Astro Black: Race for Space

The film provocatively suggests that space is not a neutral frontier but a site where cultural politics are enacted. By having Sun Ra, an African American jazz innovator, pre-emptively colonise space with his intergalactic ensemble, it challenges the dominant narratives of space exploration. It implies that artistic and cultural claims can be as significant as territorial ones, questioning who has the right to define and inhabit new realms.

Information regarding specific streaming availability for 'Astro Black: Race for Space' in Australia is not readily available within the provided context. As an episode within a larger installation cycle, its distribution might be tied to gallery screenings or specialised digital platforms rather than mainstream streaming services. It is advisable to check contemporary arts and film archives or the Soda_Jerk collective's official channels for current viewing options.

Sun Ra is the central figure, presented as a visionary artist whose genius was divinely or extraterrestrially inspired. The film uses his persona to explore themes of cultural liberation and the power of music to transcend earthly limitations. His 'colonisation' of space represents an assertion of artistic autonomy and a radical reimagining of humanity's place in the universe, driven by a profound, otherworldly musical understanding.

The film is a fictionalised exploration of Sun Ra's mythology. It takes his personal claim of alien abduction and weaves it into a speculative narrative. While rooted in Sun Ra's life and the historical event of the moon landing, it functions as a creative reinterpretation, blending biography, science fiction, and avant-garde artistic concepts to explore themes of identity and cosmic destiny.

Rather than a literal conquest, the film uses space as a metaphor for uncharted cultural and artistic territory. It posits Sun Ra as a pioneer, claiming outer space not for earthly powers but as a canvas for radical musical expression. The 'colonisation' by The Arkestra suggests a pre-emptive artistic occupation, challenging the very notion of who gets to define and inhabit new frontiers, both physically and conceptually.

This piece reimagines Sun Ra's narrative, proposing that his unique musical vision stemmed from an alien encounter in 1943 Chicago. Morpheus, an extraterrestrial, supposedly presented him with a pivotal choice. The episode then leaps to the 1969 moon landing, where Neil Armstrong finds Sun Ra and his Arkestra have already established a presence in outer space, raising intriguing questions about cultural ownership and the colonisation of the cosmos.