“While the #OurLivesMatter photo that opens this chapter issues from the same impulse to preserve Black life, it redirects the rage of young people to the realm of the doable… Progressive Dystopia maps the tension between these two tenses of victory, and amplifies the lessons Frisco fugitives have for us as we dream an impossible world in which their lives do, in fact, matter” (21)
Shange’s introductory chapter strikes a remarkable balance between what is and what could be, weaving in and out of dyads (Afropessissimism and Afrofuturism, dystopia and utopia, visionary fictions and lived realities). I was particularly struck by Shange’s encouragement to look to speculative (science) fiction(s) to imagine our own futurity. In part, I was simply surprised at their willingness to talk about “the inherently utopian nature of the reformist endeavor” (12). I have always thought that to advocate and work towards a better future, one must make it sound realistic; to think about reform as utopian is, to an extent, to frame abolition as an impossibility, one that places truly emancipatory futures only within the imagined realms of speculative fiction. But perhaps Shange is right to call upon Trouillot’s notion of nonevents as the truly revolutionary sites. Perhaps a truly liberatory futurity is hidden behind a nonevent for us, tied to a utopia that is veiled by our dystopian present…. excited to talk more about this with y’all on Tuesday!!
Hi Stephanie!
Sorry for just now seeing this–– I will email you my presentation (with notes!). To your second point, I think nonevent-ness both proceeds and follows revolution in hindsight; I’ve read the Trouillot piece and one of his central claims is that the Haitian Revolution was unthinkable before and was made into a nonevent because of it’s unthinkable-ness (that’s so many fake-ish words in the sentence but I hope you see what I’m getting at). I think reform is comfortable in ways that feel like an achievable utopia; to dream of a seemingly fictional future, on the other hand, is to pursue the unthinkable and thus work towards a non-event!
Hi Mandy!
Unfortunately came down with something this week and couldn’t make it to class today, but I’m very interested in what you had to share! Would it be possible for you to send me some of your notes?
I’d love to know what you guys discussed with regards to the introductory chapter and the notion of “utopian” reform. Why do you think we remain drawn to concepts of utopia in reform even when we acknowledge that realism is what will probably drive our work towards a better future? If, as Shange and Trouillot say, nonevents are what is truly revolutionary, why does it often take hindsight to recognize them as revolutionary? IDK I might be misunderstanding the concept! Clarification and insight is much appreciated 🙂