Africanfuturism Project by Madison Bomstad

Prompt One: Define Africanfuturism

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:37:11 UTC

Africanfuturism mainly wraps around the idea of a science-fictional Africa. The focus is on envisioning a future for Africa but with its culture and tradition. Wole Talabi goes into more detail by saying “The difference is that Africanfuturism is specifically and more directly rooted in African culture, history, mythology, and point-of-view as it then branches into the Black Diaspora, and it does not privilege or center the West. Africanfuturism is concerned with visions of the future, is interested in technology, leaves the earth, skews optimistic, is centered on and predominantly written by people of African descent (black people) and it is rooted first and foremost in Africa.” I think Wole Talabi point was clear on Africanfutuirsm and I do agree that we should have an optimistic look at the future possibilities for Africa and its people.

Prompt Two: Relate your definition of Africanfuturism to the readings for this week--Butler's work pre-dates the term, and Okorafor created the term--what aspects of Africanfuturism do you see in the texts?

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:37:35 UTC

Africanfuturism can be defined as a form of science fiction that is rooted in African culture and tradition. In both readings we see the authors pull from real life Africa, while putting a science-fiction spin on it. The difference between these two authors is that Butlers books often serve as a warning, sometimes taking place years after the current time period, and displaying a dystopian future. Okorafor however, argues that her work should be understood as explicitly African rather than part of the Black diaspora; without a desire to look toward Western culture. Her works are completely centered in African traditions and stray away from any western influence in her book, while Butlers novel starts in Robledo, California.

Prompt Three: Summarize Mougoue's discussion of gender and sexuality. How does she define each term? How do gender and sexuality function in Africanfuturism?

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:38:08 UTC

Mougoue describes the idea of gender as not a fixed socially constructed identity, But something that’s forced upon us by culture. In the text it says, “Butterfly Fish and Freshwater centre female and non-gendered African bodies that exist outside the categories constructed by universal humanism and its idea of the human built on the negation of gendered, raced, and differently-abled bodies”. I think Mougoue is against the whole idea of being limited to roles you're assigned by gender. Ultimately, Mougoue wants to recognize the idea of expanding the gender pool and not limiting it so that everyone can feel free. Mougoue feels like sexuality is the same way but mostly depends on culture, driven by desires and a sprinkle of identity. Africanfuturism challenges the ideas of old traditional ways and wants to explore new possibilities for how humans can express their selves through identity.

Prompt Four: Using Mougoue's definitions, explore Parable and "Sunrise". Where does gender come into play? Sexuality? What are the implications of the genders of the main characters in each text and how does it impact the plot as a whole?

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:38:23 UTC

In the Parable of the Sower Lauren Olamina is a leader and challenges the typical gender roles in society. Another thing that she does that challenges gender roles is she is the founder of a new religion called Earthseed, thus putting her into a position of power which also defies the gender norms of society. In the story Lauren has a condition induced by drugs her mom took when she was pregnant with her that causes her to have a condition called Hyperempathy syndrome that causes her to feel the physical sensations and emotions of others. This impacts her sexuality since she feels the physical sensations and emotions of others. She begins to build a very deep bond with other people, she helps a lot of people but in return this condition can become very overwhelming for her. Laurens gender impacts the plot as a whole because she breaks a lot of traditional ways of thinking about gender and sexuality and this creates the structure for the plot of the story. In the Sunrise story it takes a different look and transcends the ideas of gender and sexuality. When she gets the PI phone on the plane and she tells it that it can’t speak unless it is spoken to, the phone gets upset at her and ruins her trip causing numerous problems. Then at the end of the story the phone or Sunrise tells her, “Now you know what it feels like,” Sunrise said from my phone with a chuckle. “They think you’re a witch, you think robots and PIs like me are insane.” She snickered. “Taste your own medicine.” The PI has a very non-traditional view of views and ideas. This leads to there being some unique experiences when the phone starts talking, these ideas in the story that it is talking about are very futuristic and different form the traditional views and ideas of the people in the village. This affects the plot because the people in the village end up freaking out on the main character after all of the experiences involving the PI phone, this impacting the plot because without the PI phone none of this would have happened.

Prompt Five: Provide a critical summary of Butler's novel with a focus on key plot points, but also on Africanfuturism (or science fiction) and gender.

