[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.84,0:00:03.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,♪ (frenetic music) ♪
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.42,0:00:11.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.62,0:00:15.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My talk,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.56,0:00:19.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about Afrofuturism and the African.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.45,0:00:23.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Afrofuturism is considered\Nwhat speculative fiction,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.96,0:00:27.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,myths, legends, science fiction,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.40,0:00:33.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the stories of that genre\Nare to African Americans,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.35,0:00:37.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Africa, Africa of the Diaspora,\Nand black people in general.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.71,0:00:43.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What (inaudible) refers it to is\Nwhat blackness looks like in the future,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.22,0:00:44.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,real or imagined.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.10,0:00:52.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the history of Afrofuturism\Ncomes from America
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.06,0:00:56.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and was first coined\Nby a man called Mark Dery
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.38,0:00:58.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when he started talking\Nabout Afrofuturism
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.89,0:01:01.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he talked about the idea of literature,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.40,0:01:05.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so the books\Nthat Octavia Butler would write
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.20,0:01:06.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and things like that,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.94,0:01:10.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then it also moved\Ninto a new region of music
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.86,0:01:14.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we would have people\Nlike Sun Ra and George Clinton
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.69,0:01:18.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for me, especially Sun Ra because\Nhe has a special place in my heart,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.17,0:01:22.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He believed that he came\Nfrom the planet Saturn
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.64,0:01:26.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and came to earth to spread\Nthe message of love and peace.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.41,0:01:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like in his movie, "Space is the Place"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.60,0:01:34.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he introduces the idea of "alien"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.91,0:01:38.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to black people in America.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.83,0:01:44.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that was very specifically\Nabout African Americans
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.04,0:01:48.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I wanted to find a place\Nfor Afrofuturism {\i1}in{\i0} Africa.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.88,0:01:51.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first place that that led me\Nto is Mount Kenya, obviously,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.54,0:01:56.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where the god of Mount Kenya lives\Naccording to the Kikuyu tradition
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.14,0:01:59.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so Mwene Nyaga is seated\Non top of this mountain
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.11,0:02:04.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he introduced our Adam and Eve,\NGikuyu and Mumbi,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.43,0:02:07.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and from that we're descendants\Nof the nine children.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.02,0:02:14.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But even before the idea\Nof the myth of Gikuyu and Mumbi,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.63,0:02:18.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the idea of Afrofuturism\Nor legends and myths,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.98,0:02:21.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are stories that were told\Nto me by my mother
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.71,0:02:25.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she is a great storyteller\Nas well as a pediatrician
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.42,0:02:30.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I'd have to say that her stories\Nwere truly science fiction, truly.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.66,0:02:31.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.95,0:02:35.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember her telling me stories\Nabout the way if I ate the pumpkin,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.29,0:02:37.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my hair would grow.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.46,0:02:43.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or if --which is strange--\Nif I attach leeches to my nipples,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.60,0:02:44.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my breasts would grow.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.58,0:02:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also... I did it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.60,0:02:52.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.20,0:02:57.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also, she would talk about the way
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.77,0:03:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that in the Kikuru tradition,\Nif you circle the Mugumo tree seven times,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.30,0:03:04.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you would change sex.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.72,0:03:08.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Growing up, obviously,\Npast my mother's stories,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.62,0:03:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I began to read stories of my own\Nand they were inevitably filled
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.55,0:03:17.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the ogre and the young girl\Nwho wandered off into the forest
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.44,0:03:20.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what would happen\Nif she wandered off into the forest
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.24,0:03:22.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how she would meet this terrible ogre
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.20,0:03:24.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because she departed\Nfrom the ways of the society.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.88,0:03:30.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's also when I met Ben Okri\Nand the idea of the spirit child
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.99,0:03:38.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the idea of using spiritualism\Nor mythical realism within storytelling.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.24,0:03:42.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That, for me, is also\Na link to Afrofuturism.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.25,0:03:48.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what really inspired me about Ben Okri
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.50,0:03:54.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was his ability to merge seamlessly\Nthe idea of the spirit world and fiction.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.29,0:03:59.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the idea that we live in a continent
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.83,0:04:02.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is so closely linked\Nto the spirit world
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.48,0:04:07.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we use it in a very\Neveryday sort of way
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.33,0:04:11.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that is true\Nwhen we come to witch doctors,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.26,0:04:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sangoma, or people who deal\Nwith the spiritual realms.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.73,0:04:20.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's also true of genies of the coast
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.47,0:04:24.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I don't even know how many of you\Nhave gone to Mombasa or Zanzibar,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.36,0:04:27.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I know from personal experience
