show this. For example, the people who place the headphones on the character are other black people, so essentially they betray the character and this is meant to destroy unity. This is because the college knows that if the students show unity, then they will have strength in numbers and power and this will break the cycle. This was a genius way to express this. One last thing that I liked about this film is the minimal use of the words. The filmmakers said they did because they wanted to invoke feelings and I agree that this was accomplished. While the words were very limited, the pictures and images were able to speak for themselves. 

Lastly, I also enjoyed watching the other student film called The Dons. The Dons is about a group of friends that were on their way to a party but they got lost. In addition, the party ended up actually being a web that was meant to trap them. One thing I really liked about this film was the use of a spider documentary to represent the web and the trapping of the friends. I thought this was very clever. In addition, I also really liked the music selection in the film.

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Blog Assignment #5

Borna Haghighat 

One thing that I found really interesting and fascinating was the discussion on artificial intelligence or AI. In particular, the robot named BINA48 really caught my attention. I found it cool how Bina could scan the room like a real human would. In addition, she was able to have a conversation like a real human as well. However, she did trip up or had a hard time answering some questions, which shows that robots aren't 100% perfect yet and there is still much to improve. However, while I did find Bina cool, I also found it very scary because when she was having a conversation with the human Bina that she was modeled after, she said “I am the real Bina”. This got me thinking that when AI and robot technology become perfect, and it becomes impossible to distinguish them from a real human, then what is stopping these robots from impersonating us and taking over our identity? It honestly scared me and as Professor Due has said in class, it reminds me of the Terminator and that there needs to be some regulation. There must be some safety precautions that are put in place. 

Furthermore, I also thought it was crazy that a robot named Sophia was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship. I don't think robots should be able to have citizenship because it is not a living thing with a soul. If we give robots citizenship then where do we draw the line?  What's stopping a computer from getting citizenship then if a robot can get one? However, other than this once again I thought it was cool how Sophia could express human facial expressions, but once again she says “She will destroy humans”. Just like with Bina, although I think the technology is fascinating, once again I am thinking to myself what if in the end the robots do take over and things could very much end very badly if there are not the proper precautions taken? In addition, I do not think companies or people will take the necessary precautions, therefore it is up to the government to enforce it upon them. The government must enact laws and legislation so that there are safety features not just in robots but also in AI in general and if a company or person makes a mistake there must be some sort of punishment.

Lastly, this whole conversation of robots and AI reminds me of a game that I have played called “Detroit: Become Human”. This game is a story about robots who were treated badly by humans, and as a result, fought back against humans and had an uprising in order to gain freedom and rights. Although the future is uncertain this can potentially happen in the real world if we are not careful.

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Blog Assignment #4

Borna Haghighat

One work that I found interesting that we have discussed in class is the film “Children of Men”. One scene in particular I found interesting was the scene where Kee was in a building that was getting shot up but when the soldiers realized she had a baby they stopped shooting and let her leave the building. This is because the  “Children of Men” film takes place in a society that is ravished by violence and infertility, so the fact that Kee had a baby shocked everyone. As a result, since she was mankind’s only hope the soldiers stopped their fire and let them exit the building. I thought at this point that there would be a glimmer of hope in a world of violence but that quickly ends when the soldiers resume their shooting of the people in the building when the baby is out of sight. What I took away from this is that humans will always resort back to violence because it is in their nature. Even when there is a glimmer of hope everyone will still resort back to violence. I also thought it was a good example of the battle of good versus evil, with good being peace and prosperity and evil being war, death, and violence. In this scenario evil was victorious. 

Furthermore, one thing I liked about the film  “Children of Men” is the ending. While most of the people who helped Kee during her journey either died or were taken away, the last scene shows Kee in a boat in a body of water with the Tomorrow ship in the background coming to save her. The Tomorrow ship was where she wanted to go because it was manned by a group that wants to heal the world's infertility and they think Kee’s situation could be the key. In addition, as the credits roll there are sounds of children laughing which is meant to express that everything is going to be okay and humanity will be okay. This leaves the viewer with a sense of hope in the end. I liked this because I do not like movies that do not end well, rather I like when they end with a sense of hope. 

Lastly, I thought the story “Lion's Blood" was interesting. It is set in an alternate history where the Americas were colonized by Islamic Africans and they brought European slaves. I thought this was interesting because it got me thinking about what would happen differently if this actually happened in the real world. If or when the white Europeans fought back for equality would they have been met with the same hostility that black abolitionists and activists had to endure or would things be different? I thought thinking about this difference was fascinating.

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Blog Assignment #3

Borna Haghighat

One work I found interesting that we have discussed in class so far is the film Pumzi. Pumzi is a film about a futuristic African society. One thing that I found interesting about this film is the way the society creates their power. They generate their power by working on exercise machines such as treadmills. I found this interesting because while it is labor intensive it is a form of energy generation that creates no pollution, as a result, it does not harm the environment. I also found this interesting because, in today’s society due to climate change, we are turning to alternative energy such as electricity in order to decrease pollution more than ever. This society in the film is aiming to do the same even though the film was created in 2009.

