Abstract
The future of the past: imagi(ni)ng black womanhood, Africana womanism and Afrofuturism in Black Panther
Highlights
IntroductionWhile Afrofuturism presents black themes such as slavery, apartheid, othering, marginalisation in the African and the diaspora context, history, colonisation, postcolonisation and decolonisation as viewed and (re)conceptualised and (re)articulated through the dual lenses of technoculture and science fiction (Dery 1994), these themes inform Africana womanism in large part
At the heart of Africana womanism and Afrofuturism is the representation of black people as an imagined community (Anderson 1983)
Besides the crucial African and Diaspora identities interface that the Africa and futures discourse should make, there should be commitment to the wholeness of black peoples which the film Black Panther has relatively fulfilled in traversing the Afrofuturistic and Africana womanist canon
Summary
While Afrofuturism presents black themes such as slavery, apartheid, othering, marginalisation in the African and the diaspora context, history, colonisation, postcolonisation and decolonisation as viewed and (re)conceptualised and (re)articulated through the dual lenses of technoculture and science fiction (Dery 1994), these themes inform Africana womanism in large part. Of Afrofuturist and Africana womanist interest in Black Panther is the way that the film engages gender roles and the implications this may have on theorising on gender and the place of black womanhood in the African futures discourse To engage this aspect, the paper utilises Africana womanism and Afrofuturism as critical frames of engagement. I am in agreement with Eshun’s (2003:289) view that capital continues to function through the dissimulation of the imperial archive and that in the contemporary moment power functions through the envisioning, management and delivery of reliable futures as posited in Black Panther In this vein, the study posits that there are convergences between Africana womanism and Afrofuturism in Black Panther and these speak to the African and African diaspora interface, postcolonial subjectivity and decolonisation.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
