R.E.A.L Talk Self EP 1

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eCFX_Im_i4&t=98s

In The first episode of R.E.A.L Talk Self, Gina interviews her Friend Malcolm Benz which talks about talks about Afro-futureism, which is science fiction art and the study of past events that deals with the culture. Also Benz has a work physical space to bring awareness to black empowerment group so which purpose is to work on projects together and curate different spaces submit for like different museums.

The term Afrofuturism, started in 1993, seeks to regain black identity through art, culture, and political resistance. It is an intersectional lens through which to view possible futures or alternate realities, though it is rooted in chronological fluidity. That’s to say it is as much a reflection of the past as a projection of a brighter future in which black and African culture does not hide in the margins of the white mainstream.

In this topic of Afro-futureism, Gina and her guest Malcolm dives into the topic by naming the most important names of the movement such as Grace Jones in which she proclaimed that “she wasn’t born this way” in her 1974 album. With her almost instinctively rawboned hair-cut and polished make-up transforming her dark skin metallic, a look she’d play up to with avant-garde stage get-ups and experimental photo shoots. Another aspect that Grace Jones to afrofuturism, is her innovative and androgynous lifestyle due to the fact that she was breaking away from the norm and doing her own thing and managed to be authentic.

Another idea that Gina and guest Malcolm talks about in this segment is “Afropunk.” This event is important to the topic of Afro-futureism because it signifies a growing movement of the participation of African Americans and other black people around the world in punk rock scene. The festival made it’s start at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in 2005, and has grown to other parts of the world. Also the festival was founded by James Spooner and Matthew Morgan through Spooner's 2003 documentary film Afro-Punk, which showcased punks of African-American decent across the nation and later around the globe. To reach a bigger demographic, the festival turned to different genres of music such as soul music and hip hop, attracting performers like Ice Cube, Lauryn Hill, Lenny Kravitz, and Gary Clark, Jr.

Overall, this segment was interesting and about having fun with the idea of Afro-futureism. The dynamic of the show was constructed Miss hunt’s fellow producers Rickey Corporan and Deborah Liverman from how the video was constructed such as the lighting from the stage development. The main purpose show a different social construct where people can experience these last few decades what has changed or what is still the same in this culture of Afro-futurism. Furthermore Gina and Malcolm Benz talk about building a major fundraising event to hold 1300 people for networking purposes and to see the growing trend of Afro-futureism in the 21st century.

People are going to be expecting new and innovated ideas from Malcolm Benz and his theory on Afro-futurism such as mentorship program where different people will be mentored and paired another person in order to help each other within perspective craft in the arts and music. This program is going to be with “bigger than the Kids Creative” says Malcolm Benz. Kids Creative is an after school program where today’s youth are involved with peace education during their academic studies. In this mentorship program Malcolm Benz wants a space with a dozen computers with major Audio and visual softwares such Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Auditions and so much in order for student can work on their creativity based on Afro-Futurism.