The My-Stery: The Social Brain, Psionic Ability and Shiftings of Mind, Body and Space

While reading this morning Brainpicking’s, “The Science of Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect,” the article stood out to me because of its connection between sociality, survival and mindreading: “[Matthew D. Lieberman] argues that this osmosis of sociality and individuality is an essential aid in our evolutionary development rather than an aberrant defect in […]

Otherwordly Videos: Anansi

Here is the first episode, “Spiderling,” of the Issa Rae-produced Anansi series, starring Andrew Allan James, who played the role of “A” in the The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. I am not so sure how I feel about it yet, but I am intrigued by this kind of were-spider concept where he changes at […]

The My-Stery: Domestic Violence and Speculative Fiction

This is both Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Black Speculative Fiction Month, so, I want to highlight a campaign and a works of speculative fiction that brings awareness to domestic violence. The campaign I want to focus on is 31 for Marissa in honor of Marissa Alexander who fired a warning shot from a gun […]

Otherworldly Videos: S.A. Miller’s “Into the Darkness”

Happy Friday the 13th! While browsing the internet for Caribbean speculative film, I found Bajan (Barbadian) filmmaker channel and his apocalyptic film Into the Darkness. The film follows a young boy who is trying to survive amidst the threat of revenants — visible ghosts or animated corpses that were believed to return from the grave […]

Otherworldly Videos: Walking with Gods + CV Nation

Rapper and actor David Banner has a new live-action, superhero series, Walking with Gods. It is about a man, Alex Light, who is an incarnation of Aket Heru, based on the Egyptian deity, and is trying to realize his godly powers after ages of not knowing them. The series uses animation from well-known artist John […]

The My-Stery: Mermaids (or Aquatic Apes?)…

If you know me, you know I like to watch channels like National Geographic, The Discovery Channel and The History Channel. And you know what’s interesting — when a channel that has shows that tend to stick to facts, does speculative specials, like what I saw on Sunday, Mermaids: The Body Found. The docufiction was […]

The My-Stery: Honoring Black Women’s Voices, Bodies and Supernaturalness

“The erotic is a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling.” – Audre Lorde Quite a number of people within the past couple of weeks have basically told black women (and other women of color in general) […]

Happy Earth Day!

Enjoy these two videos that I recently saw that include themes about earth and nature from a speculative fiction angle. Also, take a look at Outdoor Afro, a social community encouraging the exploration of nature. Book video for Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents Nature SuperHero Heal our World Heal […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Futurology the Musical

“What these women become is what we will be,” Captain Larnyce Gaines gives the purpose of not only the three travelers from the future, but the underlying message of Futurology the Musical. The women finding power in themselves theme throughout this musical is its driving force and compelling feature. The Paper to Pen production, which […]

Modern Griots Reviews: The Burning Bush by Kenya Wright

“Motherpounder!” That left me speechless! And by speechless, I am talking about Kenya Wright’s sequel to Fire Baptized, The Burning Bush. In this novel, Wright takes readers deeper into the fantasy world of the Santeria Habitat and main character, Lanore Vesta, expanding on the history and relationships of the beings who live there. Opening with […]