Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism is considered as the reimaging of future filled with the arts, science, and technology through a combination of black views of the current and the future. The use of Afrofuturism has been in use for the past 25 years that is made to reclaim the black culture. Afrofuturism is significantly different from the science of fiction in that Afrofuturism originates from affrication tradition and the life of blacks. For a film or any form of art to be considered Afrofuturism, it must include a black character and must be rooted in the experience of the African community. Therefore, Afrofuturism is any form of art whose background relates to that of the black people, making it a subculture capable of reclaiming the African Culture.
Origin of Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism started in the 1950s with Jackie Ormes, who acted as the pioneer for trailblazer. She used comics to create and present idealized events that faced black Americans. She used the African American Newspaper published in the year 1937 to show the way of life for Americans. During this period, white authors such as Isaac Asimov and George Orwell created Black Americans’ future that displayed cars, space, and Utopia. In the 1960s, many actors emerged to spread information about Afrofuturism in society. For instance, Nichelle Nichols was the first woman to appear in a television indicating some change in the community about the perception of women and media. At the end of these different periods of Afrofuturism, it is evident that people receive information regarding the presence of Africans in the media.
Afrofuturism is different from the genre of science fiction. It started as a landscape of escapism, ideals, and fantasy that show the way of life of the black people. This culture has developed over the years, and it has become a reality in the millennium. This subculture demonstrates all activities that have been witnessed by the blacks across time and space, including the period of slavery. The presentation of Afrofuturism covers different aspects such as historical contexts, and magic realism. The presence of Afrofuturism has changed how people perceive Africans presence in media and writing stories. The introduction of Afrofuturism has minimized the importance of increased participation of black people in media, such as writing stories and media participation. Afrofuturism has played an essential role in creating self-actualization as it marked the beginning of reimaging and help Black Americans to reimage their ways of life.
Dress Practices
The dressing code of people in futurism is that people dressed clothes that differed depending on the presence of people in the community. For instance, Wakanda is a kingdom that consists of people from different tribes, with each individual having a distinctive style of dressing code. Tribe warriors were distinguished from simple farmers because they war costume features with blanket cloaks, traditional gear of the Basotho people. Women wore clothes and rings that ensured that there was worn by married women who were required to wear rings. For example, the dressing code for women in Wakanda has become an essential role in ensuring that people develop an interest in using clothes that have become addressed in society. The image below shows the dressing clothes that are used in different regions across the world.
https://qz.com/africa/1210704/black-panthers-african-cultures-and-influences/
The dressing code of men and women in Afrofuturism had different dressing approaches. For instance, men wore clothes such as the present-day republican of Benin in West Africa. In the movie, the group is led by the American-Zimbabwean actress and primarily named by Western Historians, who fought wars for the kingdom. However, men who served in the military against the French colonial forces have been used different dressing patterns. The dressing code is gendered because men and women have different clothes. The clothes used by actors in different films and movies reflect those of the military that is designed to ensure that they show the dressing code for the military that fought against the oppression by white people on black Americans. The image below shows different dressing patterns for men that are different from that of women.
https://qz.com/africa/1210704/black-panthers-african-cultures-and-influences/
Political/Economic views of Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism focused on reimaging the future of the black people that does not ensure that people can receive information that is designed to increase recognition in the community. As a result, people developed Afrofuturism was to ensure that black Americans to better understand their lives and their possibilities beyond the existing capabilities in society. Colonialism and Imperialism have contributed to inequality in American culture with the Blacks experiencing difficulties in ensuring that people in the community developed an interest in pursuing their rights as dominant people in the nation. Black Americans experienced threats and discrimination from dominant whites. Their ideas and values are that oppression that exists in the community should be reduced. For instance, militarism, personal violence, imagination, and real-life experiences are that people should be applied to ensure that Black Americans are treated equally. They fight against different economic classes and political differences between whites and black people.
The values and attitudes of Afrofuturism revealed through the dressing code of people, including women and children. For instance, men and women in the military are shown as warriors wearing tight clothes and hold swords to show that they are against the status quo, especially when fighting against French colonialism. They fought wars for the kingdom, making it easy for Afrofuturism to show their fight against the European whites. Black Americans challenged the status quo and focused on ensuring that their way of life is recognized in the United States. The primary objective of their decision was to reimage their perception and change how people in the community displayed towards black Americans.
Cultural activities
Afrofuturism indicates that people focus on using different art that is reflected through music and developmental activities. For instance, the people Afrofuturism culture started from the music and films where actors represent activities that reflect their way of life in the community. The different materials, such as emergency response and jungles, used to ensure that people receive information that is designed to fit their cultural way of life. Most of the elements that are demonstrated in Afrofuturism reflect the post-colonial era reflected through the sword and clothes that are designed to show the struggle of Africans to free from slavery by white Europeans. The Black Panther is manifested through the magical future in areas where skyscrapers used reed roofs, and the jungle reflects the nature if the city of Wakanda.
The dressing code reflects the cultural way of life for Afrofuturism in that it played an essential role in revealing the culture of African American society. For instance, the people in the community wore clothes and jungles that show the architecture and art of people in the city. Most of the artists and designers use the Afrofuturism label as a way of seeing reductive to reflect how people dreamed of a kind and prosperous future city, especially Wakanda city. The town of the Dora Milaje in the film Black Panther comics has nee inspired by real-life situations where a majority of the people are interested in ensuring that the actress wears clothes that reflect the version of black female soldiers.
In conclusion, Afrofuturism focused on ensuring that the black people are in a position to fight against the oppression by white people. Afrofuturism is to reimage the culture of the African Americans that have been lost through various activities such as the slave trade and the oppression of black people in political, economic, and social events. The dressing code of Afrofuturism reflects the political and cultural ideas presented by people to the community.
Bibliography
Barber, Tiffany E., Nettrice Gaskins, Ricardo Guthrie, Grace Gipson, Ken McLeod, Andrew Rollins, Lonny Avi Brooks et al. Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness. Lexington Books, 2015.
Bennett, Michael. “Afrofuturism.” Computer 4 (2016): 92-93.
