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LAST BLACK HORROR POST :(

Welcome back, loved ones!

It has been such a pleasure reporting to you about what I have been learning in the beloved Sunken Place course instructed by the one and only Professor Due. This last course has opened my eyes, and hopefully yours, to the power of black horror; how it tells ours narratives in ways that reach to their core; demonstrating our complexities and our pain. This class has even inspired me to begin looking for ways to conceptualize my pain and my struggles through black horror; utilizing a more creative outlet and potentially finding peace in my own trauma. I am extremely grateful to have been enrolled in this course, and even more grateful to have experienced horror in a way that I could have never imagined before.

With this being my last blog post for a while, I find it fitting to end things off with a bang. Since I have spent majority of my previous blogs analyzing a multitude of well known black horror films and short novels, what better way to end it by doing mini analysis of a student produced black horror film straight from Sunken Place (course) itself.

The student is entitled “ Super Moon” from the creative minds of Ariel and Dajah, two 2nd year undergraduate students at UCLA.

This comical thriller shows the story of three black women in college who are dealing with their own levels of issues in their lives who turn to the power of the Super Moon to have them resolved. The first of the women is still healing from the trauma of losing her sister; another with a presumably racist co-worker; and the last with a “coon”-filled love life. After suggesting performing a Super Moon ritual, in which its instructions were found on our lovely Twitter, they show us the severity at which we should not believe and blindly follow everything that we find on social media, or the Internet as a whole. The rest of the film follows the women reaping the repercussions of performing their moon ritual wrong, in which they learn that you must be careful what you wish for the very hard way. Although the film had more of a comedic aspect, it definitely made a statement on the growing misuse of spiritual practices for the benefit of aesthetics that are exacerbated by social media. In some ways, it can be argued that the three women in film could be appropriating a practice that can derive from an even larger aspect of a specific culture. It just goes to show how that we all must be properly informed if we are going to take part in culturally significant practices.

Almost makes me wonder what are, or what will be, the repercussions of the appropriation of black bodies, minds, and lifestyles that continues to persist today.

And with that, loved ones, I am signing off!

I wish you all the best during my hiatus!

<3 mama melanin

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Golden Globes Gotta Get Out!

Welcome back loved ones,

So in this week’s post we will be revisit one of the most talked about films of 2017, our beloved Get Out.

In this past week alone, there were so many things happening in regards to Peele’s social thriller! First things first, I, along with my classmates and professor, had the opportunity to attend an art reception for the film in which we had the opportunity to catch up with our pal Jordan, and mingle with some of the stars of the film at a beautiful venue in West Hollywood. The reception took place to showcase some of the fan art that creatives around the nation produced in lue of the break out film. The entire venue had walls filled with these incredible interpretations of some of the most significant images within the film. Just by looking at the different art pieces and their complexities, you could just see the different ways individuals interpreted some of the messages within the film and how they applied it to their own experiences, which is what I found to be the most beautiful part of the evening (besides Daniel Kaluuya in the flesh). Get Out validated black experiences and the plight for mobility, elevated consciousness, and our right to simple be!

Which is why the Golden Globe (mis)categorization of Get Out as a Comedy brings about much uproar from the black community (and any community for that matter). There are so many things that we wrong with this categorization. First off all, let’s just bring up the simple fact that Peele himself, the man that WROTE, DIRECTED, AND PRODUCED this film, did not categorize it as such. How can that be disputed?? Peele used his film to highlight  real experiences of the pain suffering faced by black people and for that to be written off as “laughable” just furthers the rhetoric of erasure; that our stories of pain and trauma as black individuals are simply made up or so ‘outlandish’ that they can’t be real.  Lets just get a couple things straight. Although we may not be seeing white people placings bits of other white people’s brains into black bodies (so we know of!), the metaphorical message behind that practice is as real as the words on this screen. Peele used this practice to shed light on the appropriation of the black body in our current society; the idea that we are deemed to be worth more in our supposed assets (i.e. fashion, athleticism, popular culture), rather than having worth as human beings. On an ever deeper level, the Sunken Place itself is a symbolism for the prison industrial system that wreaks havoc on black and brown communities everyday; locking and putting away our black and brown brothers and sisters at the financial betterment of the whiteness. There are so many messages that Peele was trying to convey to the wide audiences, and the many instances of comedic relief throughout the film were simply to make the hard, cold, and ugly truth of race relations within our nation, a little bit more digestible to the mass audiences. If they were to see it how it truly is, it would not be watchable, as some of our realities are scarier than any horror that could be created for the screen.

