The My-Stery: Let Me Ride Part 2 — Escape and Escapism

Above is a conversation I recently listened to about escapism in Afrofuturism from Native Thinghood. The conversation stirred my thoughts about the concept of escapism. For I see escapism, or better escape, as having two sides, as with anything else in life. Yes, escapism can be a way of not dealing with the problems of […]

The My-Stery: Invisibility and Anti-Matter at the RNC

Watching veteran actor Clint Eastwood’s “act” with an invisible President Obama in a chair may have been the highlight of the Republican National Convention, but as several commentators have mentioned, it ironically represented the Republican platform and treatment of Obama in this election. Through their words and actions, this is what I have heard from […]

The My-Stery: Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Bitch Bad’ and the Chaotic Nature of Minstrelsy

Last week Lupe Fiasco premiered his video for “Bitch Bad.” With its use of minstrelsy and blackface, the video as well the song brings to the forefront once again the complicated position of the black entertainer in popular culture. What is the role and responsibility of a black entertainer to themselves and their audiences? What […]

The My-Stery: Haunted By the Record Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I attended Movies at Bryant Park with my friend Jane, who I interviewed in another post. On the train, we had a short discussion about film, photography, memory and the spookiness of it. One of the ideas we discussed was the belief that photography steals your soul. My answers reminded Jane […]

The My-Stery: Save the Pearls Reveals A Fear of the Future

“If we let them be in control, they will get revenge. They will do to us what we did to them.” I believe these are probably the thoughts that are and have been on the minds of many Americans; many who will state that they want their country back or that they need to preserve […]

The My-Stery: Problematic Historical Revision

With the release of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and the upcoming Django Unchained, it is important that we discuss the practice of historical revision, given the political climate we live in today. First, nothing is inherently wrong with historical revision. As we learn more about the past, we revise history. Sometimes we do it as […]

The My-Stery: Frank Ocean, Sexuality, and Otherness

For the past few days, hip-hop and r&b singer Frank Ocean had tongues wagging with rumors of his sexuality. Yesterday, he officially decided to come out and speak about the love he had for another man. In his poetic and honest letter, the singer expressed, “…I’m starting to think we’re a lot alike. Human beings […]

The My-Stery: Some Thoughts on the 4th of July…

As I get older and learn more about the world, I am increasingly less impressed or ecstatic about holidays, Independence Day included. Can I really celebrate completely and wholeheartedly a country that was built off the enslavement and imprisonment of others and a country where I do not fully feel free and independent? That freedom […]

The My-Stery: Musing About Native Steampunk

I was going to do a post on how all our creations are technology (and even we are in a sense technology), and how that applies to definitions of afrofuturism, but I will probably do later. First, I will like to reblog a post I read on tumblr from Moniquilliloquies about Indigenous American cultures and […]

The My-Stery: Bacchanal!!!!

Destra Garcia – “Bacchanal” While doing research to write one of my poems, I learned about the Greek god Dionysus/Roman god Bacchus and Bacchanalia festivals. When I heard the word Bacchanalia, I thought of how often Bacchanal is said in Caribbean Calypso and Soca music, and I wanted to know the connections between Caribbean carnival […]