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A review by colin_cox
Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture by Ytasha Womack
5.0
Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture is a lively and approachable primer. Womack defines Afrofuturism as "an intersection of imagination, technology, the future, and liberation...Afrofuturists redefine culture and notions of blackness for today and the future...In some cases, it's a total re-envisioning of the past and speculation about the future rife with cultural critiques" (9). According to Womack, Afrofuturism allows black writers, artists, musicians, and performers the ability to control how dominant cultures understand and perceive them. While Afrofuturism wants to influence cultural narratives about black people better, it also wants to redefine the black imagination. Afrofuturism destabilizes established notions of blackness; therefore, it is a play of past and present. By developing these counter-narratives, Afrofuturists combat oppression, afford opportunities for healing, and "provide a prism for evolution" (38).
Another appealing aspect of Afrofuturism is how it engages with time. Womack writes, "There's something about African American culture in particular that dictates all cultural hallmarks and personal evolutions are recast in a historical lineage. Whether it's the concept of prophecy and speaking into the future or tropes of the past shadowing the present, whether by need or by narrative, many speak as if the future, past, and present are one" (153). All of that is to say, "Afrofuturists are constantly re-contextualizing the past in a way that changes the present and the future" (158). This is another way Afrofuturism functions as an aesthetic preoccupied with healing. The past is malleable, which explains why so many Afrofuturists use time-travel in their work, and by recasting the past, Afrofuturists recast what is possible by destabilizes what was.
Womack does not explicitly address psychoanalysis in Afrofuturism, but so much of what she describes in Afrofuturism reads like it has distinct psychoanalytic undercurrents. For example, when Womack writes, "Afrofuturism is the subconscious's way of knocking at the door of present awareness," is she not thinking both about the unconscious and repression (96)? She makes another reference to repression when she writes, "the land feels familiar, a reality that is soothing for some and unsettling for others. It's as if the artists want you to remember something" (105). These references may be nothing more than an expression of certain psychoanalytic principles that have wandered into our everyday lexicon. However, I wonder what might happen if we push these ideas further. What might psychoanalysis say about Afrofuturism? What might Afrofuturism say about psychoanalysis? Perhaps these are questions Afrofuturists have explored, but if that is true, Womack fails to address it.
Once again, Ytasha L. Womack's Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture is a fun and engaging introduction to Afrofuturism. As Womack demonstrates, this eclectic community of writers, artists, and musicians is thinking about the past, present, and future in smart and creative ways.
Another appealing aspect of Afrofuturism is how it engages with time. Womack writes, "There's something about African American culture in particular that dictates all cultural hallmarks and personal evolutions are recast in a historical lineage. Whether it's the concept of prophecy and speaking into the future or tropes of the past shadowing the present, whether by need or by narrative, many speak as if the future, past, and present are one" (153). All of that is to say, "Afrofuturists are constantly re-contextualizing the past in a way that changes the present and the future" (158). This is another way Afrofuturism functions as an aesthetic preoccupied with healing. The past is malleable, which explains why so many Afrofuturists use time-travel in their work, and by recasting the past, Afrofuturists recast what is possible by destabilizes what was.
Womack does not explicitly address psychoanalysis in Afrofuturism, but so much of what she describes in Afrofuturism reads like it has distinct psychoanalytic undercurrents. For example, when Womack writes, "Afrofuturism is the subconscious's way of knocking at the door of present awareness," is she not thinking both about the unconscious and repression (96)? She makes another reference to repression when she writes, "the land feels familiar, a reality that is soothing for some and unsettling for others. It's as if the artists want you to remember something" (105). These references may be nothing more than an expression of certain psychoanalytic principles that have wandered into our everyday lexicon. However, I wonder what might happen if we push these ideas further. What might psychoanalysis say about Afrofuturism? What might Afrofuturism say about psychoanalysis? Perhaps these are questions Afrofuturists have explored, but if that is true, Womack fails to address it.
Once again, Ytasha L. Womack's Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture is a fun and engaging introduction to Afrofuturism. As Womack demonstrates, this eclectic community of writers, artists, and musicians is thinking about the past, present, and future in smart and creative ways.