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*”Don’t Blame Science Fiction for Hollywood’s Race Problem:” “And there’s a decent amount of it these days, because the post-millennial resurgence in Afrofuturism has been one of the more fascinating and welcome developments of the last decade or so. This trend been written about a fair amount in relation to music — the most prominent example is Janelle Monáe and her ArchAndroid mythos, but there’s also the hyperspace hip hop of Flying Lotus and Deltron 3030 and the more esoteric work of acts like Ras G and the Afrikan Space Program, whose most recent album, Back On the Planet, was one of the under-appreciated joys of last year.
You hear less about an Afrofuturist revival in film and literature, but if there’s not been a resurgence in other areas of pop culture, it might be because, hey, Afrofuturism never really went away. Octavia Butler was writing right up until her death in 2006, and produced as rich a body of work as any of her white male contemporaries. And once you start digging, there’s a wealth of writing that addresses the future from the perspective of people of color, from the reasonably well-known to the fascinatingly obscure.”
*”Star Wars and the 4 Ways Science Fiction Handles Race:” How science fiction uses metaphor, tokenism, diversity and explicit dealing with racial issues to handle race.
*”African Fantasy, Afro-futurism, and African Anime in a new upcoming animated TV show Red Origins:” From co-owners of Kolanut Productions and co-Creators of Red Origins, brothers, Onyi Udeogaranya (Producer of Red Origins) and Obi Udeogranya (Chief Writer), the show is “an Action, Adventure, Comedy piece that follows the bizarre adventure of three close friends Obi, John, and Temi. Through a magical feathered red chief hat, the group is mystically transported from the backyard of Obi’s Californian home to a wild disturbed bush just outside the capital city Abuja, Nigeria. Unfortunately for them, they have visited during a complex conflict between the spiritual and physical worlds. To make matters even worse, the teleporting feathered red hat in their possession is two of twelve Awethu pieces wanted by the infamous African trickster gods and many african governments to gain ultimate power. Now the three kids must work together to gain knowledge about African tradition, culture and juju in order to defeat numerous foes and return back home. Ultimately this means choosing a side. Aiding the spirit world to dominance or furthering economic development in the physical world. The group will have to decide, and must do so wisely. The fate of Africa is in their hands. This is one adventure sure to be packed with much triumph, defeat, fear, courage, love, and betrayal.”
*Bibi Bellatrixx, formerly of Queens of Sheba, of is running a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo for her upcoming album, B-Side.
*Check out Tim Fielder, animator of Matty’s Rocket, blog, DieselFunk, where he will have updates about his animated series.
*”Cultural Crossroads: Afrofuturism and Music, Film and Book Recommendations:” Segment on the Marc Steiner Show about “Afrofuturism, with: Baltimore-based producer, DJ, and singer Blaqstarr; poet, MC, singer and producer Camae Defstar, aka Moor Mother Goddess; and author, filmmaker, dancer, and futurist Ytasha L. Womack“
*”11 of the Most Eye-Catching Architectural Wonders of Africa.”
*”# WEAPONIZED ARCHITECTURE /// The Slave Ship is Architecture.” Interesting post about how the architectural designs of the ships reflected the horrific minds of and protect the interests of the slave traders.
Sherese Francis: Futuristically Ancient 