Until Next time Loved Ones,

<3 mama melanin

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Retribution and Black Horror

Welcome Back Loved Ones,

Today I am going to be talking about the use of black horror for the purpose of retribution. For those who may be unaware, retribution is similar to the concept of revenge, and as you can easily discern, individuals across the Afrikan/Black diaspora have quite a bit for which to want payback.

The idea of “black payback” has arguably been something that has added to our pain. For example, the underlying concept behind the (blatantly racist) film “Birth of A Nation” is the portrayal of white anxiety about the potential of black retaliation against the horrors of slavery after its abolishment following the end of the Civil War. As said in previous blog posts, “Birth of A Nation” projected the fears of black menace following slave liberation; projecting images of black people wreaking havoc on civilization as payback against helpless white ex-slaveowners and their descendants. In turn, the fear instilled in whites in response to this film, has been arguably contribution of the uprising of murderous anti-black groups and policies such as the KKK and Jim Crow to prevent any retaliation from the black community.

This narrative still rings true today with the dynamics of the police force within black and communities. The fact that a black or brown individual can lose their life for simply playing in a park with a toy gun or selling square cigarettes on a street corner, one can only imagine the repercussions of an intentional attack on the white community. And this where the magic of black horror and storytelling comes in.

Knowing the possibly fatal consequences of black retaliation, it can be argued that black horror can be used to make up for the lack of realized retribution on behalf of the black diaspora. There are several previous discussed films, novels, and short stories that follow this theme of the full retribution we wish we could have. In “Tales of the Hood” retribution came in the form of the dolls of painting that hosted the souls of the slaves who were murdered by their vengeful ex-owner when it was announced that slavery had been abolished. Retribution in “The Good House” came in the form of a mudslide that was incited from a request to a spirit of death and terror.

However, a more interesting form of retribution comes in the short story “Vulcanization”, in which the ghosts of innocents who were killed at the responsibility of the King of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While to try and find a (murderous) solution to his haunting, the King ended up making his situation worse, as the ghost of those he killed went from solely being seen, to being able to touch him, exacerbating his haunting.

All forms of retribution are quite interesting. Although it will never be able to erase the traumas faced across the black diaspora, there comes a slight sense of comfort from these stories, that atleast someone is getting a bit of what they deserved, even if solely in a story.

Until next time loved ones,

Mama melanin <3

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Blaxploitation in Media Arts

Welcome back loved ones,

I am back with another addition to Black Horror with Mama Melanin!

In this week’s post, we will be discussing the concept of blaxploitation in the media arts, with a specific focus on film.

Now if you all were anything like me, you’re probably wondering what the heck blaxploitation is and if it is something that you have to pull off the earrings and grab your vaseline. But I am here to assure you, there is nothing to get worked over for (for the most part), instead something to marvel over and be appreciative of

According to the dictionary, blaxploitation is the exploitation of black folks in the media arts, typically done so by projecting stereotypical narratives of the black experience. Now, I can understand why this definition does not sound as comforting as I am planning on persuading it to be, but I promise this isn’t as bad as it sounds. (despite it’s use of the word exploitation that typically contains a negative connotation especially in relation to the treatment of black folks).

Blaxploitation as I understand it is a frame on the production aimed to adhere to the tastes of the black audience by creating content that, at varying extents, are relatable to said audience. With this, the black audiences were able to finally to see representation in platforms that were previously out of their reach. Black folks are able to see elements of their stories on the big screen in a way that empowers them, instead in the previously stigmatized and demeaning ways that they have been projected in films past.  

