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Zedan 7711552
Prof. Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath
The Future of [American] Music
02 February 2022
Afrofuturism
During this
lecture, there was an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed in this
paper. There was a white, Danish professor giving us a presentation about
Afrofuturism. I was definitely surprised but also very intrigued. The racial
plot-twist definitely caught my attention to say the least. Yet, nothing
dramatic happened. The music was very lively, the professor was unproblematic
and if I am being honest, this lecture was the only one that had music that was
quite enjoyable.
My
introduction to this genre was through literature, when I read W.E.B. Du Bios’s
short story “The Comet.” Because of that, I was familiar with the themes and
had a bit of an inkling on the kind of music that will be presented in the
lecture. It was also interesting to learn that the term “Afrofuturism” was coined
by a white male (second racial plot-twist of the day.) From the term itself, a
person can gather that this genre is reenvisioning the future through a black
perspective. I found Sun Ra’s take on the genre a bit confusing because it was
sort of inspired by and takes place in Ancient Egypt, which I would never have
associated with Black culture. On the other hand, George Clinton’s and Wallac
Willis’s music have a very agreeable mixture of struggling for equality and
hope.
Afrofuturism
consists of a combination between science fiction and social justice. It is
fascinating but also sad to witness how a minority has to rely on fiction not
only to imagine a fair world but to also summon hope and faith in the future.
Of course there is an aspect of Afrofuturism that portrays a bleak, harsh
future but I choose to focus on the hopeful one.
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