Examining Afrofuturism in Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “The Water Dancer”

Abstract

This paper explores the significant role Afrofuturism plays in Ta-Nehisi Coates’s novel “The Water Dancer.” Much of Coates’s novel is based on Afrofuturism which is a literary movement that integrates features of science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction with topics and issues related to Afro-American diasporic cultures. The paper aims at examining the way Afrofuturist aspects deepen the plot’s development and the exploration of its theme. It also examines the ways through which aspects of Afrofuturism provide a space for disempowered voices to create alternative reality and reimagined future through sciences fiction heroism. The novel’s protagonist possesses a supernaturally powerful memory that enables him to transport himself and other people across great distances. The paper shows how the power of memory enables the protagonist to access his powers and to have an actual transition from slavery to freedom-only possible through fully remembering the past. It clarifies how Afrofuturism contributes to The Water Dancer through enhancing the novel’s thematic depth and its cultural significance.