They thought it was gonna make 700 million, but it actually made 1. 3 billion. So it had a business impact, it had a community impact, it opened up doors. dramatic music Rocket Thrusting it showed that these kinds of stories, looking at black speculative fiction, looking at afrofuturism and blacks in scifi, looking at horror was also highly profitable. Scifi is really a conversation about our humanity and mans relationship to technology and exploring other worlds. Its really exciting to know that more blackcentric Science Fiction is making its way onto the television screens, finally. Black people have always loved Science Fiction and have always loved fantasy. We just didnt know it. When you think of how broad that landscape is, to not include every single individual that is participating in the world, then its a lie. We have millions and millions of stories that need to be told. And us getting our due is literally just opening the gates for everyone else. upbeat music no Ray Gun Firi
but the lead-in show was a show called m.a.n.t.i.s. which starred carl lumbly as the first black superhero on network television. - it was really groundbreaking to have a black superhero on television. and for many people, this was one of their first examples of afrofuturism in science fiction television. - they ve been stung by a mantis. - get him! - carl lumbly stars as this man who s been shot by the police. - somebody help me! - he s paralyzed, but builds an exoskeleton that gives him the ability to walk. and with that ability comes for him the responsibility of fighting violence. - i m carl lumbly and i was television s first black superhero. didn t know it. assumed that there must ve been another one just, you know, one i hadn t heard about. - you can go on destroying each other