The Place is Space!

 The Place is Space!

 

Space is the Place, is an extraordinary film that we watched in class, dissected, and wrote about. It is a fascinating afrofuturist piece that explores many diverse topics such as space, aliens, race, American culture, and racism. From the jump, we are introduced to a truly fascinating character, Sun Ra. He is portrayed, more or less as a god, and incites a peaceful black revolution on planet earth, as he's an alien from an all-black planet. Primarily, we view the movie through Sun Ra’s escapades as he is set to free the black race on earth from exploitation. Through music and technology, Sun Ra hosts a world-shattering concert that frees the oppressed from America to his planet. The film is absolutely weird: With strange characters like the overseer, bizarre costumes, and incredible set design, it’s truly a fun watch. I wouldn’t say it’s a great movie, however, the context in which the movie is made, and the story it presents, are really valuable for the afrofuturist movement which should be celebrated and heard.