What is Afrofuturism?

An explanation of the aesthetic and philosophical movement of Afro-futurism, including the distinction between African futurism and Afro-futurism as well as recent and historical examples of Afro-futurism.

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Information for this video gathered from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Collier-MacMillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Dictionary of Continental Philosophy, and more! (#afrofuturism #aesthetics

[InnovativeSaint]

Never thought I'd find this subject explored here. Thanks.
I don't know too much about the genre apart from Black Panther.

But I do think it includes the DNA of broader Black art.
In my view, something made can achieve one of two things.
Immanence or transcendence.

Immanence, as we will define it here, deals with an experience that "brings you back to earth". If you're playing football, for example, you can't have your "head in the clouds". You gotta have your head in your body. Thrill seekers, daredevils, people who like to dance, soldiers in the military, athletes, anyone who is "good with their hands" is someone who experiences immanence, where the past and future seem to blur and all that exists is the present.
Transcendence, as we will define it here, deals with an experience that seems to "take you out of your body". When your daydreaming, when your doing maths, when a creative idea appears to be downloaded into your head, when you dream, all of this is as if your are being transported to another "higher" world where you receive a blueprint of how things should be here on earth. This, in my view, is what art is all about. Anyone who practices one of the arts, for the sake of tapping into to something higher than this world, is an artist.

When we examine Black culture broadly (in Africa and America) as well as similar cultures (such as Hispanic or Native American culture), we tend to see an extreme leaning towards immanence rather than transcendence. If you can think of a Black person right now who is prominent in culture, be that your own country or internationally, there usually are some key features or signs:
1. They can dance or sing really well (immanence, they dance for the body not the symbol)
2. They're very talented at some sport
3. If they create anything, especially of the visual arts it is typically realism, social realism, or hyperrealism (all of these emphasizing immanence, or what you can experience on the earth, over transcendence, what cannot be experienced on the earth)

Black culture inherently leans towards immanence, and in "Black art" it shows. There is a preoccupation with the here and now, and even in "science fiction" it is an allegory of the here and now, rather than a vision for the future.
I have yet to see Black art that leans towards transcendence (or if we consider the Egyptians were African or Black, even though their energy feels more akin to K-Pop with their eyeliner). If anyone reads this and has found transcendent Black culture please let me know, preferably in visual form, but I can manage.

Afrofuturism to me, and Black culture in general, spiritualizes the physical. Ancestral worship, animism, these all in effect elevate the physical world rather than the metaphysical world. Sensuality is seen as divine, and Afrofuturism says (to me at least) "what if we had a thick woman with machine parts, and she could communicate with computers?" It still has an underlying physicality and nowness, which makes it very akin to cyberpunk (cyberpunk is immanence, not transcendence, providing a consequence free playground for our hedonism, which leans, again, to immanence not transcendence).

[subliminallime]

On the question at the end of the video about a divide between African Futurism and Afrofuturism, I'd say there's probably a meaningful distinction to be made there. Well, as much as there's a difference between sci-fi from the USA vs sci-fi from Europe, or a difference between American sci-fi from the 60s vs American sci-fi from the 90s, or whatever.

[Dayglodaydreams]

To me, aesthetics are just as central as metaphysics, ontology, value theory, epistemology, and logic.

[uptide]

Dang, one minute ago? YouTube knows what to recommend to me

[noahtoah]

I enjoyed this so much thank you for posting!!

[whysoreligious]

“We don’t have to have fantasy set in only mid Europe… not all science fiction has to be in a future of only white people left”… I didn’t know there was a rule that says that those are the only standards for the genre. Seems like this philosophy is making claims against non claims.

[bingiherb]

It's effect on economics, technology and religion will be crucial !

[InventiveHarvest]

Oh I seen this one! It was the space movie released in 1992.

[cihant]

Is Sun Ra being from Saturn "Afrofuturism"?

[cc]

I feel they are one in the same within the same genre except African futurism is more American based. Afro futurism is more rooted from Africa ideologies/imagery .

[waldetocool]

The poet Ok Waleed-pedagogy of Alkebulan diaspora is a good example

[psikeyhackr]

Black Man's Burden (1961) by Mack Reynolds

[Dayglodaydreams]

This is interesting. I don't know if African experience verses African American, African Carribean or heck, Afro Canadian (Afro Latin) etc. experiences are so radically different experiences that they cannot fit under a broad umbrella like Afro Futurism.

[stanislavstoimenov]

The sole relevant and strongest mental image Africa and the Africans educe in me invariantly is one with vultures circling a starving black toddler.💀
So, for me, the Afro-futurism looks and sounds exactly alike -- EXACTLY ALIKE -- Afro-pastism. Or Afro-presentism, for that matter.

[JJ-siqh]

I've spent a lot of time in Africa and have no hope for their future. I hope to be wrong