Afro-futurism refers to the exploration of the developing intersection of the African diaspora and technology. The Last Angel of History is a 1996 documentary by John Akomfrah that deals with the concepts of Afro-futurism as a metaphor for displacement of black culture and roots. The documentary/fictional narrative focuses on music and follows the journey of the ‘data thief’ who has to travel across time and space in search for fragments of history that holds the key to his future.
The Last Angel of History serves as a good intro on what is Afro-futurism. It is where funk becomes astro, coming about because black people weren’t seen as the ones to be on a spaceship therefore changing the narrative of the image of Africa as a lost continent in the past as a vision of the future. The commentary discusses a time period where various artists independent of each other were using space iconography. Space is seen as somewhere they have been before and are returning to through Afro-futurism, returning to the essence of where the roots come from. The realm of science fiction can be connected to the history of African Americans, as novelists draw inspiration from that around them and the past . The concept of life of another planet in outer space stems from the alienation African Americans feel in the United States, as if they do not belong there and should go back to their country of origin causing refuge to be sought out through the idea of life on another planet. The science fiction genre of Afrofuturism is a significant distortion of the present used as an escape to get out of the present.
As mentioned in The Last Angel on Earth, Sun Ra is an African-American jazz musician known for his more eclectic and avant-garde music. Sun Ra writes and stars in Space is the Place, an Afrofuturist science fiction film released in 1974 and directed by John Coney. It follows Sun Ra journey back to the United States after being lost during his European tour. He comes back to spread word of his plans to resettle African Americans on another planet in outer space.He seeks to recruit young African Americans but they become suspicious of Sun Ra, leading him to get kidnapped by white NASA scientists. After being saved by local teenagers and after an eventful performance, people begin vanishing and reappearing on the spaceship and then launches off into outerspace.
Space is the Place seemed like an older version of Black Panther. Sun Ra presents the idea of a new colony for black people on another planet as a plan to save the black race, as the ambassador for intergalactic regions from outer space. The exploitative white power structure has disenfranchised African Americans leaving them to feel alienated and feel as the system is not working in their favor. This unjust power structure place black men on the bottom causing them to be in an inverted position because they are supposed to be on top. Therefore, everything desired from the current planet and have not had can be theirs in outer space in a planet of their own, like Wakanda in Black Panther. The kidnapping of Sun Ra is because he had the answers and the solution for a just living for African Americans consequently defying the white power structure. Sun Ra made an interesting character as Ra is the Egyptian deity of the Sun and throughout the film he is seen with extravagant and eclectic clothing similar to that of Egyptian clothing. His role in the film coincides with his character and the film and the decision to keep his artistic name, as his character can be seen as the one enlightening the rest of the African American population with the concept of life on another planet. Although I am not the biggest fan of the music during the film, it adds to the futuristic vibe along with the colors and the clothing giving it a feel of something to listen to on an lsd trip.
Black Panther is the 2018 superhero film directed by Ryan Coogler, based on the Marvel Comics making it the 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With a star-filled cast, it discusses an issue taking place in Wakanda, a nation of African tribes who use vibranium to develop advanced technology and isolate themselves by posing as a Third World country. Wakanda can be seen as what Africa could have been if colonizers would have never arrived, implementing a white power structure where Africans are inferior causing the continent to regress. The film envisions Africa as the future due to its abundance of resources but as a sacred land that must be protected from the Western world. Black Panther seems to be the advancement of the original ideas from Space is the Place.
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