A PITCH FOR AFRO-FUTURISTIC ANIME AND IT’S FUTURE SUB-GENRES
1. Introduction
Projected into the future, digital storytelling via the mediums of manga, anime, webtoons, games and so forth is set to be a worthy venture for creators intending to innovate new narratives and expand on the entertainment industry. Whether it is in movies like Blade Runner 2049 or The Purge, shows like Electric Dreams, Altered Carbon, Black Mirror or video games such as Cyberpunk 2077, these alternative universes and various potential futures are getting in line to lead up to a moment in popular culture (Sutton 2020). Science Fiction and fantasy genres have long term been used to explore the different ways in which humanity could evolve past our socio-political norms (Alexander 2018). The science fiction genre of Afro-futurism can be understood as a wide- ranging social, political and artistic movement that dares to imagine a world where POC or African centered aesthetics pair with technology and artificial intelligence in order to create cyber universes punctuated with action, thrill and AI driven storylines.
2. The problem with science fiction today
One truth is that the world we are living in presently does not necessarily point out to a bright future. We have got every “ism” one can think of, plus redundant mindsets that are growing more ignorant each day. Doc Brown would be severely disappointed. However, what makes science fiction appealing is that it talks about the thoughts, hopes and other unspoken sentiments that exist in the collective consciousness. As technology advances today, it is as though the collective psyche regresses. This is affecting various markets in the sector of entertainment. The notion among creators currently is an unspoken rule that forbids one from looking to create and explore new narratives. This has led to a stagnation of science fiction’s storytelling. What was expected to be a progressive century has turned out to be a mediocre and regressive one. There is an unspoken rule that dictates for all content to stick to stereotypes. This creates a safety bubble for producers and consumers. However, this bubble is dangerous because it creates a stagnant sector.
When it comes to POC related content, one of the narratives and stereotypes that have caused stagnation in the growth of the sector is the depiction of native lands and people as dystopian in order to pander to disaster tourists, pop culture and also make a quick buck. This approach I am sorry to say, is an extremely lazy approach and will not generate significant revenue in the years to come. For all stereotypes have been seen, heard and continue to be regurgitated due to the laziness of modern day POC creators who are in charge of their own representation, have the tools to take action, but still refuse to do so. Pop culture, as we have seen in the past, is not stagnant. Narratives are created, trends are lost, new things are added here, old things are added there, one stereotype is booted out, another comes to replace it, a new norm is created, another norm is put in the back. Time and time we have seen that both science fiction and pop culture are not eternally fixed and held in place by some rules set beforehand, but rather go along evolving while making new rules. This leads to the pitch for Afro-futurism and its sub genres.
3. The Pitch For Afro-Futurism
Hopeful visions of the future become a prominent thematic element with Afro-futurism which depicts utopian visions of Afro Diasporic societies common in Afrofuturist literature such as The Dark Side Trilogy and artworks by Jean Michel Basquiat. Afro-Futurism is a process of signification that appropriates images of technology and a prosthetically enhanced future to address concerns that people of color face in modern contemporary culture (Sutton 2020). It has been seen that media and entertainment often push for narratives and stereotypes to be formed (Berger 2017). The pitch for Afro-Futurism is that it can be the tool to create new narratives, stereotypes and spearhead the entertainment industry into a new era of science fiction.
4. Zenia Kaizen
Zenia Kaizen is a soon to be released illustrated story that revolves around a time period when artificial intelligence and the human race live side by side in what is referred to as the A.S.A- African State Association. This story showcases how technology and digital media will evolve side by side with mankind and eventually become part of everyday life. Protagonist Zenia is living in a world where the Human-AI relationship has become personal. She has got to make a choice between working with the ruling corporation as a “Kaizen”for the betterment of society via the advancement of artificial intelligence and the suppression of old cultures or going against them in order to fight for the preservation of humanity. We follow Zenia’s journey as she strives to do what is right according to her. This is intended to raise much needed questions within the collective psyche and challenge existing ideologies.
5. Conclusion
The problem within the genre of science fiction is the intentional shunning of stories involving those who are considered a minority (Butler 2018, Kirsten 2019). One way to solve this problem is for more POC creators to educate themselves and embark on quality projects revolving or borrowing from the concept of Afro-Futurism. What I suggest, if I may, is for more POC writers and creators to create unique future based cyber cities pairing advanced versions of native lands and artificial intelligence. My contribution to this is the project Zenia Kaizen; A concept snippet is to be released on May 1st 2021 via the website kerenobara.com. With this, I look forward into the future, to a new world of entertainment driven by digital storytelling which does not exclude those who are considered a minority.
Thank You For Your Time
References:
ALEXANDER, S., 2018. What is AfroFuturism and how can it change the world?. [online]. [28/04/2021]. Available from:
BERGER, A, A., 2017. Media Analysis Techniques. SAGE Publications.
BUTLER, O., 2018. In 1980: Octavia Butler asked, Why is science fiction [online]. [18/04/2021]. Available from:
https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/d3ekbm/octavia-butler
KIRSTEN, D., 2019. Diversity in Sci-Fi: Why representation matters. [online]. [18/04/2021]. Available from:
SUTTON, B., 2020. Shadows cast by imaginary worlds. [online]. [28/04/2021]. Available from:
https://www.theculturecrush.com/feature/afro-futurism
APPENDIX A
Canon Busters