There are several examples of blaxploitation all throughout popular culture, but it is most seen in film. William Cain’s film Blacula, is a great example of the blaxploitation for it introduces the black experience in horror with the depiction of a black vampire; a realm of pop culture that the black narrative had not been frequently included in before. The name Blacula itself depicts this merge of the black narrative and horror as it rings a black twist on the popular story of Dracula, who actually makes a cameo in the film.

Blacula follows the story of an African prince, Mamuwalde, who travels  to the notorious Dracula to ask him to hept to put an end to the transatlantic slave trade. After laughingly denying his request, Dracula turns the African prince into a vampire, naming him Blacula, laying him to rest in a coffin for the next 100 years. The rest of the film follows Blacula as he is navigating this new era of time; unwillingly preying on citizens while reaching his ultimate goal of  finding love again.  

Blacula consists of a beautifully, yet emotionally charged story that captured the hearts of not only its black audience, but it became a hit amongst wider audiences across the nation with its release in 1972. It’s success just goes to show the beauty in black story and its necessity of being shown in a multitude of different forms and platforms!

Until next time loved ones.

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Complicity in the Black community

Ice Cube said it best in his 90’s hit “Good Cop Bad Cop”,  “Black cops showing out for the white cops”. Today, loved ones, we’re talking bout Black complicity to whiteness as a power structure.

For those who who aren’t familiar with the concept, Black complicity is the idea that if one remains idle ton the structure of white supremacy, they will be able to gain mobility themselves against a system made to suppress them and those in their community. Now in the way that I have come to understand it, Black complicity can manifest itself in a multitude of ways. One of the most important characteristics is that it does not necessarily emerge from one’s cons, this complicity is does not necessarily have to be the conscious decision of the actor themselves. Often times, it is a mindset that is developed over an extended time. In our society there are several avenues of that tell us that if abide to certain social standards of living, we will be able to benefit from society in the way that whiteness as social construction allows. More times than not, the most expected behavior is refraining from stirring the pot, refrain from being critical of our current institutional and social structures, and most importantly, shedding light on the issues found within them. Black complicity has been as a practice can be dated and traced from the times of slavery, throughout the Jim Crow era, and our current supposed “post-racial society”.. Luckily, pop culture has given us some great examples of this phenomenon.

First off, Stephen in Django. He was a house slave whom, for lack of a better phrase, thought his white slaveowner’s you know what didn’t stank. He even was a spy of sorts for his owner, working to ensure that the other slaves knew their place, and if they stepped out of bounds, he would be the one to inform and even participate in their punishment. Although his compliancy prevented him from harsher realities as experienced by most other slaves, it is ultimately the thing that led to his demise.

Another fine example is in the short film previously discussed in class, Space Invaders, in which the government makes a deal to trade all of the Black people in the United States for their overall improved state. In the film, it follows a Black member of the Presidential Cabinet whose complacency to whiteness manifested in the form of lobbying policies (for the white politicians he worked for) that would ultimately lead into the demise of marginalized groups in the U.S. (ie. Black and brown, impoverished communities. (Refraining from stirring the pot). Although he has done the “good work” for his white counterparts, he wasn’t even saved when it came to complete the trade, and was sent with their extraterrestrial neighbors along with his brothers and sisters.

What I have noticed, is although practicing Black complicity may seem beneficial and offer a certain level of mobility, at the end of the day, the actor of complicity inevitably suffers. On one level, one has to compromise a level of elevated consciousness as it pertains the well being of their community which can be a severe source of internal conflict. This was represented well in the first story of thriller film, “Tales from the Hood” in which the Clarence, the Black police officer in which the first story follows, is forced into complicity. When his complicity results in the death. 

