From Afrofuturism to Africanfuturism: Contemporary Expressions within Popular Culture

Author: Patrycja Kozieł | Pages: 69–83 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.60018/Hemi.LDVC3494

Abstract

The futuristic representation of the world is an important aspect of understanding contemporary cultural processes, literary and musical trends, and artistic activities, both in Africa and in the African Diaspora. In order to examine effectively the development of the futurist path, I will briefly trace two categories: ‘Afrofuturism’ and ‘Africanfuturism’ (as proposed by Nnedi Okorafor), containing elements of science-fiction, speculative fiction, non-Western history, technology, and fantasy. In this article I will discuss how the concept of Afrofuturism has evolved, how techno-utopian visions of the future are created, illustrating terrestrial and cosmic existence, while extracting knowledge about ancestors, mythology and cosmology. Is it a kind of cultural script – based on ephemerality, temporality and imagination – that has been adapted to the conditions of modern popular culture in Sub-Saharan Africa? Or is it an accurate form of crossing time-space boundaries and discourses?

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Archive issues

From Afrofuturism to Africanfuturism: Contemporary Expressions within Popular Culture

Abstract