Starship Fonzie

  So, I was evaluating this year's Hugo Award nominees, and came across a doozy of a controversy. Going through the nominees list, I went back-to front, just like the awards ceremony does, and started first with the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. First name on the list: Lindsey Ellis. I googled her name to see what she'd done lately to garner a Hugo nomination, and immediately found a shitload of websites reporting that she'd been cancelled on Twitter. Half of them supported her, half said she deserved it, and nobody was clear on which side of the political aisle that they were on. What, what?!   When I made my recommendations list for the Hugo Awards back in February, I recommended Isabel Fall for her trans-positive short story, "I Sexually Identify As An Attack Helicopter," even though, and because of the fact that, many of her allies attacked her for misunderstanding the story based on its title. I strongly felt that a fellow liberal should be strongly...

"Afrofuturism" is becoming a real trend. As it gains ground, many people want to know more about what it is, what it isn't, and how one might get on board. It should be noted that Afrofuturism is difficult to define because it can have different meanings to different people. Some even argue that "Afrofuturism" is a misnomer. For the purposes of this blog, the definition is anything pro-black or pro-Africa that has an impact in science fiction books and movies. But it should also be noted that the phenomenon extends into music, comic books, paintings, and other forms of art. Certainly the phenomenon begins with the emergence of great black sci fi writers, and the two most cited (for good reason) are Samuel R. Delany and Octavia E. Butler. During the New Wave era (roughly 60's and 70's), Delany blazed the trail with edgy science fiction which was blunt in its depictions of black characters, cultural rebels, and homosexuality. But he did this with a beauty ...