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Kendrick Said We Gon Be Alright

I’d like to use this blog post to spend time highlighting the music portion of the syllabus, which has allowed me to see a new theme in music videos. I’ve never thought of music videos as afrofuturistic art, but by analyzing them in class, I’ve realized that these Black artists are also reaching to tell, retell, or reclaim their story as well as envisioning themself in the future. They also present the idea that not only do we exist in futuristic narratives, but things are better in these futuristic narratives. I’ve grown a new appreciation for this theme in music video and would love to dive deeper to explore the different ways music artists exhibit afrofuturism.

“Mothership Connection” was a song I’ve known for the majority of my life, since my father is a huge funk music fan. The Parliament have been a group I’ve always knew about and knew existed, however, I’ve never really explored the themes of afrofuturism exhibited in their music and their videos, as explicit as it is. Literally the tile of “Mothership Connection” eludes to a sense of being taken away from Earth to a better planet, possibly a Blacker planet. Now I see their costumes and lyrics for what they truly are, which is them seeking and drawing on a better place, a better universe where they won’t feel the pain assigned to their skin tone. I never thought too much into their costumes, non-gendered and glamorously free-spirited. I imagine that this is a future they see for Black men, to wear and look however and still be considered fly and smooth without prescribing to genders created by society.

Analyzing “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar also brought me to new theories about his themes of afrofuturism. This is a well known anthem for #BlackLivesMatter protests as well as other protests that focus on social justice for all of humanity. This anthem is used as a way to bring those oppressed forward, to a future where they know they will be alright and the troubles inflicted by society upon them won’t suppress and constrain them forever. While knowing that this song is used as a protest anthem, it never dawned on me how it also eluded to a better future for Black folk. With the simple chant “We gon be alright,” Lamar brings his audience to a future where he believes that oppression will no longer hinder them and they are moving in a better direction.

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Those Damn White Narratives

The film festival during Week 10 allowed me to explore other themes of afrofuturism that I did not in my own film. The films were very impressive and truly exhibited the Black excellence here at UCLA. Some themes that I admired in these films were alternative histories and futuristic vibes. I also have much admiration for the films that depicted the Black diaspora for what it really is, which is not a monolithic community.

One of the alternative histories that these films exhibited was a futuristic world, still controlled by white narratives. The creators allowed the viewers to look at the way white folk attempt to control others through false narratives. The amazing film Libraryia addressed this with their characters that spoke telepathically. The main characters were visiting an area with a sacred body of water, rumored to kill those who drank from it. Names of those who were allegedly killed by the water were inscribed on the trees, making the legend to seem all more real. The group of three came to discover that one of them was planning on drinking the water. The other two showed signs of distress and frustration with their friend for wanting to drink the murderous liquid. He consumed the liquid and uttered the words “Oh my God,” leaving the audience to not only ponder what was next but also see that there was a false narrative inflicted upon this society that constrained them. Speaking through telepathy might’ve been all they knew existed and those who were restricting the drinking of this water labeled it as something to an end rather than a beginning. The beginning was the ability to speak, something that was hindered by white folk most likely out of fear and selfishness.

Another film addressed the alternative history, or future, where the concept of race was erased from society through “Extraction.” The film, Erased, allowed viewers to explore the possibility of race being erased. While it may appear to the oppressors to get rid of the oppressed people’s stressors, it also erased something they hold onto for survival. That very thing is the shared oppressions and experiences that enable oppressed people of color to become a collective. Perhaps, this was the real objective of the oppressor, to eliminate the very thing that holds the oppressed together. I appreciated the way this film addressed the notion that oppressors only attempt to solve issues in ways that are helpful or beneficial to them. There is little sacrifice from the oppressors, who wish to keep their privilege, which is something that can also never truly solve oppression.

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Bitches Brew is New

Similar to the ways we have analyzed how Robots exemplify the role of “the other,” Aliens have been portrayed to do so as well. In the South African film, District 9, we see a portrayal of Aliens as the other, grouped along with Black people. Usually ‘the other’ is illuminated to bring light to how minority groups are treated, especially when labeled as something other or abnormal. The film has its pros and cons, however it definitely provides a vivid image of how othering can affect a group of individuals and how society views those individuals.

