Tito’s Personal Experience With Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism is the intersection between Black Culture and imagined futures, alternate realities, and fantastic worlds. The Afrofuturistic aesthetic is known for combining aspects of the ancient past with the far future. The past, present, and future can exist simultaneously. As Black History month nears to a close, I wanted to shed some light on some imagined futures.

My first encounter with an Afrofuturistic narrative was when I read the Young Adult novel The Ear The Eye and The Arm. Set in futuristic Zimbabwe, General Matsika calls in Africa’s most unusual detectives — the Ear, the Eye, and the Arm — to find his missing children. I think a film adaptation is long overdue and could introduce The Ear The Eye and The Arm to a new generation of young adults.

I’m pleased to see more Black characters within sci-fi and fantasy spaces. I’m glad that my younger nieces and nephews will get to grow up in a world with characters like Garnet from Steven Universe.

I’m also seeing the rise of Black characters within anime and manga. Many Japanese artists have been inspired by Black fashion and music, so this is a natural evolution. I’m thrilled to see characters like Arkha Corvus and Semiu Grier from Gachiakuta — this is how Black people should be portrayed in manga!

Scavengers Reign not only has a diverse cast of characters, but also explores the underlying themes of alienation, spiritual exploration, and feminism. This is the kind of thought-provoking sci-fi we need more of and I hope it gets a season 2.

“Zima Blue” is Episode 14 in Season 1 of Love Death + Robots. The animated short explores artificial intelligence, identity, the nature of art, and the pursuit of beauty. These themes are shockingly prescient and “Zima Blue” is well worth revisiting.

Flying Lotus is a musical artist who’s incorporated elements of Afrofuturism into his work. He’s had a pretty amazing track record. From his genre-defying work on the Yasuke anime to his upcoming sci-fi film, Ash, Flying Lotus is an artist to keep an eye on.

I will fully admit that I’m late to the greatness that is MF Doom. I’m really grateful that the team who manages his music is doing a remaster with funky new art.  MF Doom combines hip hop with his own personal pop culture mythos with references to comics, cartoons, and Kaiju films. It’s never too late to discover something awesome.

Rammellzee is an iconoclastic artist who creates within his own genre termed “gothic futurism.” Sci-fi, mysticism, surrealism, and underground culture all permeate his work and worldview. He’s a rare artist who’s so avant-garde that if you told me he was from the future, I’d believe you.

Utilizing a tapestry of live action and multiple styles of animation, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty blurs the line between narrative, documentary, and experimental film as it explores the fantasies, emotions, and memories that race through Terence’s mind as he examines and re-examines a singular moment in time.

Black Is King is a concept album from Beyonce based on the music from The Lion King: The Gift. I don’t know why this wasn’t given more attention because it looks way more interesting than the CGI lion king movies. 

I believe Afrofuturism’s greatest days lie ahead. It showcases how art, imagination, science fiction, and spirituality can be used to heal, to challenge, to empower, and to explore. I invite readers of all backgrounds to have their own definition and exploration of Afrofuturism. I look forward to seeing the art people make.