They Not Like Us: Cinematic Visions of Afrosurrealism explores the powerful and imaginative world of Afrosurrealism in contemporary American cinema. From the works of artists like Henry Dumas and Sun-Ra to literary giants like Toni Morrison, Afrosurrealism, as a mode of creative expression, has been an artistic genre deployed to blend elements of surrealism with the lived experiences of the African diaspora, using the real, the bizarre, and the fantastical to articulate the complex realities of race and identity. In our contemporary world, where truth often feels stranger than fiction, Afrosurrealism has emerged as a critical lens through which filmmakers are expressing resistance to systemic oppression. Join noted author, scholar, and MoAD’s Cultural Critic-in-Residence Dr. Artel Great (SFSU) for a thought-provoking lecture presentation that offers an aesthetic, social, cultural, and political examination of how Afrosurrealism has become increasingly relevant in the United States, particularly as a lens to navigate and critique the persistent racial condition and issues of social justice that continue to shape Black life. This event will cover groundbreaking works such as HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness, Sorry to Bother You, Blindspotting, Get Out, and the Academy Award-winning short film Two Distant Strangers. The centerpiece of the program will feature an illuminating analysis of the deeply provocative motion picture They Cloned Tyrone, exploring how the film uses Afrosurrealism to navigate and expose the absurdities and cyclical nature of systemic inequality in America, and the creative ways that cinema artists resist and push back against these forces.

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