Down an Afro-Surrealist Rabbit Hole
week 15
“Write what you know is reasonable advice. Read what you don’t know is better advice.” (Jeanette Winterson, from Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit)
This week’s newsletter was directly influenced by many hours spent on Facetime with my dear Ruth. We talked at length about a project that she’s writing; a short film with Afro-Surrealist influences. So, so excited to see it develop. I’m endlessly proud of her initiative and always in awe of her creativity. I’ve got the honor of being a second pair of eyes on her writing, and I thought that to be any help at all I should familiarize myself with her inspirations. It’s opened the door for me to some really cool thoughts and media. I’ve left it ajar for ya, if you’re interested…
No book this week! Spare me! Instead: a manifesto, video essays, an episode, and an album.
ESSAYS!
Afrosurreal Manifesto
D. Scot Miller
Miller starts his manifesto with a quote from Frida Kahlo, “I’m not a surrealist. I just paint what I see.” This is such a perfect quote to set the tone. Having it in mind helped me grasp this manifesto a little better.
“Afro-Surrealism sees that all "others" who create from their actual, lived experience are surrealist.”
Miller points out early on what is not Afro-Surreal. He names European Surrealism, which is more empirical than it is mystical and magical like African Surrealism. Afro-Futurism differs as well because it speculates on some distant future while Afro-Surrealism concerns itself with the “RIGHT NOW”.
An aspect of Afro-Surrealism that I’ve seen often mentioned is the idea that there is an invisible world that is “striving to manifest”. There is this underlying idea that there are elements of the Afro-Surrealist’s experience with the world that are inherently absurd. The surrealism in their art becomes both a truer representation of that absurdity and a tool used to illuminate it.
“Afro-Surrealism rejects the quiet servitude that characterizes existing roles for African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, women and queer folk. Only through the mixing, melding, and cross-conversion of these supposed classifications can there be hope for liberation. Afro-Surrealism is intersexed, Afro-Asiatic, Afro-Cuban, mystic, silly, and profound.”
Some art and artists that I’ve loved (and now love) are named Afro-Surrealists in this manifesto. To name them, Sun Ra, who Root recently introduced me to, and Toni Morrison, who I’m reading again soon (I coincidentally just picked up Beloved). Other works that you might recognize with Afro-Surrealist elements to ‘em would be Antlanta (2016), Get Out (2017), and Antlantics (2019). It’s important to note that Afro-Surrealism is a fairly recent term, so a lot of works that could be described as Afro-Surrealist weren’t necessarily created with that intention explicitly.
Link to the manifesto: https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Afrosurreal_Manifesto
VIDEOS!
Why Donald Glover’s Atlanta Feels So Weird
Thomas Flight
This video anchors an introduction to Afro-Surrealism in an analysis of Atlanta, noting how the trends that were observed in the manifesto are now showing up in audio-visual mediums.
The video even splices in clips of an interview with Miller (the author of the above manifesto). An interesting addition to this video is Miller’s explanation that Surrealists used to do things like seances and drugs to “get above reality”. However, if one deals with an “absurd fiction” by simply existing, they are already in a surrealist situation.
Really well put-together video, seriously. Here it is, a worthwhile 13-minute watch:
The Magic of Afro Surrealism
Netta Selene
This video puts together some Afro-Surrealist visual art that’s super interesting. Here are two screen captures from it for my visual learners.
The creator also highlights a ton of books with Afro-Surrealist elements. New additions from this video to my Goodreads TBR are Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, and The Water Dancer by Ta Nehisi Coates.
TV SHOWS!
Atlanta (Pilot)
Donald Glover
Ooooh, I’m gonna be watching more of this. It’s clever, the shots are gorgeous and I can see why I could difficultly find a video essay on Afro-Surrealism that didn’t mention this show.
Donald Glover describes this series as “Twin Peaks with rappers”. I haven’t seen Twin Peaks myself but apparently, it’s this super surrealist TV show from the 90s. A video essay I watched noted that while Twin Peaks’ characters grow fascinated with the absurdity that they encounter, Atlanta’s characters seem to hardly notice it and move on quickly. There’s a scene at the end of this episode that’s very strange, but Earn doesn’t linger on it at all. I’m curious to see if that continues.
MUSIC
“Awaken, my love!”
Childish Gambino
All this talk about Atlanta reminded me that Donald Glover put out a few bangers. He’s pretty much all I listened to this week.
On Friday I listened to his album Camp front to back and then did the same with this “Awaken, my love!”. Camp is much more rap-forward, punny, and explicitly vulnerable, whereas “Awaken, my love!” is super experimental. I prefer the latter’s psychedelic soul/R&B sound.
The cover is insane and so loaded with emotion. Funkadelic was a huge inspiration for this album, and some people think the cover is an homage to their album Maggot Brain. Here’s what that one looks like:
Besides the obvious “Redbone” and “Me and Your Mama” I was ESPECIALLY into “Have Some Love”, “Boogieman” and “Baby Boy”. The whole album is so fucking cool and gooooood.
thanks for reading <3
An obvious big up to Ruth for this newsletter, I wouldn’t have known to look for any of this if it weren’t for her. Oh mah gosh you guys, I seriously cannot wait to work on more stuff together. If you haven’t met her she’s seriously the greatest.
Also I finished my summer school yesterday! Feeling very proud and free. So excited that I can now work on a couple of things I’ve put on the backburner. I’ll share when they’re done cooking.
Sending you all a big hug!
Alicia XOXO