- “Afro-“ means “African” and can be found in words including Afrocentric, Afro-Asiatic, with these words potentially serving as analogies. “Futurism” is a movement in the early 20th century about celebrating or anticipating the future, often through appreciating modern technological developments. Note that “futurism” does not equate “science fiction” and is more about an attitude of being interested in the future by following current trends and technologies, while “Afrofuturist” works are almost always science fiction. After a bit more research, I’m inclined to think that “Afrofuturism,” too, is about a very similar attitude. When futurists imagine (or try to predict) the future based what is modern, the Afrofuturist movement imagines a future that is distinctively modern AND distinctively African. Perhaps it just so happens that “Afrofuturism” has more emphasis on the future, while “futurism” has more emphasis on the current? When I wrote the definition and before I did research about the term, I thought that Afrofuturism doesn’t necessarily have to be associated with black creators, due to the fact that I first heard it alongside Black Panther, whose creators are all white. But some people stress the “black perspective” aspect of Afro-futurism. For example, the term was explained this way in a literary Podcast: “Afrofuturism can be understood as the way that Black people think about and imagine futures that usually involve ideas about science fiction, aliens, post-apocalyptic futures, and fantastic devices and metaphors.” While people don’t seem to agree on what makes a work “Afrofuturist,” the common ground is that the work should feature African culture and themes at its forefront, and is often about a future world that’s led by Africans rather than Westerners.
Afrofuturism
derivation affixation; noun
A style of science fiction that places (especially traditional) African
Etymology : Affixation of “Afro-“ to “futurism.”
Source : “Indeed, Black Panther is also heralding another related renaissance: A new wave of interest in Afrofuturism, a literary and musical movement that explores black identity, culture and struggles through the lens of science fiction.” Apr 2018. https://time.com/5246675/black-panther-afrofuturism/ https://lithub.com/reading-women-on-afrofuturism-and-parable-of-the-sower/ Oxford Dictionary definition of “futurism” and “futurist”
Last modified: 26 November 2020