Foundational Text & Critical Dossier Art Criticism: Is the Prefix ‘Afro-’ (as in “Afro-Futurism”) Arresting Our Imagination and Manifesto Salesmanship? Originally published in 2013 on IndieWire / Shadow and Act ; republished in This Is Africa . The essay proposed that the "Afro-" prefix functioned as a marketing tool that tethered the African imagination to Western manifestos rather than allowing for a sovereign identity. The essay prompted a variety of responses from movement leaders, including Rasheedah Phillips (The Afrofuturist Affair) and Sherese Francis, and has since been cited in academic research: D. Scot Miller (October 04, 2016): In his essay "Afrosurreal: The Marvelous And The Invisible," the author of The Afrosurreal Manifesto identified my work as the "prime example" of the critique against the "Afro-" prefix. Rasheedah Phillips & Sherese Francis (2014): In direct response to the...
Anti-Interview / Satirical Dialogue My Interview with Boots Riley Originally published: May 23, 2019 | Revised: January 30, 2026 After watching Sorry to Bother You , the cognitive dissonance of its anti-capitalist posture required some processing. What follows is a satirical dialogue with director Boots Riley exploring the mechanics of luxury beliefs, market curation, and the illusion of rebellion. — Transcript — Me: I am here with Boots Riley, the director of the anti-capitalist movie Sorry to Bother You . Thanks, Boots, for joining me. Boots: Yeah, yeah, let's get this done with. Me: First question. What I found interesting in your movie is that there are no robots in it! It feels somewhat weird to have a movie critiquing capitalism in 2018 with no robots, while in real life, people are losing jobs to automation. I’ve even received telemarketing calls from machines... they replaced workers with software as early as 2015. Boots: Look, I made that m...