On the other hand, as previously mentioned, Black complicity only offers a very limited form of mobility, especially in terms of ally-ship (with the y’ts). Their ally-ship is conditional. As long as one doesn’t stir the pot, one can reap the supposed benefits that comes along with their compliance. However, once that contract is broken, the compliant individual is subject to the same treatment of suppression under the rule of white supremacy.

I can recount my own moments of complacency to whiteness in my past, and from that I can wholeheartedly understand why it appears to be such a tempting option. However, there will come a moment of enlightenment where you realize that you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. I prefer the “don’t of the two options, and instead, I will fight until the system that forces us to make that choice, no longer exists.

Until next time loved ones,

- mama melanin <3

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Welcome To The Sunken Place

Welcome back Loved Ones!

As you can tell from the title of this blog, things have taken quite the turn since my last posts regarding topics around the genre, afrofuturism. This time around, my next couple of posts will be focusing on another thought provoking genre; horror, particularly black horror! There’s nothing to fear here (see what I did there), I will be posing and answering some similar questions now as a did in previous blogs surrounding afrofuturism such as exploring how the genre is used and for what reasons. 

Speaking of the Sunken Place, 

These are just a few of the thought-provoking questions challenged from the ground breaking 2017 social thriller, “Get Out” written and directed by the former Mad TV Comedian. Jordan Peele. In this chilling thriller, Peele uses a creative framework to discuss some of the nuances of the black experience in a supposedly “post-racial society” including tropes of the interracial relationships, microaggressive versus overt forms of racism (and the difficulty of discerning and responding between the two), and one of the most important, exploring the concept of appropriation of the black body...literally. 

Despite the abundance of the weighted discourse and discussions Peele was so eloquently able to fit in a 104 minute long story, one of the things I took away from his masterpiece was the idea of being able to name your experiences and the importance of that. Peele’s brilliant concept of the “Sunken Place” has granted us the ability to name a broader experience than just simple unconciousness. It describes a state of an imposed state mental (or physical) imprisonment and how it can manifest itself in a multitude of forms!

Sidenote: it also makes a great hashtag, allowing people’s creativity of the internet-folks to run wild. Here are some of my favorites (some more true to Peele’s definition than others, but still a great source for a hearty laugh)

Just as Kimberle Crenshaw did with ‘intersectionality’, and Chester M. Pierce with ‘microagressions’, Peele’s ‘sunken place’ allows individual to name their own experiences and that of those in their community. Why this contributions are so important is because being able to name one’s experiences is a form of self-awareness or self-knowledge in the plight for elevated consciousness and ultimately, liberation in its truest form. Simply having the vocabulary to reflect on an experience can allow one to recognize and call out an issue or an injustice at hand. Without this ability, one is at risk of of allowing said injustice to continue happening. 

As Jordan Peele said himself (in the flesh..right before my eyes, don’t believe me...find proof below!), the real villain is society itself, and I personally believe that with the ability of recognizing its evil tactics through naming our experiences, we get closer and closer to defeating it.

Until next time, loved ones.

-mama melanin <3

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“Cranes in the Sky”

Welcome back my loves!

I’m afraid that it is almost time to say goodbye. This will be last blog post for a while until after I finish all of my finals for the end of this academic year. Therefore, I wanted to leave you all with something very special to me.. SOLANGE!

With her last project, “A Seat at the Table”, although it is debated as being representing more of Afro-surrealism, than Afrofuturism for the lack of explicit focus on the future, I still find this project noteworthy to discuss in regards to the images created in the visuals produced for the album. 

In the music video “Cranes in the Sly”, which so happens to be my favorite track on the project, Solange configures a world surrounded around the unity of black women; especially in times of a shared struggle. 

The shared struggle discussed in this in song is that of mental health, an issue very prevalent in the black community, yet is oftentimes the most ignored; especially in the context of black women who are often ascribed to have to uphold the image of the “Superwoman”; the black woman who maintains a strong demeanor despite severe times of adversity.

