Just want to make sure we’ve all seen this video before Black Panther drops tonight. SZA is fucking majestic and Kendrick is a wonderful, cinematic version of himself, and overall the video is a pretty beautiful space to inhabit, which I think is the point of Black Panther in the first place (please read why in the Times piece, Why Black Panther is a Defining Moment for Black America). While celebrating the video and the film, I also want to direct you to a live art show in New York. Lina Iris Viktor, a British-Liberian artist, was contacted by the Disney & Marvel people to have her art featured in the All The Stars video, and she refused because the finances didn’t make sense. After she said no, they replicated her work instead (see the 2:59 mark), giving her no credit or compensation– not cool– and she’s been pretty vocal about it since. Def still support Black Panther, but also support Viktor and visit her solo exhibition at The Armory March 8-11 (she has another show in New Orleans starting in October).
V, v excited to catch opening weekend in South Africa. In case you are wondering if people down here are also psyched, take a look at #BlackPantherChallengeSA : costumes, costumes, costumes. But the pan-African fantasy aesthetic of film and, in particular, the Kendrick video, is seeing a little critique as well. From a recent Mail & Guardian article: “There are a plethora of references to African cultural movements, like the sapeurs of the Congo and the pantsula culture of South Africa. In the music video, all of these references appear in a decontextualised mélange that seems to premise aesthetic over a narrative thread.” Which is totally true, but while the article poses it as a problem, the grab bag of afro-references makes sense in the context of the diaspora. Black Panther is an American movie, and because America has erased so many people’s connections to the places their ancestors are from, America’s embrace of blackness often looks like an embrace of Africa at large. Which would understandably seem insensitive to a person who lives in Africa and intuitively understands which aesthetics belong where. I know I’m pointing you in a million different media directions right now, but take a listen to the episode of Code Switch that explores this issue expertly: “What’s So Wrong With African Americans Wearing African Clothes?“
I recently learned about this program called Remote Year that lets you do your regular job from a different city in the world each month– they set you up with an apartment, coworking space, and smaller culture trips so you can actually get your job done *and* also get the most out of touring the world. In short, you skip the hassle of setting your life up every time you go to a new place, so you can just move around seamlessly without interrupting your work. We met a few ‘remotes’ (their name for program participants) stationed in Cape Town this week and they’re all real people with real jobs at ad agencies and startups and stuff. From what we gathered, the structure of Remote Year a was a nice bargaining chip in getting their companies to let them work from abroad all year; for example, their programs have people dedicated to things like making sure you have strong wifi whether you’re in Bogotà or Marrakech. So anyway, if you’re feeling trapped by your office right now, this might be something to think about. Learn more here.