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.58,0:04:30.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was a cat that followed me\Nfor five kilometers,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.61,0:04:32.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or every time I turned around it was there
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.25,0:04:34.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I could have sworn it was a genie.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.47,0:04:37.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm positive about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.14,0:04:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, I have friends\Nwho attest to the fact as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.82,0:04:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Afrofuturism has always been\Npart of our culture, part of us.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.26,0:04:52.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But more interestingly, it has been part\Nof the history of West Africa.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.04,0:04:57.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, West Africa it is believed,\Nespecially in Mali,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.23,0:04:59.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is a nation\Nof people called the Dogon
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.11,0:05:02.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Dogon people believe\Nthat they were told
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.65,0:05:05.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about a planet called Sirius B
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.71,0:05:11.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before it was discovered\Nby Western scientists.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.52,0:05:15.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were told of this planet
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.68,0:05:20.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a race of amphibian-like aliens
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.73,0:05:25.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who came in from the ocean
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.44,0:05:28.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and told them, not only about a planet,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.34,0:05:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also about the rotation of the planet
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.68,0:05:33.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how it worked in space.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.28,0:05:38.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of the cave drawings, like these,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.02,0:05:43.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showed the amphibian creatures\Nat the bottom of the people,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.53,0:05:46.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the people who came\Nto speak to them about this planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.93,0:05:52.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then, later on, it was discovered,\Nso they had the knowledge in 1930
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.57,0:05:56.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it wasn't until the '70s\Nthat the actual planet was seen.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.72,0:06:00.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If that isn't curious science fiction,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.49,0:06:02.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,history, I don't know what is.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.03,0:06:07.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But also from South Africa\Nwe have people like Credo Mutwa
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.70,0:06:13.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who believes there is\Na reptilian race of people
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.97,0:06:20.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whose bloodline extends\Ninto modern day royalty
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.81,0:06:23.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and modern day business people
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.42,0:06:28.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and is what, I guess, theorists\Nwould call the {\i1}Illuminati{\i0}.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.57,0:06:35.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we've established that fact--\Nfact {\i1}or{\i0} fiction.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.59,0:06:38.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Myths have always existed\Nvery, very closely to us,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.04,0:06:42.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there's been a growing need\Nfor the idea of Afrofuturism
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.39,0:06:46.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'd have to ask why?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.53,0:06:52.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when talking about it,\NI talked about it to a friend of mine,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.85,0:06:56.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he said, "Africans\Nare inherently futuristic,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.87,0:07:00.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,given the sheer capriciousness\Nof our present situation."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.87,0:07:06.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was my friend Michael [inaudible]\Nwho reckons he's very clever.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.16,0:07:12.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then there was a writer called\NDavid William Cohen who says,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.46,0:07:14.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The struggle of man against power
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.78,0:07:17.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the struggle of man\Nagainst forgetting."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.42,0:07:21.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This makes a lot of sense\Nbecause it's been suggested
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.19,0:07:24.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Afrofuturism, as a genre, is growing
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.14,0:07:28.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because as Africans\Nor as descendants of Africa,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.17,0:07:33.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we've never had a space or a voice\Nwithin our own history.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.71,0:07:36.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've never had a chance\Nto talk about our own history.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.22,0:07:39.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's always been written by other people.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.05,0:07:43.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, because we don't have\Na link to our own history
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.30,0:07:46.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or because we didn't have\Na grasp on our own history,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.29,0:07:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're using Afrofuturism\Nto stake a place in the future
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.60,0:07:54.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we can strongly identify\Nourselves in the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.53,0:07:58.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mark Dery argues\Nthat the younger generation
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.98,0:08:02.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have used technology\Nas a way to insert themselves
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.04,0:08:04.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into both a real\Nand imagined landscape
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.42,0:08:07.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to physically assert\Ntheir presence in the present
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.67,0:08:11.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to make it clear they intend\Nto stake their claim in the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.43,0:08:16.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So because we can't reclaim our history,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.45,0:08:19.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are now trying\Nto project our own future.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.65,0:08:23.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, in projecting our own future,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.15,0:08:27.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have to ask where are we doing it?\NIn what spaces are we doing that?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.08,0:08:28.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Kenya, we're doing it in music
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.01,0:08:33.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we have some of my favorite\Nmusicians here as well
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.33,0:08:39.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but just a band have, to me,\Ndemonstrated Afrofuturism
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.25,0:08:41.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in their own music,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.34,0:08:44.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially in one\Nof their latest songs [inaudible].
