Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism
- Thread starter MASTERBAKER
- Start date
Star Trek’s Nyota Uhura, a commander aboard the Starship Enterprise, was the first black character in a major role to be depicted in outer space. Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols in the original series, first appeared in 1966. In reality, it would take nearly 30 years for a black woman to make it to space – NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, in 1992.
In episode two of DUST’s Afrofuturism series, Uhura beams up Sun Ra, Martin Luther King, and the aforementioned Jemison, as narrator Little Simz tells us the true story of how King convinced Nichelle Nichols to stay on the show after the first season. Nichols would go on to appear in 66 episodes.
In episode three of DUST’s Afrofuturism series, George Clinton and the almighty Mothership emerge from a cloud of green gas to funk up the universe and expand the mythology of the philosophical and artistic lens that would later come to be known as Afrofuturism.
In this episode of Afrofuturism, DUST presents the animated story of that fateful night. Originally intended to be a friendly jam session between God (Clapton) and one of his biggest fans, Clapton walked off-stage in the middle of Hendrix’s solo, stunned by the no-name’s guitar wizardry. Hendrix’s performance that night forged a brotherhood with Clapton and is just one of many such stories of his mind-blowing performances that would carve out his place in rock n’ roll history.
Missy Elliott was the first popular black artist to make explicit, recurring use of science-fiction in her visual offerings. For this reason, and because of the lack of representation of Black people in science-fiction films, Missy’s work can be viewed through the lens of Afrofuturism.
