Space Is the Place

The main timeline is the early 1970s, when Ra lands and works to mobilize Black youth. Interwoven are flashbacks to 1943 Chicago, showing Ra’s earlier life as Sonny Ray and the roots of his musical identity. The story threads between these periods to juxtapose earthly struggles with a cosmic utopian dream.

The present-day action unfolds in Oakland in the early 1970s, a city scene where local Black youth are sought for a utopian plan. A Chicago strip club from Sun Ra’s past serves as a memory of his origins and musical beginnings. The film also moves beyond Earth as Ra’s voyage imagines a distant space planet where his people might resettle, using music as the conduit for travel and community.

🚀 Utopian Space Colonization

Sun Ra’s mission imagines a Black utopia on a distant planet where culture and community can flourish free from oppression. The plan uses music as both a cultural beacon and a means of mobilizing people to relocate. The narrative frames space as a horizon for collective self-determination, even as it meets resistance from those who doubt the dream.

🎷 Music as Liberation

The Arkestra’s free jazz is the film’s heartbeat, serving as a tool for recruitment, solidarity, and spiritual expression. Live performances become moments of political possibility, blending art with activism. Music functions as a portable engine for change, capable of shifting perception and inspiring action.

✊🏾 Identity and Authenticity

The story probes questions of belonging and authenticity, notably through the dynamic of the 'white parts' and 'black parts' in Jimmy Fey’s arc. It questions who gets to speak for a movement and how performance and identity can be leveraged or corrupted. The tension reveals the fragility of change when confronted with exploitation and media manipulation.