Afrofuturism expands the vision of black people by breaking barriers through several creative methods. Artists create alternative worlds that point out the flaws in modern society to make an impact on a better society in the future. While Afrofuturism illustrates social issues, works can also appear as cautionary tales to warn against unjust practices and norms that continue to echo slavery in modern-day society. For instance, “The Space Traders” by Derrick Bell creates a fictional tale where extraterrestrials arrive on Earth seeking to exchange Black citizens for economic compensation and reverse environmental degradation. Bell plays out the potential negotiation with the Black population throughout the film. At first, it appears the population …show more content…
By highlighting the presence of the brother in Harlem, there is a contrast between the ruling class and those with unequal access to resources. Sayles aims to make social commentary on the fact that there are multiple repressive prisms of authority present in society. Slavery has caused fundamental consequences, such as divisions between classes, races, and genders. There is a constant theme in the film of the rich having control over power, white over black, and male over female. This demonstrates that there are hierarchical systems in place that shape an individual's life based on their intersectionality. Works of Afrofuturism also exist as a method of expression where individuals could receive a form of justice. Although inequality cannot be eradicated in modern society, Sayles provides the audience with a sense of justice by avenging all those individuals who had fallen victim to drug use by a white man who profited off of them. Shortly, before the end of the film, The Brother finds himself in the office of the white drug dealer, who begs for his life in exchange for anything The Brother wants, however, nothing can be offered to him to right the wrongs done to those who have …show more content…
The plot in Space Traders is built around sending away individuals with complexions darker than a brown lunch bag. This is solely considered because Black Americans are not seen as natural citizens by white Americans. Adrien Katherine Wing in 'Space Traders for the Twenty-First Century’ encapsulated the xenophobia present in the film, stating, “Some might have chosen the trade themselves. "Better the unknown, than the disaster that awaits us here.” Wing explains that Black people when faced with the choice of whether to depart, it would not be outrageous for many to willingly leave due to the challenges present due to being a person of color in the U.S. Black people already have a deep sense of uncertainty in the U.S. The white population will always prioritize their selfish interests over the concerns of others. The xenophobia present in The Brother from Another Planet, however, was more explicit, as the brother was being persecuted by the men in black for running away, while American society persecuted him for being a Black male. Additionally, there was a direct commentary on immigration
In the article, “A Letter My Son,” Ta-Nehisi Coates utilizes both ethical and pathetic appeal to address his audience in a personable manner. The purpose of this article is to enlighten the audience, and in particular his son, on what it looks like, feels like, and means to be encompassed in his black body through a series of personal anecdotes and self-reflection on what it means to be black. In comparison, Coates goes a step further and analyzes how a black body moves and is perceived in a world that is centered on whiteness. This is established in the first half of the text when the author states that,“white America’s progress, or rather the progress of those Americans who believe that they are white, was built on looting and violence,”
Christopher McCandless, also known as Alex Supertramp , died at age 24 1992, went hitchhiking up in the Alaskan Stampede Trail and survived for four months. After his death Jon Krakauer, the famous arthur of "Into Thin Air", went to do research about Chris in order to have a better understanding of Chris McCandless death. Some believed that it was wrong for Krakauer to glorify McCandless’ death and that it was Chris’s fault to go into the wild without sufficient respect for the wilderness. Others believed that his actions reflect the confidence in an individual testing his own strength of character by pushing himself to the limits of his ability. Although, it is correct that it was Chris’s fault for going into the wild unprepared, however,
Charles Johnson, in his philosophical fable “Exchange Value” traces the cause of social inequality by illustrating two African American brothers, Cooter and Loftis’ fateful tragedy. Influenced by James Coleman, Jonathan Little, and Asraf Rushdy’s previous work, Linda Ferguson Selzer draws Karl Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism in her analysis of Johnson’s short story. In “Charles Johnson’s ‘Exchange Value’: Signifying on Marx” (2001), Selzer explains that under capitalism, the society praises the “exchange value” of an object over its “use value”, thus compelling one to prioritize his pursuit of objects at the expense of freedom, morality, or even life (Marx 126). Likewise, in Lauren Berlant’s “Cruel Optimism”, the brothers become excessively obsessed with the “promises” of wealth, so that instead of spending the money for the betterment of life, they “hoard against death” (Berlant 41).
Many people have life changing revelations in their lives, but very few people are as young as Jared when he realizes what he does about his life. Ron Rash wrote the short story, "The Ascent," about a young boy's journey that brought him to have a significant revelation about his life. In the story, Rash uses a naive narrator, foreshadowing, and imagery to show the setting of the story that led to Jared's revelation about his life.
The transition of being a black man in a time just after slavery was a hard one. A black man had to prove himself at the same time had to come to terms with the fact that he would never amount to much in a white dominated country. Some young black men did actually make it but it was a long and bitter road. Most young men fell into the same trappings as the narrator’s brother. Times were hard and most young boys growing up in Harlem were swept off their feet by the onslaught of change. For American blacks in the middle of the twentieth century, racism is another of the dark forces of destruction and meaninglessness which must be endured. Beauty, joy, triumph, security, suffering, and sorrow are all creations of community, especially of family and family-like groups. They are temporary havens from the world''s trouble, and they are also the meanings of human life.