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.56,0:08:46.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They say, "Give me five,\Nit's good to be alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.20,0:08:48.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The sky seems so far away.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.10,0:08:50.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hope you know we've been\Nto the moon and back.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.32,0:08:52.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Be sure that nothing's\Ngoing to hold us back."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.81,0:08:57.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we know that we are larger than life.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.83,0:08:59.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know that we are larger than earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.85,0:09:02.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know we are larger than the cosmos
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.59,0:09:05.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that is reflected\Nin our work, and in our music.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.11,0:09:08.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Around the continent, obviously,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.77,0:09:10.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's people like Nnedi Okorafor
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.47,0:09:14.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who wrote a book called "Who Fears Death"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.37,0:09:18.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is a matte painting\Ndone by Ivonne Wende, a Kenyan
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.75,0:09:20.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the book "Who Fears Death"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:20.81,0:09:24.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in "Who Fears Death" what Nnedi does
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.29,0:09:30.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that she uses the idea\Nof manipulating technology as we know it
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.42,0:09:34.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to understand where we are
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.13,0:09:37.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or to be able to grasp our environment
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.100,0:09:40.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as Afrikans, we do that all the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.41,0:09:44.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We use technology that has been used\Noutside of our space
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.37,0:09:47.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or that was invented\Noutside of our own spaces
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.75,0:09:49.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and use it in our own ways.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.40,0:09:52.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What Nnedi Okarafor does\Nin "Who Fears Death"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.78,0:09:57.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that she creates\Nthese particular machines
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.22,0:09:59.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called water catcher stations,\Nand they absorb
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.82,0:10:02.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all the atmosphere\Nfrom around them
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.04,0:10:04.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that people can take baths,\Ncan have clean drinking water,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.84,0:10:06.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[inaudible] and so forth.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.67,0:10:09.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the fictional side of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.18,0:10:14.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In practice, how are Kenyans\Nusing Afrofuturism?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.53,0:10:21.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have to say I would refer\Nto Afrigadgets, the website
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.38,0:10:27.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that has a plethora of different people\Ndoing very inventive, and for me,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.89,0:10:32.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very futuristic things including\Na young 13 year old called Richard Turere
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.48,0:10:40.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what he did is that he created\Na way to run a flashlight invention,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.21,0:10:45.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,run off a car battery, to keep predators\Naway from his family's property.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.16,0:10:52.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That to me is a very Afrofuturist sense\Nof using technology,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.06,0:10:57.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in a very rustic way,\Nin a way that makes sense to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.65,0:11:04.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In my film "Pumzi" I used\Nthe idea of technology
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.84,0:11:09.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is a picture\Nof what we call self-power generator
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.39,0:11:11.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there would be these people\Nrunning on treadmills
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.76,0:11:15.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they would generate electricity\Nin order to have power where they lived.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.65,0:11:19.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought I was being\Ncreative, imaginative,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.02,0:11:20.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until I googled it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.86,0:11:22.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(muted laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.49,0:11:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I wasn't so much.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.94,0:11:25.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Self power generators do exist.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.94,0:11:29.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They do, there are ways of using\Nkinetic energy to power stations.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:29.68,0:11:31.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not completely\Nin practice at the moment
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.91,0:11:36.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's an idea of the ways\Nthat we can use technology
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.45,0:11:39.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a very Afrofuturist setting
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.06,0:11:42.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be able to run our everyday things.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.60,0:11:45.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's obviously nowhere\Nwe can talk about the future
