Week 13 Reflection

This week’s readings discussed climate fiction, with a particular focus on authors Octavia Butler’s and adrienne maree brown. As we discussed in class earlier in the week, I think it is fascinating that Butler was able to predict so much about the future (nearly our own present day) in her work. There is much to be learned and said about this genre of texts, and especially interesting points can be considered through the lens of this course. I think a lot of times we read stories and books like this in classes in school with fascination and less of a realistic approach. Some keywords from this week include afrofuturism, climate fiction, and apocalypse.

Before reading the texts for this week, I would not have been able to explain the concept or genre of afrofuturism. This was especially striking to me because as I read further and learned more in class, I was actually previously familiar with several texts that fall in this category, so for me this week was a lot about learning a new word and genre, like putting a name to a familiar face. When I was younger and my older brother had just gotten his drivers license, we spent many car rides enjoying Janelle Monae’s Metropolis album, which is a prime example of afrofuturism, so this week also brought me back to fond memories of being introduced to new music with my brother and our feelings of maturity and independence that came with being able to drive places without our parents. With all of the stress of school and life lately, it was refreshing to be taken back to these fond memories for even just a moment, maybe more now that I’m choosing to write about it here too. This week’s discussions also reminded me of a number of books I had read in school that were of a similar genre, from Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Although I do not typically consider myself to be a sci-fi fan, I remember actually enjoying these works and others, and perhaps if and when I have a free moment, I will also read Parable of the Sower.