Afrofuturism as a Blerd Identity Formation Tool, Part 1

Connecting Theme(s): #loneliness #afrofuturism #mentalhealth #identity #politics #art

Last time, we were talking about the Blerd Identity. This time, we’re continuing that conversation. Specifically, we’ll start laying the ground work for creating a model for Blerd identity formation  using…*Afrofuturism! I imagined confetti popping while I typed that. Anywhomst (another term I’m coining) [EDIT: that’s strike two. I didn’t coin that…], Afrofuturism is certainly a relevant playground in which Blerd (political) identity can grow. To prove it to you, I’ll call on the 2010s best and most historical movie: Captain Marvel. 

I’m so serious. 

Sit with it. 

Ok, jk lol. Totally talking about Black Panther. Black Panther is remarkably relevant as a basis to begin talks about Afrofuturism. The film relies on Afrofuturism’s cultural aesthetic; the sci-fi elements, high technology, spiritualism, magic, racial and political over and undertones, and philosophical standpoints ooze Afrofuturism. Gathering from comic book knowledge and what’s told to us in the film, we know Wakanda takes the political stance of isolationism. Immediately, audiences are forced to frame the characters and plot along a political spectrum. The West are imperialists who incur the imperialistic wrath of Killmonger in the film, whose short stint as king closely mirrors fascism. At the beginning of the film, King T’Chaka, T’Challa’s dad, kills his brother N’Jobu for betraying Wakanda. N’Jobu is a revolutionary, clearly progressive in the sense that he believes Wakanda should protect all of the African Diaspora; yet, he promotes his progressiveness through the Wakandan imperialism, just like his son. N’Jobu’s imperialism has differing political motivations as compared to the West. 

Isolationism vs. communalism is the prevailing political discussion throughout the film. Merriam-Webster defines communalism as “social organization on a communal basis”; communal basis seems to be race and ethnic background for N’Jobu and Killmonger. Indeed, T’Challa appears to adopt a similar perspective when he decides to open the Wakandan International Outreach Center in Oakland, CA. My critiques aside, T’Challa’s decision effectively ends Wakandan isolationism. His decision in the film is significant for two primary reasons. Firstly, T’Challa was clearly nudged towards his uncle’s progressivism, demonstrating a (weak) political action, which brings the theme of Afrofuturism to completion within the film. Afrofuturism’s endpoint is political action; it’s a critical theory that recognizes analysis is just mental masturbation unless said analysis leads to a train of thought facilitating measurable action. In sum, T’Challa’s struggle with reconciling Wakanda’s cultural pride and isolationism with its power to enact communal change resulted in the outreach center. Yay. Secondly, his decision further validates Blackness as basis for political action. T’Challa seems influenced by his uncle and cousin’s perspectives on Wakanda’s role in a racialized world. N’Jobu speaks of Black Americans as the “Lost Tribe”. His language acknowledges ethnicity/cultural heritage, whereas Killmonger’s is solely racially based. Both understand and speak on Blackness as a politically unifying concept, albeit from two different emotional vantage points (compassion vs. outrage). Black Panther provides two useful concepts for our purpose: 1) Afrofuturism as a foundation for an identity formation model makes (political) action a necessity of being and 2) Blackness is valid for said (political) action insofar as it is felt as a unifying concept rather than a divisive or utilitarian one.*

Identity formation, like Afrofuturism, deals with potential futures. From Freud to Erikson to Cross, it’s clear that certain experiences and choices inform who we can and will be. Afrofuturism posits time control, the idea that by consciously shaping our relationship with time we begin to free ourselves to fully explore the knowledge within, among, and between us. This relationship between self and time is an integral component to the identity formation tool we’ll begin to shape in next week’s blog. We’re gonna bring all the pieces and questions we’ve got together before we explore Blerds in the context of Edward Said’s Reith Lectures. We’ll talk about consumption habits, and finish with a nice lil model or sum sum. We still haven’t answered last week’s question, so let’s keep going! 

*Afrofuturism is defined as “an exploration of the African Diasporic experience via the interactions of science, technology, the arts, and race. Both a cultural expression and a method of critique, AFF is an instrument for the reclamation of the past with the purpose of imagining potential futures.”

**It’s fucked up how Wakanda takes advantage of the world’s racist depictions of African nations in order to remain isolationist. They literally benefit from racism while the rest of us suffer from it. Diabolical. 

***Examining Black Panther through the lens of Afrofuturism is fun. I may delve further into that at a later date. Tell me if that’d interest you, dear reader.

Sources:

https://www.proquest.com/openview/9b098717f83c5fc0e14dd38450ae7fab/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y (maybe); https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/dissertations/4m90f617z ; https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/article/view/869/921 ; anywhere I define Blerd, pro sociality, connectedness, and cultural identity; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syd2Ny49m9g&list=PLJHDZGUl8IlraSLwfPFAt20sOIMoEE_P6 (BET’s Black Panther); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmGJobnOlT0 (Wakanda comes out); https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communalism (“communalism”) ; https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development-2795740 (Erikson’s shit); https://www.verywellmind.com/freuds-stages-of-psychosexual-development-2795962 (Freud’s freaky ass shit); https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/05enJKexf-bacAi8JykhpitAA (“Encountering Nigrescence” by William Cross, father of Black identity formation IMO) ; https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gxr1s (Edward Said’s Reith Lectures, great listen)