The history of the United States in regard to racism and discrimination is no secret. Children are taught about segregation, slavery, and the Civil Rights Movement like the events are purely in the past. In part the events are in the past; however, the results of said events are not. As Americans we live in a nation with a rough history and, in order to keep growing together, we cannot forget what has happened. Granted, racism is not extinct, but it is most definitely not the norm it was 50 years ago. The United States has begun to pride itself on its diverse population. African Americans, Latin Americans, Japanese Americans, European Americans, Indian Americans, and Chinese Americans have something in common that my six year old nephew could point out. We are all Americans. It is this central idea of a “salad bowl” nation, or multiracial, multicultural nation, that makes the theories presented in The Space Traders implausible. Derrick Bell entertains the thought of America trading all of its African American citizens in return for resources. The problem with Derrick Bell’s theory is his lack of faith in American citizens as a whole. Over the years, American’s have developed a bond. We are working to create equality in all areas of life, we are forming interracial relationships at an increasing rate, and we are conditioning ourselves to see beyond the exterior. Derrick Bell’s Space Traders scenario would not happen because the mindset of the United States is constantly improving and changing.
In Craig Lesley’s novel The Sky Fisherman, he illustrates the full desire of direction and the constant flow of life. A boy experiences a chain of life changing series of events that cause him to mature faster than a boy should. Death is an obstacle that can break down any man, a crucial role in the circle of life. It’s something that builds up your past and no direction for your future. No matter how hard life got, Culver fought through the pain and came out as a different person. Physical pain gives experience, emotional pain makes men.
In the past, the majority of the African Americans were faced with segregation, poverty, violence, and inequalities. In spite of the civil rights movement most were killed and were lynched. Today, African Americans are more likely suffering from issues, including unemployment, lack of education, poverty, drug abuse, political rights, and injustice. In this rhetorical analysis, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Victor M. Rios explained that people of color still face discrimination, racial injustice, and brutality. Also, these two authors attracted their audiences through persuasive expression, tone, and rational methods to discuss discrimination, racial issues, fears, injustice, and cruelty that govern the society as well. These two authors might be trying to make the large society aware of issues that negatively affect the young males of color and obtain their audience 's advocacy. However, Coates and Rios are different in their
"It was called the Earthboy place, although no one by that name (or any other) had lived in it for twenty years."(166)James Welch in his fictitious allegory, "The Earthboy Place," presents the idea of how assimilation has caused many Indians to stop continuing with their lives as a native. Consequently, they leave their homelands to earn a living in another "world" which shows adaptation to the Westerners' culture; likewise to the writing of McNickle's.
Life is a complicated process. It’s filled with many things that keep it interesting but at the same time, very dull. Life’s what you make it and for many, it’s something we all strive for. In the story, The Space Between, the author takes full advantage of the premise as there’s rarely a dull moment- as in life. The book is filled with many literary devices that work nicely with the plot and dialogue. These include; metaphors, similes, irony, personification, and many more. We follow a young man who is finding his way in the world. He has only a week to change his life for the better. But he will face many obstacles on the way that brings the readers into a startling and fun journey.
family and force's Paul to leave the town and create a new image for himself.
In both instances, innocent people are harmed and abused without proper cause. Another inference to be made details that in each situation both Doro and the white men are referenced as the “enemies” of the text and maintained the attitude that they are capable and therefore permitted to treat people how they wish. As presented in many fictional texts such as Kindred, Wild Seed and The Appropriation of a Culture, “control” or “power” can be deemed the underlying influence to the concept of oppression and unjust treatment of others due to their race or social status. These fictional texts graphically detail the experiences of African Americans and how they came together as a community when facing the inevitable both in slavery and during the Jim Crow era. There are many other texts that describe the improper regulation of control and what can happen when one race or group has too much.
In Lee Ann Fisher Baron’s “Junk Science,” she claims that the “food industry with the help of federal regulators” sometimes use “[a science that] bypasses [the] system of peer review. Presented directly to the public by…‘experts’ or ‘activists,’ often with little or no supporting evidence, this ‘junk science’ undermines the ability…[for] everyday consumers to make rational decisions” (921). Yet Americans still have a lot of faith in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to a 2013 Pew Research study, 65% of Americans are “very favorable” or “mostly favorable” of the FDA. When it comes to what people put in their bodies, the FDA has a moral obligation to be truthful and transparent. The bottom line of the FDA’s myriad of responsibilities is to help protect the health of Americans. Deciding what to eat is a critical part of living healthily, and consumers must be able to trust that this massive government agency is informing them properly of the contents of food. While the FDA does an excellent job in many areas, it has flaws in other areas. One of its flaws is allowing the food industry to print food labels that are deceptive, unclear, or simply not true (known as misbranding). This is quite the hot topic because a Google search for “Should I trust food labels” returns well over 20 million results, many of which are blog posts from online writers begging their readers not to trust food labels. HowStuffWorks, a division of Discovery Communications, published an online article whose author claims that “[the food industry] will put what they want on labels. They know the game….” While the food industry is partially at blame for misbranding, the FDA is allowing it to happen. If a mother tells her children that it is oka...
Sprouted from slavery, the African American culture struggled to ground itself steadily into the American soils over the course of centuries. Imprisoned and transported to the New World, the African slaves suffered various physical afflictions, mental distress and social discrimination from their owners; their descendants confronted comparable predicaments from the society. The disparity in the treatment towards the African slaves forged their role as outliers of society, thus shaping a dual identity within the African American culture. As W. E. B. DuBois eloquently defines in The Souls of Black Folk, “[the African American] simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and
Everybody loves a good laugh and that is what you will get when you watch the Andy Griffith Show. Everyone loves the accident-prone deputy, Barney Fife, who is only allowed to only carry one bullet for his weapon. Everyone also loves how sweet Aunt Bee is and adores how she has dinner on the table for her nephew, Andy Taylor. Sherriff Andy Taylor is looked up to by not only the town he serves and protects, but he is also admired by the audience who watches his films. A show that is almost as funny and inspiring is The Gilmore Girls.