Afrofuturism as the Outsider's Gaze
An Introduction
How do [people] see technology?
"Technology is ... no mere means. Technology is a way of revealing ... [i]t is the realm of revealing, i.e., of truth"
--Heidegger
What is Afrofuturism?
[Afrofuturism is s]peculative fiction that treats African-American themes and addresses African-American concerns in the context of twentieth-century technoculture..."
Mark Dery
Afrofuturism provides an insight into how a marginalised group perceives its relationship with technology.
...there’s a... need to claim the future as well.
The world of science fiction is known for its absence of cultural diversity...
--Ytasha Womack
"I didn’t find being black in America to be a very pleasant experience..."
"...but I had to have something, and that something was creating something that nobody owned but us."
Sun Ra
The cyborg embodies revolution via technology, travelling through time and space to inspire others to join the fight.
Let me be clear: When I speak of androids, I am speaking of the new form of the ‘other.’ You can parallel that to people who are gay or lesbian, those whose skin is considered too dark; women [who] still are not receiving equal rights.
"if a tribal, African woman is what these students perceive me to be, then why throw it off? Why not use it to the furthest degree?"
--Wangechi Mutu
In Afrofuturism is an exploration and methodology of liberation, simultaneously both a location and a journey.
--D. Denenge Akpem
Thus, afrofuturism
can be seen as a genre, an aesthetic or a methodology which examines the way marginalised groups interface with technology to reveal truths about social structures and outsider perspectives.
Contact Details...
@FINOkoye
@AfroFutures_UK
finokoye.wordpress.com