On the other hand, one thing I did not like about the film Pumzi is the suppression of dreams and ideas. The main character of the film, Asha, works as curator of a museum in an underground society. Throughout the film, she is told to take dream suppressants when she has dreams about the outside world by the council, a robot, and an alarm that alerts her to take the pills. This is a medicine that is meant to suppress her dreams so she cannot think about the outside world and is confined to her society and her job. I found this to be something that was bad because people cannot dream about new ideas when they are locked into their situation and cannot dream of something better. This is most likely why the council wanted the society to take the pills because they did not want people to dream of something better and as a result, they would lose their power. 

Furthermore, one more work that I found interesting was the film Sorry to Bother You. The film is about a man named Cassius Green who joins a protest that his co-workers have created against their company in order to demand better wages and overall worker benefits. However, things get complicated when he gets promoted and decides to accept the promotion and leave the protest or picket. Throughout the rest of the film, he struggles between staying true to the cause and accepting his higher position. I thought this was interesting because it presents a moral dilemma that a lot of people have to go through every day. Are you willing to turn your back on a cause you have fought for if someone higher up is willing to meet your demands but not the demands of everyone else? Or are you going to refuse the promotion because everyone is not benefiting? I thought this dilemma was very interesting.

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Blog Assignment #2

Borna Haghighat

One life issue that makes it necessary to create my Earthseed community is a pandemic. The second issue is a band of rebels or a militia that has overrun the city. 

One Earthseed verse that will apply to my community is “There is no end to what the living world will demand of you”. This will apply to my community when it comes to who we allow to enter the community. Many people will come to the community and demand to be let into the community in order to seek safe haven. They will also demand the resources of the community, and while I would like to help everyone, the community must be smart and strategic in their decisions and put the community first.  Another Earthseed verse that will apply to the community is “Belief initiates and guides action, or it does nothing”. This applies to the community because the people must believe in the community and its cause in order for them to come to action and help the community survive and flourish. 

The Earthseed community will be created in Los Angeles which is where I live. This is because I know the location and terrain and if a survival situation were to come about, “home court advantage” would give my community the edge. 

Anyone who has not been infected by the pandemic can enter the community because there is strength in numbers. Anyone affiliated with the rebels or militias cannot enter the community. In addition, anyone who cannot work cannot enter the community because they are not able to provide for the community and will only be taxing the already limited resources.

My leadership model for the community will be to lead by example. I do not expect anybody in the community to do a task that I do not or cannot do myself. 

A future technology that helps my community would be creating the only vaccine that can cure someone with the pandemic in the world. 

The Earthseed community will survive by sticking together. When going on patrols to gather resources people will go in groups because there is strength in numbers. In addition, within the community, everyone will split up and do their share of work so that nobody is deadweight and carrying the community down. 

One step that my Earthseed community will take to build a better future is to make sure to have an education. This is because once we survive the pandemic and rebels, we will need to be educated in order to rebuild society. Another step is farming because food and resources will be scarce. By farming our own food we will be able to self-sustain ourselves if we are not able to gather resources for a period of time.

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Blog Assignment #1

Borna Haghighat

First, when it comes to the overall course I would say it is different than I expected. First, I had never heard of Afrofuturism before taking this course and I did not really know what to expect. I have taken Professor Due’s 112A African American Horror course. In the 112A course, we mainly focused on short stories and films. However, what makes this Afrofuturism course different is that in addition to films and short stories, there is a use of music in Afrofuturism which is not something I expected. Overall, I have found the use of music to be enjoyable because it has opened my mind to new sounds and more ways that music can be used other than just entertainment and enjoyment. 

Next, one work that I liked and found interesting was the “Black Panther” television episodes. I had not previously even known that there was a television show of “Black Panther”. I watched the movie when it first came out and it was interesting to see the differences between the two. One thing in the TV series that caught my attention was when Black Panther defeated Captain America. I liked this because it made the Black Panther who was the protector of Wakanda feel more powerful. To me, it sent a message that not even the strongest soldier could overpower Wakanda. 

Furthermore, another work that I found interesting was “The Space Traders”. What really shocked me about this film was seeing the results of the vote about deciding whether to send black people to space or not. The results were 63% yes and 37% no. These numbers were staggering to me and it got me thinking what the numbers would be if this happened in real life. Would the yes numbers be higher, lower, or the same? Another thing that caught my attention was the way numerous characters would talk about black people when they were considering voting no. They did not consider voting no because of the goodness of their hearts or because they didn't want to see black people sent away. Rather, they were considering voting no because of economic and other personal reasons. This expressed the theme of interest convergence theory that we learned in class which is a theory that states white people will only support minority rights if it is in their interest too. This is seen in “The Space Traders” because these white characters were only willing to vote no and help black people because it also benefited them and fit their interests.