The fantasy of being a space alien can be found in both black culture and queer culture, and these worlds collide in "The Gospel According to Miss Roj" by George C. Wolfe. In Chapter Six of Murder Most Queer, I discuss this vignette from Wolfe's The Colored Museum (1986) in relation to the Afro-Futurism of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the film Brother from Another Planet, as well as the queer sci-fi glam of Ziggy Stardust and The Rocky Horror Show.
Miss Roj, a fierce snap queen who claims to be an alien from another planet, is a "homo superior" rather than "your regular oppressed American Negro." Wolfe complicates this fantasy of empowerment, however, by indicating that Miss Roj's special abilities may come from a more sinister realm. The more Bacardi and Cokes she consumes in a gay bar known as The Bottomless Pit (read: Hell), the more her "demons" take over.
Her weapon of choice is the snap, which underscores a truth and can steal a heartbeat. A series of snaps can cause a homophobic racist to drop dead from a heart attack. This empowerment, then, includes the ability to kill with a vengeance, taking control over the power of death in a world filled with horrors that threaten to destroy Miss Roj -- and the rest of us. As a black queer alien, this triply alienated observer of our "deteriorating society" has a grasp on the truth, and we ignore her gospel at our peril.
Below is video of the "Miss Roj" vignette from the PBS version of the Public Theatre production of The Colored Museum with the amazing Reggie Montgomery. Snap!
Miss Roj, a fierce snap queen who claims to be an alien from another planet, is a "homo superior" rather than "your regular oppressed American Negro." Wolfe complicates this fantasy of empowerment, however, by indicating that Miss Roj's special abilities may come from a more sinister realm. The more Bacardi and Cokes she consumes in a gay bar known as The Bottomless Pit (read: Hell), the more her "demons" take over.
Her weapon of choice is the snap, which underscores a truth and can steal a heartbeat. A series of snaps can cause a homophobic racist to drop dead from a heart attack. This empowerment, then, includes the ability to kill with a vengeance, taking control over the power of death in a world filled with horrors that threaten to destroy Miss Roj -- and the rest of us. As a black queer alien, this triply alienated observer of our "deteriorating society" has a grasp on the truth, and we ignore her gospel at our peril.
Below is video of the "Miss Roj" vignette from the PBS version of the Public Theatre production of The Colored Museum with the amazing Reggie Montgomery. Snap!
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