[Comicsstudiessociety] Publication on Ms.Marvel in The Conversation Canada

[ASHIKA PARAMITA]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful piece, Safiyya! ☺

Best,
Ashika

From: ComicsStudiesSociety <comicsstudiessociety-bounces at lists.osu.edu> On Behalf Of Safiyya via ComicsStudiesSociety
Sent: Thursday, 3 December 2020 2:51 PM
To: Orion Kidder <orionuk at gmail.com>; discussion list for members of the Comics Studies Society <comicsstudiessociety at lists.osu.edu>
Subject: Re: [Comicsstudiessociety] Publication on Ms.Marvel in The Conversation Canada

Thank you Orion for such a thoughtful response!

I didn't know of Mark Waid's background with abuse and trauma so thanks for adding that context. I'm sure he was well-intentioned but it was nevertheless implicit bias. If we consider Grant Morrison's depiction of Dust, this seems to be a trend with white non-Muslim male writers and Muslim superheroines.

Bisha K. Ali is actually of Pakistani descent so not Middle Eastern. As you said, Sana Amanat is probably a template for Kamala and I think it's reasonable to think that Ali may add to that template in a creative - and constructive - way. I suspect that there will be more emphasis placed on her South Asian Muslim culture than we've seen lately.

Finally, thanks Orion for having this conversation with me on this listserv. I'm happy to see the increase in traffic on it lately.

Best,
Safiyya


On Dec 2, 2020, at 10:34 PM, Orion Kidder via ComicsStudiesSociety <comicsstudiessociety at lists.osu.edu<mailto:comicsstudiessociety at lists.osu.edu>> wrote:

Interesting piece! I think you’re sounding a reasonable alarm, here. The character has avoided stereotype when she’s depicted by people in the Muslim community.

I’d add, btw, that while Wilson is a white convert rather than having been raised in a Muslim community, the assistant editor and co-creator of the character, Sana Amanat, is a Pakistani-American Muslim from New Jersey. I get the sense she was the template for Kamala Khan in a lot of ways. So that just proves your point.

Mark Waid is an interesting figure, too. He’s a solidly liberal person and very sensitive to the abuse of children having had some traumatic experiences as a kid (the details of which he doesn’t tend to volunteer). Despite what I have reason to believe were good intentions, I take your point that he perpetuated the racist trope of rescuing Muslim women from Muslim men using Kamala as a proxy for white men doing the rescuing.

The good news is that the head writer for the show, Bisha K. Ali, would appear to have the kind of insight you’re talking about: a woman of mid-eastern descent (I haven’t been able to figure out which communities she might specifically belong to) with loads of comedy/writing experience, and a dedicated gamer nerd. Seems like they got the whole package! Honestly, I’m pretty encouraged by all of that.

(source: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/16/i-feel-joy-bisha-k-ali-struggling-standup-ms-marvel-maestro-muslim-superhero__;!!KGKeukY!jWNJpqH3NQOrBgtntYhn6qg5he_-EpJ5xrCYkPclLzHSd7v0i_IUjd8O1xv7bEf6n7opRPqSWCf6$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/16/i-feel-joy-bisha-k-ali-struggling-standup-ms-marvel-maestro-muslim-superhero__;!!KGKeukY!gU7sWgixidxuozDatwEk-D9bxh4sQFeIVlXMF-bjQmwv4WBq5edBLUf2ZEw2bSzv9gUTrj1vkq-M$>)


– Orion


On December 1, 2020 at 3:41:40 PM, Safiyya H via ComicsStudiesSociety (comicsstudiessociety at lists.osu.edu<mailto:comicsstudiessociety at lists.osu.edu>) wrote:
Hello Everyone,

I published a piece in The Conversation Canada on Ms.Marvel's Kamala Khan and I thought I'd share if that's ok?

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://theconversation.com/marvels-first-on-screen-muslim-superhero-kamala-khan-ms-marvels-alter-ego-inspires-big-hopes-148200?fbclid=IwAR3TiyYJ8btJMJGUwIIIpau9_0BNdZLGB8VWKM45RufROSvKl2hZUPn4L3o__;!!KGKeukY!jWNJpqH3NQOrBgtntYhn6qg5he_-EpJ5xrCYkPclLzHSd7v0i_IUjd8O1xv7bEf6n7opRBj5s7Jo$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/theconversation.com/marvels-first-on-screen-muslim-superhero-kamala-khan-ms-marvels-alter-ego-inspires-big-hopes-148200?fbclid=IwAR3TiyYJ8btJMJGUwIIIpau9_0BNdZLGB8VWKM45RufROSvKl2hZUPn4L3o__;!!KGKeukY!lt1d-5_mFjgG9hyHPUJbnuC1RrycxHpA6zHP12vughlcTmBPu_rMBIlJ4s0_jzOePLLjqwLwWqbe$>

Hope you enjoy it!

Best,
Safiyya

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