Today we talk to writer and thinker Akande X, a Black Life Alum who in 2018 shared their multimedia presentation “That Feeling When” explores the intersection of blackness, comedy, the Internet, and politics. In an moment when white nationalism has a deep foothold in Internet culture, “TFW” provides a theoretical approach to the ethics of the Internet and the substance of memes as comedy and as political message, revealing how memes are one of the most subversive, volatile, and promising black art forms today. In our conversation we cover affect theory, their work as the editor of Maji News, a Afrofuturist community newspaper, and theorist Aria Dean's seminal article on meme culture Poor Meme, Rich Meme. 

Show Notes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basedzizek/

Aria Dean Article: https://reallifemag.com/poor-meme-rich-meme/ (Poor Meme, Rich Meme) 

Affect Theory: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/emotion/

Book Recommendation: https://lithub.com/ottessa-moshfeghs-year-of-anything-but-rest-and-relaxation/

Outro Song TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@itsjustnyissa/video/6849116103512247558?lang=en

Photo Credit: Andrea Nieto