>>508086282
It occurred to me years ago while reading Wole Basedinka's version of the Bacchae that black culture and identity is entirely oriented around how they think white people perceive them. Basedinka had a rich mythological narrative to draw from in his adaptation and yet despite the depth of Euripides, Basedinka's mind could not see beyond his perceived discrimination as a minority he wrote his version of the Bacchae to be centered around slavery and persecution of blacks.

This is when it occurred to me that black art in every form - literature, film, painting - revolves around this. Even ones that try and envision a truly original Pan-African concept or worldview always reads like a "reaction", or is posed as a contrast between the state they have found themselves in today or throughout the history of their dealings with white people. Can blacks conceive of ANY original concept for themselves, any group identity, separate from the fact that they were slaves or experience a perceived discrimination?