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Palgrave Macmillan

Janelle Monáe’s "Dirty Computer"

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Dan Hassler-Forest

    1. Media & Culture Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

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  • Represents the first book-length study of Janelle Monáe’s acclaimed album project, Dirty Computer
  • Looks how Monae uses the aesthetic of Afrofuturism to engage with Black feminism, sexual identity & racial capitalism
  • Connects to other popular examples such as Black Panther, Sorry to Bother You & Get Out

Part of the book series: Palgrave Science Fiction and Fantasy: A New Canon (PSFFNC)

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Table of contents (4 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Janelle Monáe’s Afrofuturism

    • Dan Hassler-Forest
    Pages 1-19

  3. Reckoning: Queer Futurity

    • Dan Hassler-Forest
    Pages 21-39

  4. Celebration: Black Feminist Futures

    • Dan Hassler-Forest
    Pages 41-60

  5. Reclamation: Beyond Racial Capitalism

    • Dan Hassler-Forest
    Pages 61-82

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 83-96
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Keywords

About this book

 This book offers an in-depth analysis of Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer, an Afrofuturist project that appeared simultaneously as a concept album and a visual album or “emotion picture” in spring 2018. In the previous decade, Janelle Monáe has developed into a global media personality who effortlessly unites speculative world-building with social and political activism. Across the intersecting album and film that together make up Dirty Computer, Monáe brings together the science-fictional themes that informed her previous work, resulting in a powerfully focused artistic and political statement. While the music on the album can be enjoyed as an accessible collection of pop tracks, the accompanying film, music videos, and media paratexts add layers of meaning that combine speculative world-building with anti-racist activism. This unique convergence of energies, ideas, and media platforms has made Dirty Computer a new classic of Afrofuturist science fiction.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Media & Culture Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Dan Hassler-Forest

About the author

Dan Hassler-Forest works as Assistant Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Utrecht University. He has published books and articles on superhero movies, comics, transmedia storytelling, critical theory, and Star Wars. His recent work has been focused on race and global media, with a special focus in his last two books on the creative work of performing artist Janelle Monáe.

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