English 311: Afrofuturisms Reading List

For those of you who don't know what Afrofuturisms means, the simple version is African American science fiction. The more complete version includes such factors as reflections of slave narratives and discrimination, in either a bleak dystopian format or, conversely, through imagining a better future to make up for the loss of cultural history and identity through eutopia.

In other words: awesome wrapped up in intensity.

Here's our reading list:

Imperium in Imperio by Sutton E. Griggs, 1899

There were a lot of people in my class who contested the Sci-fi (SF) classification of this novel, but it's about what the title says it's about: an empire within an empire, a government within a government, and it's an imagined eutopia, as my teacher defended it. (My own opinions on SF and genre boundaries in general make me inclined to agree, but more on that later or never.) One of the drier texts, it's about two boys who both go on to become great orators, each championing the same cause, racial equality in the United States, in very different ways. The society itself doesn't feature much in the story until towards the end. Not highly recommended, but interesting. 

Of One Blood, by Pauline Hopkins, 1902-1905

Published serially in the Colored American's Magazine, one of the first publications written by and for the emergent black bourgeoisie in America, Of One Blood is a story which relies on the familiar, but appropriated, constructions of Romantic mysticism blended with the sciences and the explorer/colonization trope. Interesting, sometimes confusing, but first and foremost to put forward an important agenda for the time in which it was written: that the human race is, quite literally, all of one blood. More recommended than Imperium, but still not a must-read.

Black Empire, by George S. Schuyler, 1936-1938

Also published serially and actually consisting of two novels, The Black Internationale and Black Empire, Schuyler satirizes the ideas of how to achieve racial equality contemporary with his time, mostly through the use of a evil genius and lots and lots of money. A reimagined future, though I'm still not clear on whether it's supposed to be a dystopia or a eutopia. Pretty darn good, if taken with a touch of dark humor.

Nova, by Samuel R. Delany, 1968

Nova was, by far, my favorite thing we read. A space-opera set in the thirty-second century, it's a race to the edges of the then-known universe to find a dying star in order to plunge into it, with plenty of economic and societal commentary and intrigue on the side. An absolutely enjoyable trip.

Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler, 1993

Parable was my second-favorite read of the quarter, despite its being bleak, dark, and triggering. At first it felt a little like the only thing between life currently and the universe of Cormac McCarthy's The Road with a dash of P.D. James' Children of Men thrown in. Luckily it turns out slightly less bleak than the former, though not by much. Good, interesting read with a strong female lead.

Cheers, everybody.

Steamcon II: Weird Weird West

What an event! And now it's so long ago that I am having trouble remembering every breathless, gushing ounce of praise I was going to level at the internet in Steamcon's favor...

The über highlights!

1. It was the best dressed convention I have ever attended. I have shamelessly 'jacked that sentiment from a good friend of mine who was also in attendance. She's a fashion designer, if that adds the gravid tone I am looking for when I say (write?) so. IT WAS SO WELL DRESSED.

2. It included a badass expo hall full of delicious things to buy. None of which I had money for, but I hovered over things a LOT. Alright, that's a lie. I did buy some home-concocted tea from the wonderful B. Fuller's Mortar & Pestle, based locally in Burien, WA. Mmm, gotta love that home brew.

3. There were many booths for many things, like the bands performing that night, as well as the beloved Dr. Steel.

4. There was an art gallery entirely for Steampunk art and it was also a silent auction! More hovering ensued.

5. One of the panels was Steampunk Ghost Hunting, a tag team between the League of S.T.E.A.M. (who also make a huge cameo in Panic! At the Disco's new single, Ballad of Mona Lisa, available on the excellent album Vices & Virtues) and a....legitimate....Steampunk....Ghosthunting team which I can't recall the name of because I am a DESPICABLE human being!!

6. It included Outlaw Night, which, as I have previously reviewed, featured my personal favorite Steamy band, ABNEY PARK!! HUZZAH!!! Airship pirates, Victorian wenches, and Long Islands were had by all. (except me, I was driving. duh :P)

Now for round two this coming October - Steamcon III: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!!

Abney Park

LIVE AND IN CONCERT AT STEAMCON II, WEIRD WEIRD WEST, IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON!!!

