



Hi everyone, Hi everyone,

You are reading the seventh issue of the fully automated luxury communism newsletter.

If you have not done so yet, you can subscribe at the this link

Every two weeks this newsletter brings links, snippets and interesting facts about technology from a left perspective. It hopes to spark a greater discussion among the left about the opportunities and threats that tech brings.



This week I will share my thoughts about Black Panther and why the left needs more science fiction of its own.

If the images are not displaying correctly, press Display Image at the top of your email client. If you have feedback let me know at:

or via Twitter

Why we need a socialist Wakanda

Last week the superhero movie Black Panther was released. It was a strong financial success, with the U.S. opening weekend raising 242 million dollars and Black Panther being the biggest debut for an African American director ever. It also received critical acclaim for its take on the superhero genre, and its themes of black empowerment.With this Black Panther is probably the biggest example of afro-futurism yet, a genre where futuristic African societies are represented. The lead character of Black Panther, T'Challa, was first introduced in a 1966 issue of the Fantastic Four. Basically he is the king of the fictional African country of Wakanda, that, contrary to popular to popular perceptions of Africa, is incredibly high-tech. The 2018 movie shows a black utopia based on this original comic book, and uses the setting to imagine what an African country that was not colonised and kept onto its precious resources (Vibranium) would have looked like.

Evan Narcisse summarises it in the Washington Post as: "Wakanda represents this unbroken chain of achievement of black excellence that never got interrupted by colonialism"

By doing this it attaches itself to a recently booming anti-racist movement that aims to empower people of colour. This attachment was quite explicit across the world, U.S. anti-racist commentator Ta-Nehesi Coates wrote the accompanying Black Panther comic book and in Brazil people from African descent went to elite cinemas en-masse to watch the movie.

The problem, from a progressive standpoint, lies in Wakanda’s conservative nationalism. Rulers of the state reject suggestions that they use their technological might to empower other black people across the African continent and around the world. Wakandan leaders maintain a stubborn isolationism, dispatching secret agents on occasional, benevolent missions in foreign lands but eschewing any meaningful program of international solidarity."

emancipatory

Links

Yet the fictional Wakanda is also not perfect, in the movie it struggles with themes of isolationism versus internationalism, and experiences deep internal fractures. The comic book, authored by Ta-Nehesi Coates, adds to this and shows the autocratic monarchy and tribal structure being questioned by revolutionary movements. This makes it a good utopia: an inspiring vision of the future that can mobilise people in the present, yet which also shows enough fractures to make a compelling story.Criticism of Black Panther's politics can also be made, Russell Rickford at Africa is a Country states that: "For all the criticism one can have of the politics behind Black Panther though, it shows the massive potential fiction, and particularly utopian science-fiction, can have on emancipatory movements.The socialist movement should take note. Science-fiction allows us to imagine new futures which inspire movements to act, it can inspire activists to mobilise beyond the narrow cycle of activist politics we sometimes remain stuck in. Much science-fiction, particularly in recent decades, has been dystopian, the new Blade Runner movie or the Black Mirror TV series are case in point here. They take the dystopian neoliberal world we live in, and extends it into the future. This provides strong critiques of the current order, but also also works to demobilise people and exhausts their confidence in a better future. Utopian science-fiction on the other hand can allow us to imagine better futures, and mobilise us towards its creation.Or as the late Ursula K Le Guin once stated: "We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art - the art of words.”Emancipatory movements from the past readily understood the power of utopian science-fiction. Before the French Revolution one of the most circulated books was an utopian piece of science-fiction, Utopia by Thomas More was a key work for early socialists, and William Morris' News From Nowhere or Edward Bellamy's Looking backward are classics in the genre, which historically inspired movements to organise.Today a myriad of genres abound that can serve as a platform for socialist utopian fiction, afro-futurism is one and the platform it was given in Black Panther will ensure its future popularity. Another genre is solarpunk, an adaption of cyberpunk and other punks like steampunk, where utopian, decentralised societies abound that rely on renewable energy (hence the solar in solarpunk).So maybe this is precisely the time for left-wingers to look into thepotential of science-fiction. Maybe it is also a good time for left-wing writer's and artists to unite, set up groups and clubs to support the creation of socialist art. New works of fiction can be incubated here, critiques and inspiration can be given, and a network of clubs can serve as a support structure to get works published.Most of the stuff that will be produced will be shit, but maybe we will sow the seeds of entirely new works to challenge the existing hegemony right there.Here are some links with interesting news from the past few weeks.