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Throughout the course, we have discussed how Afrofuturism utilizes science fiction and surrealism to challenge real life social and political issues. Two films that touch on this topic and stood out to me were Sorry to Bother You and Brother From Another Planet. These films consist of futuristic things that challenge racism, capitalism, immigration systems, and the pressure to conform in the U.S. Although they aren’t quite similar their message is similar as they show how marginalized people battle survival in systems where they are set to fail. They also highlight how Afrofuturism connects to the present with imagined futures to reveal the reality of the world that we currently live in today.

In Sorry to Bother You, Cassius Green, the main character, is not financially stable and seeks employment at Regal View, in telemarketing to survive. He struggles in the beginning and is told to use his “white voice” by a coworker when speaking to customers. Immediately after he began code-switching and sounding “white”, he became successful enough to be promoted to a higher-paying position called Power Caller. This part is very important in today’s world because it reflects how people of color are pressured to change their tone and forced to act differently in order to be accepted in professional spaces. The “white voice” that Cassius Green uses is a symbol of assimilation and how success in corporate America relies on fitting into white expectations. But that isn’t the worst part, the worst part is when he realizes that the company is secretly selling slave labor via WorryFree. To get the workers to join, they promise them food, housing, but once they’re in, they lose their freedom and are stuck under exploitative conditions; connecting to modern capitalism today and showing how corporations profit from workers while “helping” them. A quote that stood out to me from the film was when Squeeze said “If you get shown a problem, and you have no idea how to control it, you just decide to get used to the problem.” I think that this shows why so many people ignore injustice even when they know something is wrong. Cassius accepts the corruption because he likes the amount of money they promised and the success he has made, but eventually realized that he became a complicit in a system where he is harming others including his own people. Humans being transformed into half horsehuman creatures called Equisapeans show how capitalism dehumanizes workers and treats them like machines and animals instead of human beings. The transformation was very disturbing in the film allowing it to be a powerful message and realize that money isn’t everything in life and that things that sound too good are most likely fake. 

Moreover, Brother From Another Planet is also important in bringing up social issues through sci-fi. The film is about an alien who crashes and lands in New York City and cannot speak. Because he is very quiet and different, people question where he is from and whether he belongs here or not. This is very important in today’s world as it reflects the experiences of immigrants and marginalized communities in the U.S. who are treated like “aliens”. The alien is associated with being “illegal”, and reflects real-life immigration debates and discrimination. A scene that stood out to me was when the woman emphasizes that a kid overdosed last night and a piece of paper does not reflect a person’s legal status. The alien in the film also has some sort of technological power because things he touches are repaired or opened. This example shows how those treated as “others” contribute positively and cause no harm to anyone while they are treated as an “alien”. Even though the alien is not a bad person he is hunted down and feared of criticizing racism and xenophobia as it shows how society sees differences as dangerous. The alien’s silence allows him to observe human behavior very well, especially violence, poverty, and inequality around New York City. 

Therefore, Sorry to Bother You and Brother From Another Planet utilize Afrofuturism to criticize society in the U.S. and challenge injustice. Both films highlight how people are treated as “others” and forced to survive in systems that are built on exploitation and injustices. The films encourage the audience to stand up against capitalism, racism, immigration, and conformity with surrealism and sci-fi. Although these films seem fictional and futuristic, they are a reflection of the world we live in today.