I was not a fan of the way Black people, specifically Nigerians were depicted in the film. Historically they have been ostracized in South Africa and there has been a disparity in how Africans are treated in society versus white colonizers in Africa (meaning white citizens in Africa due to colonization). In the film, they are characterized as criminals who illegally traffic alien body parts in the Black market, participate in interspecies prostitution and hinting at cannibalism, which are all a disservice to Black folk globally after this film became notorious for its interesting story line.

The aliens are also treated like marginalized folk by the white South Africans. The protagonist is used to exemplify the mistreatment and lack of value placed on the aliens in certain circumstances such as performing abortions without consent, unarmed shooting and much more. It is fairly similar as to how Black people are treated in America. South Africa was also used as a backdrop and without context, with a natural association between the aliens and poor Black South Africans.

Also introduced in lecture was Miles Davis and his variations of music style throughout his lifetime. Both “Bitches Brew” and “Kind of Blues” were used to examine the different ways society viewed his music as well as he viewed his own music. “Kind of Blues,” the album based on the style of jazz that Davis was notorious for, led the 1940’s jazz revolution and also opened a door for Davis to explore his music brilliance. “Bitches Brew,” a later album of the late 1960’s, carried sounds of afrofuturism and later paved the way for Jazz Fusion. This was during the era of the Black Panther Party and the assassination of political leaders, moving the focus from Bop Jazz to Electric Jazz. I was very interested in this parallel in the ways that Miles Davis is remembered, associated with the jazz revolution but not a movement as political as the Black Panther Party. I believe that both these concepts in lecture address the notion of white society rewriting false narratives and continuing those false narratives with stereotypes and lack of representation.

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Black Zombie Girl

Horror movies that I’ve never been a fan of are zombie movies. It’s not that I can’t sit through those films, I can’t sit through any horror films actually. However, rather than paranormal or murder stories, zombie movies freak me out because of the actual stories behind them. 2012 was a scary film to watch for me because of the death of most of civilization, and this is the exact reason why I hate zombie movies. Zombie movies not only portray a sort of end to our civilization, but also the fact that humanity is lost saddens and disturbs me greatly. Because of watching The Walking Dead, I had a recurring zombie dream every week. For this course, we were required to look at zombie stories, one of them being The Girl with All the Gifts, a film directed by Colm McCarthy. This brings a new illustration to the film world that has never been seen before.

While still creeped out by this film, I actually admired it a little bit more for a very specific reason. The protagonist was a young Black girl, something I’ve never seen in a zombie film. She was a zombie, amongst many other children, however, she had a mutation that allowed her to have more control over her zombie-ness. She was also extremely intelligent and both qualities helped her throughout the film.

The children were used as lab rats in the film, all trained to be intelligent and have great memories. The beginning of the film leaves the audience to wonder if this is either a great risk or something dangerous. The protagonist is unlike many of the children, she is also extremely polite to her capturers, exhibiting a form of Stockholm syndrome.

Something brought up in lecture was a scene where the protagonist was expected to save the population, after the zombie population began to infiltrate the compound. She was expected to die for the antidote or cure for zombies, a common expectation from Black folk in media and film, the Black sacrificial role. I am satisfied with the ending of this scene, where she refuses and states that they are the new population on the rise. I’m glad that she resisted and did not die for a people that truly did not care about her, only were intrigued by her. This is a constant theme in our class, the theme of ‘othering’ and film and stories. This is huge in afrofuturism, where one can see how the majority population treats marginalized groups, basically how everyone treats Black people, zombies or not.