Throughout the video, Solange projects images of black women engaging in similar movements, either conforming to one another or performing synchronized choreography, or simply being united by a shared, continuous line of fabric

Although, Solange’s work may not exactly scream Afrofuturism in appearance, with a lack of explicit displays of technology, being or abilities that aren’t of this world, she takes on the element of Afrofuturism in which she envisions a world where the issues of mental health and black unity become more pressing issues within the black community for years to come. 

Well that’s all I have for you all now!

Signing off until next time,

mama melanin <3

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“Awaken My Love”

Welcome back, loved ones!

As you have probably guessed from the trend of the last couple of posts, I have quite a bit of an obsession with music. I can definitely say without a doubt, music is one of my favorite things to discuss; and with my recent introduction to the the the genre of Afrofuturism, I find it only right to share my recent discovery with you all. 

Today,I am going to be discussing Childish Gambino, although with the release of his last project, “Awaken My Love” I find him deserving of a new name; at least when he produces music like this!

A complete switch in what he usually creates, Donald Glover has explored a drastically different sound for himself; one that can be closely distinguished as an example of Afrofuturism. 

Looking at the cover of the album, alone, one can observe elements of Afrofuturism in the appearance of what appears to be a black woman with attributes not easily comparable to that of our own, and with a face of what can either as anguish, or perhaps the result of a disrupted nap, which would explain the title of the project. 

In regards to the content and instrumentation  of the album, Gambino plays with different methods of voice alterations, what seems to allow him to take on a different identity with every song that passes. 

With the most popular song on the project, “Redbone”, Gambino makes commentary on the supposed “post-racial” society often claimed in public discourse while reminding his audience to “stay woke” to the actual realities of our current society. 

Although it may have taken long-time Gambino fans a while to get used to his new sound, I personally believe we all have now garnered a welcoming spirit to this new direction of his career. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next!

Until next time,

mama melanin <3

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Missy Elliot

Welcome back, loved ones!

Today we will be discussing an artist who has been vital to my childhood! No one other than the extremely talented, Missy Elliot!

I remember awaiting every the releases of her music, but most importantly, her music videos!

With every music video releases, Missy creates a new world for her viewers to experience. With very distinguishable, and oftentimes, unconventional choreography and special effects in her music videos, Elliot creates a visions of black people in their own universes. 

With these different universes, Missy coveys messages of hope and possibility for black people, to have space where they can live as their true authentic selves. Free of the harsh realities of society, free of the constraints placed upon them in society on their identity. In her music videos, Black people are allowed to be as multidimensional as they want to be. 

I find it very interesting that now I have a genre to align Missy Elliot’s style with. When initially being exposed to her work, I thought her unique visuals and the way her music sounds “as if it were constructed in space” was just a way Elliot wanted to distinguish herself from other artists in the music industry.

However, after learning more about the dynamics of the genre of Afrofuturism, I have come to recognize the broader implications behind Missy’s work and what it has done and continues to do for the black community.

Making me even more of a fan than I initially was!

Until next time,

mama melanin <3

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Mama Badu

Welcome back, loves! I hope you all have had restful souls since my last post! If not, dont worry much longer, because the subject of this particular blog post does an extrodinary job of calming souls with her [adjective sounds]. 

As you may have guessed by the title, today I will be talking about the incomparable Erykah Badu!

Mama Badu has demonstrated elements of Afrofuturism throughout her career in the messages, instrumentation, and visuals in many of her works, but on the most notable, especially in the beginning of her career in her music for the song “Didn’t Cha Know”.

 In this video, we see Badu dressed in futuristic garb, crossing a desert of white sand alone, with a blazing sun shown in the distance. This scene can be showing either that she is representing either the first or the last person on Earth (or another planet). In either situation; it can be argued that she is re-conceptualizing the significance of the black women narrative in regards to life. In either of the described potential situations, Badu is left with the task to either create more life in the space where she finds herself; whether that be within (rebirth of herself) or outside of herself (repopulating).

Throughout her career, Badu has taken on the role in re-conceptualizing popular discourse of the black identity; specifically that of the black women. Project images and messages of her song centered around liberation of black women, Badu critiques normative discourse on the expectations of the black women in dress, attitude, and sexuality. 

