The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art will host a screening of “Destination: Planet Negro!” at 6 p.m. Monday, April 2, in the Wildcat Chamber at the K-State Student Union.
This humorous and insightful “black futurism” film was written and directed by Kevin Willmott, Junction City native and University of Kansas professor of film and media studies, who also plays a main character. Willmott will be present to respond to audience comments and questions after the screening.
The basic premise of the film is that a group of black intellectuals in the 1930s decide that resettlement on Mars is the only hope for African Americans to escape racism. A party of three pioneers boards a rocket ship that, instead of bringing them to Mars, transports them through a time warp to contemporary Kansas City. At first they are elated to learn that Barack Obama is president, thinking racism has been overcome. They gradually learn how unfounded is their optimism.