Brown Bag Research Talk: Shift Consciousness with Brandy Monk-Payton

“Shift consciousness” is the tagline for the avant-garde HBO series Random Acts of Flyness, created by Terence Nance. This groundbreaking program blends drama, comedy, and animation to generate an Afro-surreal experience described as a “durationary decaying sculpture.” This talk with Brandy Monk-Payton, associate professor of communication and media studies and affiliate faculty in African and African American studies, explores how Random Acts of Flyness activates alternative affective schemas and redefines Black life through experimental television art.