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This is Absolutely America, Probably the World as Well

Childish Gambino recently dropped a music video titled “This is America,” which shook no only Black Twitter, but all of Twitter. Reviews of the music video vary from admiration to disgust, and I believe it is extremely important to study both reactions and opinions of the music video.Childish Gambino is known for disappearing from the music scene for a year or two and then returning with music that sounds completely different than his last but strongly encompasses the listening aesthetics of the hip-hop/pop/r&b audiences. He is an amazing artist that makes creating musical content look easy.

In lecture, a tweet was brought up that stated “Childish Gambino is doing what Kanye West thinks he’s doing.” It is interesting to use this tweet to assess how “progressive” each artist portrays themself to be and how their behavior may or may not reflect that. There are those that do not put much thought into their words and claim their thoughts as revolutionary (Kanye) and there are those who make their attempts and let their audience decide and depict how they have contributed to the movement (Childish Gambino). I believe that the former is a quality that is an American ideal, specific to those who only are apart of the movement for the social benefits. Then, there are those who contribute to the progress of a movement unselfishly and in their own way, while still carrying out acts of humbleness. This comparison not only speaks volumes in the music industry, but also eludes to many ideals and values carried out in social movements and how we view ourselves as apart of those movements.

Praises of the video include how Childish Gambino has touched on a phenomenon that has globally affected Black people. Black folk are usually at constant front and center, used as entertainment for cultures that do love them or their actual presence. Portrayals of Blackness are what is tolerated, and Childish Gambino illuminates this through his seeming to be reference to the Little Black Sambo. He exemplifies the ways that Black culture is exploited in America, another way that this is America.

An important aspect of this video is the violence, which is both positively and negatively viewed throughout his audience. Many believe that it is too violent and encourages and perpetuates the stereotype Black on Black crime with Childish Gambino as the main perpetrator of violence in the music video. Others say that the violence is nothing compared to other forms of media we consume and is only triggering because, as a society, we are perfectly fine watching violence towards Black folk but not from Black folk, another American phenomenon to explore.

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Monet - Past, Monáe - FUTURE

As I listen to Janelle Monae’s “Make Me Feel,” I reflect on the most recent lecture in class where we analyzed her music videos and character to illuminate ways she is and has been afrofuturistic. I recall first hearing of Janelle Monae in high school a few years ago. My first impressions of her definitely did not align with afrofuturism but I immediately categorized her as different. Her style of dress being gender neutral, her signature bouffant and her amazing capability of dance forced me to see an image of a Black woman I was not familiar with.

“Tightrope” was the first song that introduced me to Monae’s work and I was immediately impressed by the feel-good song. Memories from high school a few years ago bring me back to dancing to the song myself on through the game “Just Dance 3.” The moves on the game simulation were inspired by Monae’s own choreography and the dancing image even matched her own with a bouffant and the same style of clothing. Feelings of euphoria and an emotion I could not describe at the time rushed through me whenever dancing to “Tightrope” on the game. Monae was allowing me to express an emotion that many other new artists at that time did not exhibit through their music. At that time, I was not aware or immersed in my Blackness as I am today yet, I still recognized this emotion of expression. Today, I know that what I was feeling is Monae bringing us forward in a constant reach for tomorrow. To do such with music alone is pure talent.

Watching the “Tightrope” music video on my own with the miniscule background I have today on Afrofuturism, I can easily see the connections Monae is making towards the future as well as the past. The music video is set in an asylum where dancing is forbidden because of its “subversive effects” as mentioned in the beginning of the video. However, Monae and other defy this rule, not only dancing but moving with purpose. Similar to a time of slavery in the U.S., dancing was not prohibited and was threatening to slave masters and others in power. As mentioned in lecture, there is a tribute to Sun Ra’s Space is the Place with similar mirror-faced hooded figures. When Monae and the others are caught dancing, she guarded by the hooded figures back to her room and she returns to the state of distress and frustration of not being able to express herself.

It is interesting to note that this video made in 2010 was an all Black cast, not something I remember from modern artists at that time. The music video was a modern day expression of black girl magic and black boy joy in the future, concluding that it will always be there and will always exist regardless of current hardships and I applaud Monae for doing such at that time where it may have not been as trendy or prominent in the music industry and media.