Miles Morales: An Afro-futurist Icon

#videoessay #spiderman #spiderverse Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse isn't just an incredible looking piece of animation, but also a surprisingly complex Afro-Futurist deconstruction of the character of Miles Morales. By exploring how the film takes elements from its comic book influences, we can observe how its unique iteration of the character answers concerns of the genre! 00:00 Introduction 01:30 Defining Afro-Futurism and Spider-Man Traditions 04:01 Ultimate Spider-Man and Upward Social Mobility 07:25 Spiderverse and The Canon 11:50 Identity: Character, Visuals, and Music 15:29 Conclusion Works Cited Bendis, Brian Michael. Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Vol. 1. Marvel, 2011. Bryce, Jane. “African Futurism: Speculative Fictions and ‘Rewriting the Great Book.’” Research in African Literatures, vol. 50, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1–20., doi:10.2979/reseafrilite.50.1.01. Conway, Gerry, et al. Spider-Verse. Marvel, 2014. Eshun, Kodwo. “Further Considerations on Afrofuturism.” CR: The New Centennial Review, vol. 3, no. 2, 2017, pp. 287–302., doi:https://muse.jhu.edu/article/48294. Forest, Dan Hassler. “Utopian Afrofuturism in The Wiz.” Science Fiction Film & Television, pp. 88–90. “On Defining Afrofuturism.” Afrofuturism Rising: The Literary Prehistory of a Movement, by Isiah Lavender, Ohio State University Press, 2019, pp. 1–19. Persichetti, Bob, et al., directors. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Sony Pictures Releasing, 2018. Summers, Sam. “Adapting a Retro Comic Aesthetic with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Adaptation, vol. 12, no. 2, 2019, pp. 190–194., doi:10.1093/adaptation/apz014. Worlds, Mario, and Henry "Cody" Miller. “Miles Morales: Spider-Man and Reimagining the Canon for Racial Justice.” English Journal, vol. 108, no. 4, 2019, pp. 43–50.