he went crazy. “SF is like my church,” said Smith, now 47 and living in Philadelphia. “It’s a spiritual thing, and it has a lot to do with me being a black and queer person.”
Mainstream sci-fi features black characters like Morpheus. matrixfrom Mace Windu Star Warsand Major Laforge and Ms. Uhura Star TrekIn general, however, black characters are not given the same prominence and screen time as white characters. Fat, black bodies are rare.
“I find it hard to believe that fat people in general are treated and depicted as second-class citizens in science fiction, or that they are made to represent things like greed, lust, or malice. ,” Smith said. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen sand dunes.undefinedundefined“I used to do a queer sci-fi reading series called Laser Life,” he added. The character’s obesity was described in abhorrent terms and was considered a clear indicator of their villainy. ”
Smith, already an established visual artist, embraced these tools when an easily accessible AI art generator came out last year. some black, fat, weird characters From a more inclusive future world.Among them are Smith with Midjourney bottom, an AI platform that creates talking avatars. Marcus heads a division of the Electric Afro-Science Institute, which Smith calls “an independent superhero-driven Afro-futurist organization working on biomechanics, space engineering, nanotechnology and medical alchemy.” .
Smith described Marcus, who is queer, as “kind of a smart Alec.” She’s a big, cuddly geek who thinks she’s a bit of a yakuza. He likes studying moths and ants, trying to find out how insect life can be replicated in human life. ‘ In an animated portrait of Marcus posted by Smith on Instagram, a character asks, ‘Who draws me here?
