Charting Ancestral Rivers: Speculative Returns and Afrocentric Utopias in Afro-Brazilian Afrofuturist cinema

• In Event: Futures Real and Imagined

Description for Program

This paper delves into the thematic exploration of Afrocentric utopias in contemporary Afrofuturist cinema, focusing on the Afro-Brazilian musical short film Jornada [Journey; 2019] by Jonathan Ferr. The film employs the aesthetics of Afrofuturism through a combination of elements of mythology, technology, and ancestry to depict concerns of origin within the Afro-Atlantic diaspora. Within this, water symbolizes both a trope for black displacement as well as redemption. Thus, analyzing depictions of the river motif, and its implications for Black identity discourses, this paper argues that the film utilizes the motif of river and speculative returns to representative Africa to negotiate the past of diasporic Africans as well as reconstruct positive Black diasporic futures, especially to inspire hope within the Black racial psyche despite their dystopian realities. Through a critical analysis of this film, I demonstrate how contemporary Afrofuturist cinema envisions alternative Black futures by reimagining ancestral origins, spirituality, and cultural heritage. By engaging with this film, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of Afrofuturist aesthetics and its transformative potential in reshaping cultural imaginaries and envisioning more equitable futures for Black communities worldwide.

Author

• Ayodeji Olugbuyiro, Rice University