This is not the newest example of Afrofuturism, but I like it. It's a film and this is what it's about:
"** Nominated for Sundance Grand Jury Prize ** Cult classic. The Brother is an alien who has crash-landed in New York City. While he can't talk, he is very empathic and handy. His attempt to make a place for himself in Harlem. Meanwhile, two bounty hunters from the Brother's planet arrive to capture him.The story is an allegory for the immigrant experience in the United States. "
I have to admit, I started watching expecting to get the jist of it and I find myself wanting to continue watching.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of "The Terminal" (with Tom Hanks): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqgzXQ3b0nU
The connection that I see is the immigrant experience, arriving into a culture different from their own. They're seen as "alien" and "the other," and they struggle to communicate and adapt into this unknown world. "A Brother From Another Planet" takes this so much deeper because it brings the immigrant experience into the context of a slave narrative. That combination puts "brother" into a very difficult spot: assimilate without verbal communication and establish an identity and freedom separate from his past. That is, he must find a way to become such a part of this new world/culture that he will be protected by the culture from the bounty hunters.
To extend the connection with "The Terminal," Tom Hank's character, Viktor, arrives in the US and is trapped there, unable to return to his country. His english is poor, but he is kind and helpful. He works and establishes friendships over his time there. He is approached initially with caution (people think he is strange/odd/potentially dangerous) but quickly learn that he means well.
I'm sure after I finish "Brother From Another Planet" I will have more connections to make, but for now: Butler!
The immigrant experience as a whole is probably the simplest connection to make to Butler. In "Wild Seed", this move is from Africa to North America. "Lilith's Brood", Lilith must adapt to another alien race (oankali). Now, "Parable of the Sower," Lauren enters into a nomadic life from a somewhat privileged one. Each of these also are slave narratives: Doro's chosen people must follow his orders to mate and live, Lilith must live and train other humans to live under alien rule, and Lauren and the others are slaves to the corporation and are affected by those enslaved by drugs.
"Brother From Another Planet" is a slave narrative for two reasons, 1) Brother is being chased by bounty hunters from his own planet and 2) He is forced into a new world where being black puts him immediately in a disadvantaged position. He is slave to his old culture and to the new one, though certainly to varying degrees.
I took a particular interest in brother's shoes, as one is black and the other white. He is trying to be a part of white culture, the cleaner white shoe, while still being black, the dirty, over-sized black shoe. This is an interesting choice by the production team, but effective. Brother limps on the side that wears the black shoe, symbolic maybe of how being black/alien/immigrant impedes movement/mobility/normality. Butler is also interested in the interactions between white and black, colonizer and colonized, etc. Her texts usually speak to an injustice already ingrained within society, one that puts minorities at a disadvantage. Yet, Butler seems to suggest that these minorities, by telling their stories, add much more to the greater society than they are given credit for.
Can't wait to finish the movie- thanks for posting it!