We chose to include a sound clip from one of Sun Ra’s most popular songs, “Space is the Place.” This is a prime example of Sun Ra using his music to convey his alternate persona as an alien as so that he transcends the ideas of racism and is looked at as more than just black.
7 thoughts on “Space is the Race”
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Great job on the trailer! I really enjoyed it, especially the bit from “Space is the Place.” I think Sun Ra’s take on regarding himself as an alien is really peculiar–was that just his stage presence? I don’t know much about afrofuturism, but I’m curious to learn more and find out how Sun Ra’s beliefs translate through his work.
Awesome trailer. I love the approach Sun Ra is taking to break through racial barriers. I have never heard anything like this before but its a really cool topic and I can’t wait to learn more about it!
Great Job on the podcast. It is really interesting how Sun Ra broke through racial barriers and discrimination by declaring himself an alien and from an entirely different planet. I have not heard of afrofuturism before, but I would love to learn more. On a side note, I have played one of his pieces, Saturn (on tuba), and its was one of the most eccentric, chop busting pieces that I have ever played. 🙂
Great job on the trailer. I find it really interesting how you brought up the point in your trailer how Sun Ra wanted to be viewed as an alien from outer space rather than a black jazz musician. It may be interesting in your final podcast to talk about other artists in todays mainstream music who brand themselves as something “out of this world” to further their carrier and not be pushed into a genre of a one trick pony. One example I could think of off the top of my head would be Die Antwoord, which is a duo who brands themeless as almost this out of this world creature duo. It may be interesting to compare and contrast two artist that brand themselves as aliens who made it to the mainstream using this tactic. Great job and I cant wait to hear the final podcast.
This is a really cool topic. I think that Sun Ra takes a really unique approach to racism in the US. It is a little weird to think of him as an alien, and I am interested to find out why he chooses this. I also would love to find out more about how his alien-like music connects to the social issues of his time. The sound itself is not personally appealing to me, but I like the larger metaphor that it represents- Sun Ra being an outsider in his own home country because of his race. Really cool introduction to this topic!
Sun Ra seems really fascinating. I had never heard of him before, and now I want to know all about him. Also, I’m really interested to know what afrofuturism is! You added really great details about him that made me excited to learn more. Great job!
I find it very odd and kind of awesome that he wanted people to think of him as an alien. Do you think he meant this in a literal way or did it have some metaphorical deeper meaning regarding his style of music?