Two and Three: Chicano- and Afro-futurism in Umbrella Academy
- Andrea M Escalante
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s Umbrella Academy took the world by storm with their non-normative but relatable family in 2019. The seven supernaturally gifted children who make up the Umbrella Academy are introduced to us as nothing more than numbers. Adopted by billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves and turned into a superhero team, these children are deprived of their choices and sense of identity right from birth. These number-names are only changed by Grace, their robot-mother, who encourages and names six of them: Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Ben, and Vanya.
While their characters were not highlighted in season 1, there is a narrative shift towards Diego and Allison in season 2 that marks an important shift in the world of science fiction when it comes to mainstream representation. Catherine S. Ramírez introduces the term Chicanafturism and explains it as: “[chicano futurism] explores the ways that new and everyday technology transform Mexican-American life and culture”. Afrofuturism, which inspired Chicanafuturism, is defined as: science fiction and technology to explore Black history and culture.
In science fiction shows and films, there is an erasure of brown subjects that renders them as collateral damage, too incompatible with advanced technology which leads to them doing ‘lesser work’, as well as perpetually "alien". As we look at season 2 and season 3 in Umbrella Academy, we see the concepts of Chicanafuturism and Afrofuturism play out through the stories of Diego and Allison Hargreeves.
In the piece Moments to Movement from Latinx TV Landia, Frederick Luis Aldama speaks on the Brown-oculi constructed speculative narrative space that takes place in Umbrella Academy from season 2 onward. As Diego and his siblings are sent back to days before John F. Kennedy's assassination, his storyline is based around protecting the president. We also get to see Diego's inner turmoil and struggle of wanting to be more than just a tough guy. He struggles consistently with his own hero complex, often leading him to make reckless decisions in his attempts to "save the day". This heroic gesture he attempts to make with JFK has put Diego into an insane asylum which further causes trauma amongst his already messed up childhood.
Viewers of the show may miss the reasoning behind his need to save JFK but Latinos understand this thoroughly. JFK was the first Catholic U.S. Presidential nominee. At the time, Republicans expected Latinos to serve as silent and loyal subordinates ignoring this voter demographic. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy also recorded the nation's first Spanish-language national campaign ad targeting Latino voters, and her husband mentioned Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans in his opening statement in the nation's first televised presidential debate, an important moment leading to slogans such as ¡VIVA KENNEDY! .
In season 3 we are introduced to Stanley. He was the supposed son of Lila Pitts and Diego, when in reality, it was all just a hoax, planned by Lila to see if Diego would be a good father. As Diego navigates fatherhood, there is this heartwarming moment where he tells Stanley "Tú eres mi sangre" which translates to “You are my blood”.
Even though Stanley is not fluent in Spanish, he still possesses a connection with latinidad that he wants to share with and pass on to his son.
This moment shows viewers an alternative model of latinx masculinity: one in which a father and son share a healthy, loving relationship. The found nature of Diego and Stanley's familial relationship makes their bond even more meaningful; later when Stanley becomes lost in the hotel they are staying in, it is Diego who takes action to find Stanley even after finding out he wasn’t his son.
Going back to Season 2, Allison Hargreeves wakes up in the 1960s being verbally attacked by white men. She rushes into a black-owned salon and decides to live her life in this timeline dedicating it to the Civil Rights Movement. In her story she confronts racial segregation and participates/coordinates sit-ins. These scenes highlight survival and resistance through speculative fiction, giving the viewer a first hand account of the hardships Black people endured at this point in American History. However, these sit-ins, protests, and fights seemingly do nothing as Black people still experience police brutality and JFK still gets assassinated in The Umbrella Academy timeline.
As the siblings move into season 3 Diego and Allison have a moment of connection beyond their siblings. In several episodes we witness Allison deal with the trauma of being a Black woman in the 1960s. She uses her power to try and make herself happy after realizing that the timeline they returned to has removed her daughter Claire. In this scene we see her cut her hair off and deal with the haunting memories of a past that will no longer exist: her husband Ray (victim of police brutality) from the 1960s and missing the connection she has with her daughter. Also the knowledge that Black people still experience prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination today.
As Diego realizes his sister is also experiencing a haunted past, he lets her in on his coping secret. There is a local bar in town Diego frequents that “does not like people like us”. We then see them going into said bar ready to kick some racist ass, but there is nothing more shown. Later, amongst the other siblings, they notice their injuries and are bewildered at the fact that their siblings beat racists to get some of their anger, trauma, and energy out.
It is this shared experience that brings the two siblings together and shows the audience how fundamentally important and humanizing it is to have access to one's cultural roots and identity.
While sci-fi continues to omit brown and black people's futurities, it is important to celebrate the media that has done it right. Our stories deserve to be told no matter the concept of sci-fi worlds created.