Category word meaning

The term Afrofuturism was coined by culture critic Mark Dery in 1994 in his essay Black to the Future to point out the lack of black writers and black stories in science fiction. Dery described the term as a type of speculative fiction that treats African-American themes and addresses these individuals concerns in the context of the 20th Century techno-culture. This sub-genre of science fiction is one where black artists can tell stories of their limited past intertwined with their complicated present to come up with new ideas and reimagine a future which is divorced from the racial and cultural stereotypes that society perpetuates on them. This future is often more hopeful and includes themes such as liberation that have long been the core element of the black experience.

The works labelled Afrofuturism transverse the categories from literature, philosophy, and music to films and visual art. Some musicians who have incorporated Afrofuturism in their work aesthetically and sonically include Janelle Monáe and Sun Ra. In literature, Octavia E. Butler's groundbreaking book Kindred and Tomi Adeyemi's 2018 novel Children of Blood and Bone explore and merge African-American literature and mythology with themes that are relevant today. In cinema, the success of Marvel's Black Panther solidifies the entry of Afrofuturism on the big screen, giving young black boys and girls a chance to imagine themselves as superheroes.

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Essentially created as a counter of grimdark a sub-genre of fantasy fiction that emphasises the flaws in human nature and its capacity for cruelty (typified by books such as George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire), the term hopepunk was coined in a 2017 Tumblr post by American author Alexandra Rowland. Her post went viral, and in 2019 hopepunk entered the Collins English Dictionary, which defined it as "a literary and artistic movement that celebrates the pursuit of positive aims in the face of adversity".

In the midst of the present political, economic and environmental uncertainties, it is easy to feel weary and hopeless. However, works that come under the literary genre of hopepunk motivate one to work towards creating a better world and believe in humankind's capability to bring about positive change. Here are a few books from this genre to lift your spirit: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland.

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Global warming is changing horror movies, and the popularity of the up-and-coming horror subgenre eco-horror or ecological horror suggests that it is not likely to stop anytime soon. These movies are taking inspiration from humankind's fractured relationship with the environment to present scenarios where nature fights back against its two-legged inhabitant's misuse and exploitation of the planet's resources.

The first rumbling of eco-horror can be traced back to the mid-2000s, with disaster stories depicting nature itself as the monster threatening to wipe out all of humanity on Earth. The earliest example of this include release of climate disaster epics such as The Day After Tomorrow and documentaries  such as An Inconvenient Truth that shocked the general public's conscience. Since then we have seen more and more eco-war movies that aim at reminding us that we merely exist as an extension of nature and can never take complete control of it.

Some examples from the genre that represents the existential dread we feel about the irreversible damage we have done to the planet include books turned movies such as The Girl with All the Gifts, Annihilation, and Crawl.

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We play any sport to try and win, right? Not by everyone and not always. While you might be thinking about match fixing in sports, we are actually talking about tanking.

Tanking in sports corresponds to the practice by a team or an individual to intentionally do less than everything they can to win. The logic behind tanking usually revolves around future gains. While a team finishing last in some leagues (think basketball, American football) might get a first draft for a new player next season, individuals (think tennis, badminton) might be tanking in order to conserve energy in order to perform better in the next phase of the game. Tanking is mostly frowned upon by players, pundits, and fans and is even sometimes referred to as a disgraceful art and not sporting.

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If you've ever played chess, you will be aware that a player usually moves only a single piece. We say "usually because there is one time in chess when you can move two pieces in one move. Castling is that move.

Castling is a special move to protect the king on the board and activate the rook. During this move, the king moves two squares to the left or right and the rook moves directly to the other side of the king. Keep in mind that castling can be done only if neither the king nor the rook have made a move, and there are no pieces in the way. Castling cannot be done when in check, into check or through check.

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Football is the most popular sport in the world. Part of the charm lies in the fact that all that's usually needed to play it is a football, with even makeshift arrangements serving as goal posts when playing for fun. Additionally, the sport is very easy to understand as the rules are very simple…….. except the offside rule.

In simple terms, the offside rule mandates that an attacking player in the opposition half must have at least two opposition players, including the goalkeeper, between her and the opposition goal when a pass is played to her during a move.

Even though the rule has been around for over a century, it isn't easy to understand. The best way to get to grips with it is by watching it in action, for which you will get plenty of chances during the FIFA World Cup that begins on November 20.

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