What an experience, ladies and gentlemen. What a FREAKIN' AMAZING EXPERIENCE.
There's so much to tell and so little time to do it in. To begin, they were headed by two bands, Bakelite 78 and Ghoultown.

Bakelite 78, another Seattle-native band, is composed of a host of members including (but not limited to) Robert Rial, Ariel Bolles, Jason Grey, Bob Kessler and Rich Unetich on a host of instruments including (but not limited to) guitar, upright bass, accordion, harmonica, trumpet, and the good ol' vocal cords. My personal favorite jam of theirs is called The World's Fair Hotel. For you dark-humored listeners and readers out there, you will know exactly why I enjoy this song so much. I am also a fan of the way this band sounds overall - it's a very singing-through-a-megaphone, or maybe a tin can, sound, and it's wonderfully grungy.

Ghoultown is what has been dubbed "hellbilly." As I have very little experience with psychobilly, I honestly can't compare them, sorry about that one. What I can tell you is that they are from Texas and proud to be "the most talented band of deviants this side of hell" (see their bio). Though I think former Texas Ranger Cole McGee might have something to say about that, Count Lyle, Jake Middlefinger, Lizard Lazario, Santi, Dalton Black, and Randy Grimm are goin' to hell in wild style.

The main event, Abney Park, while a tad late due to the over-zealotry of Ghoultown, was rarin' and ready to go. There were some bumpy moments along the way (example: Captain Robert looks over his oversized microphone to menace the floundering techies in the back: "Is it possible that we cannot hear the keyboard because it is on mute? Is it possible we can't go on with this song because it isn't turned on?" [/scaryman]) they were wonderful, funny, enthusiastic, and cursed a f***ton. Headed by the aforementioned captain, the other members - Nathaniel Johnstone, Kristina Erickson, Dan Cedarman, and Jody Ellen - were joined by dancers, stiltwalkers, and FIREBREATHERS. I was beside myself with joy. And, of course, it was just in time for us to hear songs from their two latest and greatest albums, Æther Shanties and The End of Days, both of which I HIGHLY recommend.

They were a hoot, the night was a blast, I hope they come back next year!

PS - Visit the Abney Park Steampunk Market. You know you want to.

Steampunk: Manimatron by...

...Chris Bachalo, Joe Kelly, and Richard Friend.
This first volume of collected comics comes to our world via Cliffhanger and DC Comics, and is truly a wonderful thing to behold.

One of the things I enjoy the most about this comic is that you have to realign your brain in order to understand everything that's going on in even one panel. It's an insanely detailed world they've woven, one in which it is quite easy to miss things. In interest of that I can't wait to read it again.

Another feature I enjoy greatly is the rather insane use of typography for the arch-villain, Dr. Mortimer Absinthe. Rather than the usual typographical emphasis one would find in a comic book - bold, italics, both at the same time, the occasional switch of color - his typeface is an appropriate patchwork of fonts, sizes, and colors which mirrors both his twisted mind and disturbing, altered frame quite nicely. It's difficult to describe without the use of crazy fonts and colors, so you're just going to have to trust me that when Absinthe scoffs at a French prisoner via referencing Frère Jacques and 'Frère Jacques' appears in a huge, bold font with colors to look like the French flag, it's awesome.

Overall the writing is fabulous, but Absinthe also happens to have some of the best lines. One of my favorite exchanges goes a little like this:
Absinthe: "God is the ultimate scientist. He's just not as good at design as I am."
Iron Monk: "Blasphemy and sarcasm are the tools of Satan."
Absinthe: "Satan and I were roommates at University. You have the information I seek?"
and the conversation continues nonchalantly.
Absinthe, for this reason, is one of my favorite characters: his writing is superb! So are all of the concepts put forth in this world, and the innovations only become wilder and more interesting in book two, Drama Obscura.

It's been a while since I've read Drama Obscura, but as I recall it only gets better. The visuals, in keeping with Manimatron, are stunning, my favorite visual effect being the ability to track one of the character's movements through the various panels by the continuous stream of union-jacks left behind by his scarf of the same pattern as he bounds in Gypsy-parkour style.

