SZA’s Saturn & the Death of Political Imagination

This video asks a very simple question: why does escaping the world feel more possible than changing it? To answer this question, I compare SZA and Stevie Wonder’s songs “Saturn” to explore how our political imagination has changed over the past 50 years- using the work of Robin D. G. Kelley, Mark Fisher, and political science research. Thanks so much for watching, subscribe for more :) instagram: mell.508 tik tok: mell.508 0:00 Intro: Escape to Saturn 3:52 Freedom Dreams & the Black Cosmic Imagination 6:40 When Freedom Dreams Break 10:00 Find Something Worth Saving: SZA on Reflexive Impotence 11:43 Conclusion: Beyond Saturn, Into Earth Sources: (1) John E. Mueller, “Trends in Popular Support for the Wars in Korea and Vietnam” (2) Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? (3) Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, “Testing Theories of American Politics” (4) Robin D. G. Kelley, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (5) Stevie Wonder, “Saturn” (6) SZA, “Saturn” #SZA #StevieWonder #Saturn #FreedomDreams #BlackRadicalImagination #PoliticalScience #BlackStudies #VideoEssay