Black Future Month: Thurs Feb 19, 7pm, White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books

Feb, 19, 7pm, Adm: $6, Chatham 14, 210 W 87th St, Chicago
Program length: 95 min.

Program 3 – Black Radical Imagination & Comic Books

The notion of the Black Radical Imagination stemmed from a series of discussions around the boundaries and limitations that are historically given to people of color in the realm of the cinematic.
Black Radical Imagination is a touring program of visual shorts that delve into the worlds of new media, video art, and experimental narrative. Focusing on new stories within the diaspora, each artist contributes their own vision about post-modern society through the state of current black culture. An artistic movement and school of thought, Black Radical Imagination focuses on the aesthetics of afro-futurism, afro-surrealism, and the magnificent through the context of cinema. Curated by Erin Christovale and Amir George.

Afronauts by Cristina De Middel (4:30)

In 1964, still living the dream of their recently gained independence, Zambia started a space program that would put the first African on the moon catching up the USA and the Soviet Union in the space race. Only a few optimists supported the project by Edward Makuka, the school teacher in charge of presenting the ambitious program and getting its necessary funding. But the financial aid never came, as the United Nations declined their support, and one of the astronauts, a 16 year old girl, got pregnant and had to quit.

The Changing Same by Cauleen Smith (9:25)
An Alien is sent to earth to investigate the “incubators.” She discovers that she is replacing a rogue agent and starts to questions her mission as relationships become intimate.

The Golden Chain by Buki Bodunrin and Ezra Claytan Daniels (6:11)

A Nigerian space station in a remote nook of the solar system orbits a pinpoint of matter so dense it cannot exist on Earth. It is a recreation of the birth of the universe itself, contained for the purpose of study, and overseen by Yetunde, chief science engineer on the space station Eko

Mae’s Journal by Amir George (12:13)
Mae’s Journal is a chronicle of the historic space mission of Mae Jemison in 1992. Through 6 fictional journal entries Mae’s journey is recreated through live action reenactments and actual footage of the STS-47 voyage.

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The Black Age of Comics • Telling Our Stories
2010, USA, 10min.
A documentary by Barbara Jones Hogu.

The Black Age of Comics Convention showcases independent comic book artists, writers and publishers who create, publish and distribute their own and others stories.

The convention created by Turtel Onli, ” The Father of the Black Age” serves as a venue to come together, network and educate those who are interested in visual storytelling as well as the general public.

Interviews includes artists, Ashley A. Woods, Rafel Nieves, Juan Arevalo, Eric Battle, N. Steven Harris, Turtel Onli and Lance Doc Boucher.

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White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books, 2012 USA, 52 minutes
Produced, Directed and Written by Jonathan Gayles

White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books analyzes the subject for the first time and looks at it over a 40 year period.

In a serious, lively and humorous manner, the film examines the degree to which some of the first Black superheroes generally adhered to and were burdened by stereotypes about Black men. However we also witness how some images shifted – oftentimes clumsily – to reflect the changing times. In fact the documentary was formerly entitled Shaft or Sidney Poitier: Black Masculinity in Comic Books to signify two types of characters, one with hyper-masculine urban swagger (Shaft) and one with remarkably “dignified” behavior (Sidney Poitier). Ultimately, it became clear that there was much more “Shaft” than “Sidney Poitier” in these early Black superheroes.

Along with images from the comic books themselves, it features commentary by scholars and cultural critics (Jelani Cobb, Mark Anthony Neal, Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua) producers, writers and artists (Reginald Hudlin, John Jennings, Tony Isabella and the late pioneer Dwayne McDuffie.) They provide tools for critiquing all media as they introduce and analyze the leading Black comic book superheroes of the late 60’s to late 70’s including Black Panther, the Falcon, John Stewart (the Green Lantern), Luke Cage and Black Lightning.