This is only a taste of the world of Steampunk!, but I'm afraid this is all we'll get for a while. Though I haven't confirmed it, I heard through the grapevine that book three is no longer in production: funding got yanked because of lack of readership. Rats. And on a cliffhanger true to the company's name.

On a side-note, I happened to read these in reverse order (Drama Obscura before Manimatron), and somehow I think it was even more fantastic than reading it in the correct order! Going back to book one was like being presented with a huge flashback episode, and as one of the plot twists is contained in book one, my mind was blown. I'm going to go back and read it in the right order this summer (when I have slightly less of a life and slightly more time on my hands), but something tells me I'd recommend reading the second book first.

Due to the aforementioned cancellation, I am sorry to say that these might begin going scarce: I don't know if they're still being printed or not, but I know that you can find both books on Amazon, though the prices aren't exactly the best: Manimatron, Drama Obscura

Happy Journeys, fellow adventures, and for you enthusiasts, steam on!

Legion

I am not going to lie. This was the most entertaining movie I have seen in a LONG while.

I am also not going to lie when I say that this movie is in the same vein as Constantine.

And that I freaking LOVE Constantine.

Yes I am sure the comic books are better in Constantine's case.

Yes I am sure that there are a lot of people out there who will despise Legion.

But hey. Why not? It is Paul Bettany, after all.

On that note, I thought Mr. Bettany's performance was wonderful. He had such moments of tenderness. Also extreme moments of badassery. It was fabulous. The gasoline trick (which is in the trailer: this is a spoiler free zone, or I'll try to keep it that way) was one of my absolute favorites.

Also, archangel Gabriel. OH MY LORD. Not nearly as pretty as angel-fied Mr. Bettany, but he had some pretty awesome moves.

So my basic conclusion is: if you have any affinity for the supernatural movies that end up on the bad to the nearly bad side of the scale - and by that I mean excellent - drop everything. See this movie. Especially if it's in a cinetopia.

Incidentally, there is a movie that has been out for several years which looks like an almost perfect cross of Constantine and Legion, at least visual-wise. It's called Gabriel. Apparently it came out a few years ago, made in Australia. I can't wait to get my mitts on a widescreen edition of it.

Backlog: The Children of Men, by PD James

This was the first book we read for my ENG 202 class this quarter.

It's almost difficult to look back on it now, it feels like so long ago even though it's only been four weeks? five weeks? (It is currently February 20, even if this entry is dated way back when.) Wow, if my memory is already slipping for The Children of Men I am going to have a hard time backlogging all my books from LAST quarter. Oh well. It'll be fun.

(Last quarter was a literature-based baptism by fire, by the way. This quarter is the same, but for analytic writing.)

Anyway.

PD James' The Children of Men, in my mind, runs to much the same tune as Cormac McCarthy's The Road (which, incidentally, is amazing and is yet another one of those books I believe that everyone should read at some point in their lives). It has that bleakness to it, but with a very different quality. What I think was the most impressive aspect of The Children of Men was the very raw emotional aspect. Even though it was set in a world that, like the scientific romances, is already dated and disproved, the emotional transformations and investments these characters are involved in make the world as PD James has imagined it so very tangible. As a reader I found myself relating, especially to the people I should not have been relating to, and it was glorious.

The Painted Faces were a great example of this. Due to spoilers I will try not to say anything that's too telling, but they were wonderfully complex. Not only did they strike me as a visual feast, the whole idea of them, the tribal setup, the blatant, violent rage, somehow was incredibly relevant. They had the kind of anger that has become madness that can no longer be truly expressed in this world, or at least not without some kind of jailtime involved.

Musings aside, this is an excellent read. I would read it again.

On a side note the movie is also fabulous. It's fabulous for very different reasons, but it's a beautifully made film. The uncut shots - I think the longest sequence is a full fifteen minutes - are absolutely stunning.

Readers be warned: detach yourself from the book before seeing the film. You will have a much more wholesome and much less I-want-to-throw-the-remote-at-the-screen time with this film if you judge them as two entirely separate entities. Difficult to do, I know it well, but in the end I find it's better.

And now, as Eddie Izzard would attribute to the Italians:

Ciao! *speeds away on moped*