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.24,0:11:47.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without talking about technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.05,0:11:50.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In "Pumzi", I also talk about\Nthe idea of communication,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:50.10,0:11:52.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I know from my own experience
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.12,0:11:54.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I would be sitting\Nacross the table from a friend
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.84,0:11:56.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we would tweet each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.95,0:12:01.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now we have learned to communicate\Nin 140 characters or less.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.82,0:12:07.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even when I'm talking about the things\Nthat are happening in my life,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.63,0:12:12.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'll use hashtag, as if it were\Npart of the sentence.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.19,0:12:19.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In "Pumzi", what I did\Nis I created this idea,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.28,0:12:21.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we'll see it in a second,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.07,0:12:26.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how we use different layers\Nof technology in order to communicate
Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.26,0:12:28.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the thought process of that
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.80,0:12:32.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that we're looking\Nfor more efficient ways of communicating
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.15,0:12:34.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather than finding emotive ways\Nof communicating.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.62,0:12:39.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For me, what is most important\Nand what I've found from making "Pumzi"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.01,0:12:45.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that the idea of Afrofuturism\Nworked the best for me
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.36,0:12:49.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I'm able to extrapolate\Non ideas and thoughts
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.57,0:12:52.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and feelings I have about\Nthe way the world is running
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.91,0:12:55.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without offending people\Nor without being too heavy handed
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.91,0:13:00.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and for me, what "Pumzi" was\Nwas a reflection of society
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.13,0:13:02.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's set 35 years after the Water War
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.37,0:13:07.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and where everybody lives inside because\Nthey've been told the outside is dead,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.70,0:13:14.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until one character, Asher,\Nwakes up from a dream
Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.04,0:13:17.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is not allowed, because everybody\Nis supposed to be taking dream suppresants
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.68,0:13:23.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she finds a seed that she then plants,\Nand it starts to grow.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.49,0:13:26.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in a world where the outside is dead,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:26.85,0:13:29.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and her being the curator\Nof a virtual natural museum,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.75,0:13:32.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's the only place\Nyou have access to nature,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.82,0:13:35.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she had to find a way outside of herself
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.96,0:13:38.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be able to prove that life exists.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.23,0:13:40.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's "Pumzi".
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.94,0:13:44.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But my metaphor for "Pumzi"\Nis about life and sacrifice
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.72,0:13:48.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the fact that we ourselves\Nhave to mother Mother Nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.75,0:13:53.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have to make sacrifices\Nin order to live in this one
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.30,0:13:58.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we have to know that our own behaviors\Nwill affect generations to come.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:00.34,0:14:05.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a storyteller in the tradition\Nof the [inaudible]
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.16,0:14:08.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my job is to be a seer,\Nnot just a historian
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.62,0:14:12.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to be able like [Mogo]\Nwho predicted the coming of white people
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.39,0:14:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as if they were colorful butterflies\Nor the train in the sense of the way
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.05,0:14:19.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he saw a snake with smoke\Ncoming out of its head
Dialogue: 0,0:14:19.91,0:14:23.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be able to say,\Nthere is more to life than we see
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.46,0:14:25.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and listen to the storytellers.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:25.49,0:14:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They also have a voice,\Nand their voice is important.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.58,0:14:32.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, I leave you with a clip from "Pumzi"
Dialogue: 0,0:14:32.11,0:14:37.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is just an indication\Nof the possibilities of the human mind,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.55,0:14:40.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the possibilities of Afrofuturism
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.71,0:14:44.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how Afrofuturism\Nrelates to us as Africans.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.61,0:14:47.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(applause and cheering)