Blade: Afrofutrism is Badass!

 
    The movie Blade, released in 1998 stars Wesley Snipes as the primary protagonist. The film is about Blade, a half-human, half-vampire hybrid, who is also black. The reason I think this is such an important film is because of the time it was released, and having a black star. In 1998, having a black star was a rarity in holly wood. For example, the three highest-grossing films of the 90s were Titanic, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars EP. 1. These films are all relatively problematic with issues regarding race. All three of those films were incredibly popular for their time, and still are, and they do not host many black characters at all. This is where Blade, steps in: The film has a large population of white vampires who must be destroyed by a black actor. This narrative is not popular in cinematographic history in any circumstance. Regardless if they are vampires, they are still white and targeted by a black vampire slayer. I’d argue that this movie is definitely one of the better Afrofuturist films, and sadly there are not a lot. While it's still a movie from the 90s, and there are absolutely some issues with racial prejudice, I think it was a crucial film for black actors, and fueled the ideals of Afrofuturism in Hollywood.