 There’s so much more that can be said about Badu’s career with Afrofuturism, especially with the 2015 release of her mixtape “But You Caint Use My Phone”, but we will just have to save that for another post.

Until next time loved ones, 

mama melanin <3

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Afrofuturism through Music!

Welcome back, loved ones! 

In today’s post, I am going to be speaking about one of my favorite things on this Earth; music!

But not just any kind of music. Today I will be talking about music with elements of Afrofuturism!

As stated in the my previous blog, Afrofuturism is a speculative art form that raises awareness and conversation about a number of issues that are often specific to the black community. Music was no exception to this form, as the word, often times futuristic rhythms, projected imagery and sentiments of escape from harsh realities; creating images and sentiments for a better furture for those within the black community.

The earliest forms of Afrofuturistic takes on music come from the esteemed Sun Ra (not pictured up above); with his most famous album entitled “Space is the Place”; explicitly speaking on the presence of a better place, outside of our universe, for black people.

More contemporary forms of afrofuturism through sound comes speaks on a variety of issues impacting the black community today ranging from the acknowledgment and empowerment of the beauty within blackness to the systematic oppression of black people in forms of police brutality and mass incarceration. The artist I will focus on for the remainder of this post is the beautiful and electrifying Janelle Monae (pictured above). Monae focuses on issue that impact the overall black community, but often times she highlights the plight of black women in regards to their identity as both being black and women.

Afrofuturistic in the musicality, words and visuals of her songs, Janelle Monae speaks on embracing the beauty of black women in her song “Q.U.E.E.N.” featuring the honorable Erykah Badu. Set in the future, the video opens with a museum exhibit with human subjects in which have been frozen in their places from the past. One can even find the parallel in the United States first World Fairs, in which human expositions depicting minority groups in their “natural habitat” for the amusement of whites who came to visit. 

Promptly after, the “frozen” human expositions came to life after the sound of music, and ring leader, Janelle Monae takes center stage filling the electric personally, prompting the other black women (and men) to come “back to life” with the music; embracing one another and reveling in their glory. 

In the song and the video, Monae promotes the “carefree” black woman and man; believing in and embracing their innate beauty despite popular discourse that discourages them from doing so.

This is a project that I would I have loved to have had the opportunity to be a part. With such and important and impacting message, Monae is setting the stage for more of a self-loving and carefree future for black women and men for generations to come.

Here is the link to the video below if you haven’t had the chance to see or need a refresher on the magic of visuals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEddixS-UoU

Until next time loves,

mama melanin <3

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My introduction to Afrofuturism

Upon the first day of instruction, I had no idea what to expect from the class entitled “Aboard the Mothership: Introduction to Afrofuturism”. I just remember hearing many of my fellow peers raving about how much of an experience the classroom; how it opened their eyes (and ears) to whole new level of literature, film, and music. Most importantly, many of my peers spoke on the newly acquired ways in which they perceived their blackness and the futures they can see as a result of it. 

Simple to say, I raced to enroll and board the theoretical mothership.

So far, I can definitely say that I have shared some of the same experiences as those who have come before me have shared. Being exposed to this alternate world of expression has definitely sparked something within me. 

Before I begin my discussion of the different examples of afrofuturism to which I have been exposed, I find it beneficial to define it in how it relates to me. 

Afrofuturism is an experience. It is an umbrella term for speculative arts that are spearheaded by, made for, and surrounded around the lives, plight, and culture of black people. As previously stated, this can be expressed in a multitude of artistic modes; including film, literature, music, paintings, etc. 

A very important aspect to afrofuturism, at least to me, is that although they introduce elements of fantasy, or something that is not real, most pieces offer very important conversations about our societies realitites; past, present and future; especially as it relates to the black community. 

Afrofuturism has a variety of uses and a multitude of forms and I look forward to my increased exposure to them as the course develops. I’m even more excited to share this journey with all of you!

Until next time, 

mama melanin <3