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:41:53 UTC

The “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler shares an important story of personal growth, adaptation in unruly circumstances, and camaraderie within a community. The novel focuses on a young, African American girl named Lauren who takes on the challenges of her dystopian life and learns how to handle the unforeseen acts of the world. From early on in the novel destruction befalls Lauren’s family and neighborhood. During this time of survival she discovers more about her ideals and the world around her. Lauren writes scriptural poems to describe the future that she wants for the world, calling the collection Earthseed. Lauren’s view on religion shifts from her Father’s Baptist view to a god that resembles change; a primary theme throughout Lauren’s journey. Soon after Lauren's home and old way of life get uprooted, she takes on a journey north and is accompanied by the allies she meets along the way. In this transition, Lauren views the horrors of the outside world: crazy Pyros, armed warfare, starvation, and death. Lauren’s journey highlights the evidence of the misuse of technology and the dysfunctional ideals of her world. The dystopian societ built up by the author envisions an alternative future consisting of Lauren’s diversity-driven religion and the need for freedom from oppression. Butler paints her science fiction novel in the deeply rooted history of African Americans and imagines the possibilities of a world that can be lived in safety, creativity, and freedom for all people. By the end of the book, Lauren’s perspective on traditional gender and familial roles changes. In her young relationship with Curtis she could never envision having a family or getting married, even going so far as to say that she would never let herself fall to that standard of living. However, after meeting Bankole and learning about his life, values, and aspirations, she accepts her change of mind about marital relationships and agrees to an engagement with him. This shows how traditional gender stereotypes are not for everyone yet highlights the theme of change from the book as a whole.

Prompt Six: What is the world that is created in Butler? How is it relevant to our world now?

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:42:12 UTC

Butler creates diverse and expansive settings that draw on real life inspiration. Building worlds based on real life, Butler explored themes of power, identity, and inequality in her writing, and featured Black protagonists who face both racial and gender-based discrimination during their journeys. This is often paired with dystopian futures or time travel elements that appear in many of her books; along with a focus on black injustice and strong female characters. This relates to our current world through integrating real life problems and technology into her fantasy settings, along with providing unique ways to look at real world conflicts.

Prompt Seven: Provide a critical summary of Okorafor's story with a focus on key plot points, but also on Africanfuturism (or science fiction) and gender.

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:42:37 UTC

A summary of the Okorafor’s story begins with following a woman entering a plane in the future. She is an author of books about the future of Africa and she met with a reporter who was on the plane because it was a new model and he was going to talk about it. However when he found out she was the author of the books he bombarded her with a series of questions which were she did not want to happen since she was just going on vacation and she wanted to have a traditional experience of the trip. When she got to her seat she was given a PI phone which is used as a personal assistant on the flight. She begins talking to it and the name of the phone is Sunrise. Sunrise and her have many great conversations throughout the flight and even when she gets to Africa, however eventually she got angry at the phone while talking about Freedom of Speech. The PI’s ideas transcend the traditional views on gender and power that the people in her village have and this causes a variety of issues. Then there is a couple events in which the phone blurts out things that are drastically opposite of what the people in the village agree with. The tipping point is when the phone breaks the TV at her Uncle's house. Now nobody in the village knows that she has had a PI phone this whole time causing all of the issues so they think that she is a witch. Right before she and her sister leave the village the phone tells her that this is how it feels and basically says that the way she treated the phone when basically saying that the phone has no rights is how she feels now which is being treated like a witch. So then she and her sister escape the village with the phone and begin with their journey back home. How this connects with African Futurism and gender is that the African Futurism ideas and gender ideology that the PI phone has strongly opposed the ideas that the people in the village have which are very traditional. What this story shows is how African Futurism and gender ideas from the future are very different from the traditional ways.

Prompt Eight: What is the world that is created in Sunrise? How is it relevant to our world now?

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:43:19 UTC

The world that’s created in Sunrise is futuristic with very advanced devices like the skylight airplane AI. Many examples that were given in the reading of Sunrise related to our world in many ways. For instance, “awesome transparent skin” and the AI technology that was offered on the plane made traveling relaxing and enjoyable. A very similar invention today is the cell phone, which offers many sources of entertainment. Without our cell phones, many people would be in a state of anxiety. Since it’s the center of our lives and it helps us relax often. Another similar example of AI technology in Sunrise in our world is Siri the AI technology that’s implemented in basically all Apple products, in a way Sunrise is projecting our current technological capabilities.

Prompt Nine: What role do culture, religion, politics, race, and/or gender play in the plots of these texts? Why are they significant?

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:43:38 UTC

Culture, religion, politics, race, and gender all play vital roles in shaping these pieces. Africanfuturism utilizes culture to construct worlds that reflect African traditions and modern times. Religion provides meaning and depth to stories by including spiritual beliefs and practices. These stories address present-day problems such as colonialism and societal inequality. They assist people in envisioning more positive and fair futures. Race has a crucial role in changing misconceptions about Black people and boosting their confidence and diversity. Gender is examined through sophisticated portrayals that question established roles and expectations, broaden the range of representation, and investigate how power and identity are connected. Africanfuturism and Afrofuturism serve as excellent tools for critical thinking and creativity.

Prompt Ten: Be sure to read carefully and cite your examples. Use quotes to illustrate your arguments.

m5bomstad — 2024-09-07 18:43:58 UTC