cracked:

Sometimes a hero’s got to break a few eggs to make an omelet, or, you know, brainwash some kids to fight the Matrix.

6 Movie Good Guys You Didn’t Notice Were Total Hypocrites

#6. Morpheus in The Matrix Fights Against Slavery, Has an Army of Child Soldiers

Think about it — when Neo is recovering from getting his brain unplugged from the robots’ Dream Machine, Morpheus explains to him that he and his fellow rebels “never free a mind once it’s reached a certain age. It’s dangerous. The mind has trouble letting go.” Zion evidently doesn’t subscribe to the teachings of En Vogue.

Basically, Morpheus is saying that adults tend to have trouble letting go of the Matrix (this becomes a major plot point when a member of their team betrays them for the opportunity to get plugged back in). So they recruit kids, because kids are more impressionable, more willing to take up an idealistic cause, and more pliable — they can be handed weapons and told to kill something without asking too many questions. They are then tossed into a world of violence and strife and told that their lives can have only one path (death to all robots). Which is slavery. Which is the thing Morpheus is supposed to be fighting against.

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We guess its supposed to be satire, given that its cracked.com and all, but we found this to be a shallow analysis of Morpheus’ role in the film. However, given the lens of the film, and the controversy around who originated the ideas in the film, we could understand how a non-Afrofuturistic or Black-centered analysis of this film could yield such an interpretation.  We would love to read (or write) a more Afrofuturistic interpretation of the Matrix in the context of the controversy surrounding Sophia Stewart’s involvement.

Also, here is an interesting article that posits Morpheus as a “magical negro” in the film, and explores other sci-films which make use of slavery in the narrative: http://www.kintespace.com/rasx45.html

(Source: cracked.com)

artmusicvegan:

Robert Pruitt’s solo exhibit Fun With Your New Head  is on view at General Audience Presents in Miami through April 27th. General Audience Presents, is a project space presenting exhibitions that encourage a discourse between the Miami arts community and emerging and mid-career contemporary artists. View more of Pruitt’s work in the archives. 

Artist Robert Pruitt  was born in Washington DC, but currently lives and works in Houston TX. He makes drawings and sculptures about the complexity of black identity by combining contrasting signs and imagery of disparate Black influences and aesthetics. He layers Science Fiction, Hip Hop, comic books, and black political and social struggles into layered portraits of his friends and community. 

THE BLACK TRIBBLES PRESENTS: OCTAVIA CITY

The Black Tribbles Radio show is CALLING ALL WRITERS AND STORYTELLERS OF BLACK SCI-FI & AFROFUTURISM for OCTAVIA CITY, original tales of Afrofuturism, w/ special guest Rasheedah Phillips of The AfroFuturist Affair! You are invited to share your stories with the world on Thursday, April 25^th, 2013 from 8-11pm LIVE on the BLACK TRIBBLES radio show w/ co-host Gabriel Bryant of Stepping Into Tomorrow on Gtown Radio. Email blacktribbles@gmail.com if you would like to participate in this very special event (no matter where in the multiverse/universe/earth/sea you may be)! 

oeblegacy:

Today is the Day for the #octaviabutler celebration. Tune in to the live stream - 5 PM (2 PM Pacific Time) http://bit.ly/162Zeo0.

Check it, Here is the schedule:http://bit.ly/102GgtR

(via oeblegacyarchive)

oeblegacy:

_{(Pictured: Butler reading a book in 1975)}

“In order to rise
From its own ashes
A phoenix
First
Must
Burn.”

—Octavia Butler, Parable of the Talents

(via oeblegacyarchive)