| | Black AF: superhero edition
Marvel’s depiction of the conflict between Professor X and Magneto has been read as an allegory for assimilation versus separatism for marginalized people. Specifically, Professor X has been compared to MLK and while Magneto represents Malcolm X. What happens when the allegory is removed? What is possible when we examine blackness directly within the genres of superhero and speculative fiction?
Luke Cage is bulletproof. T’Challa is king. Black Lightning and Thunder are metahumans. What are the limits of Blackness? Who draws those limits? What is imagined as possible for Black characters in the superhero, speculative, fantasy genres? Are black people allowed to transcend the boundaries of space, time, reason. Can black superheroes dismantle the greatest villain of all: the systems of power that rely upon dominance and violence as tools of extraction? Do such fictions and fantasies connect to the real world liberation of black people, if so how? If not, why not?
This course examines representations of Black Superlatives in select literature, film, and television. We will consider the varied roles that Blackness plays as an asset and liability for characterization, plot, theme, and the cultural influence of these creative works.
Works examined in this session include but are not limited to Watchmen (HBO), Raising Dion, See You Yesterday, Queen Sono, Siempre Una Bruja/Always a Witch, Black Lightning (on Netflix) Black Panther (film), in additional to short fiction/graphic fiction.
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AMST 2559
MoTuWeThFr 1:00pm - 3:15pm