Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture

Ytasha L. Womack

Chicago Review Press, 1 de out. de 2013 - 224 páginas

2014 Locus Awards Finalist, Nonfiction Category

In this hip, accessible primer to the music, literature, and art of Afrofuturism, author Ytasha Womack introduces readers to the burgeoning community of artists creating Afrofuturist works, the innovators from the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and N. K. Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, the book's topics range from the "alien" experience of blacks in America to the "wake up" cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves.

O que estão dizendo

LibraryThing Review

Comentário do usuário  - tungsten_peerts - LibraryThing

There is a LOT of good stuff here, but whew, the book needed a vigorous editor and even fact checker. I grew restless during Womack's discussion of "African cultural astronomy" (she starts throwing ...

LibraryThing Review

Comentário do usuário  - behemothing - LibraryThing

Important (really surprising lack of work on Afrofuturism as a movement), enthusiastic, knowledgable, approachable. Yet a bit scattered and wandering in its organization with uneven referencing (could ...

Conteúdo

• Introduction: 1
• 1 Evolution of a Space Cadet: 3
• 2 A Human Fairy Tale Named Black: 25
• 3 Project Imagination: 39
• 4 Mothership in the Key of Mars: 51
• 5 The African Cosmos for Modern Mermaids Mermen: 77
• 6 The Divine Feminine in Space: 97
• 7 Pen My Future: 117
• 8 Moonwalkers in Paint and Pixels: 129
• 9 A Clock for Time Travelers: 151
• 10 The Surreal Life: 163
• 11 Agent Change: 175
• 12 Future World: 187
• Notes: 195
• Index: 201
• About the Author: 213
• Back Cover: 215

Sobre o autor

Ytasha L. Womack is a filmmaker, futurist, and the author of Post Black: How a New Generation Is Redefining African American Identity and 2212: Book of Rayla. She is the creator of the Rayla 2212 sci-fi multimedia series, the director of the award-winning film The Engagement, the producer and writer of Love Shorts, and the coeditor of Beats Rhymes and Life: What We Love and Hate About Hip Hop. She has written for many publications including Ebony and the Chicago Tribune and has appeared on E! True Hollywood Stories: Rappers Wives. She lives in Chicago.

Informações bibliográficas

• Título: Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture
• Autor: Ytasha L. Womack
• Editora: Chicago Review Press, 2013
• ISBN: 1613747993, 9781613747995
• Num. págs.: 224 páginas