tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/marvel-12782/articles
Marvel – The Conversation
2024-02-01T19:03:24Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/222146
2024-02-01T19:03:24Z
2024-02-01T19:03:24Z
Black comedy, political drama and a documentary about a cult: what we’re streaming this February
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</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Binge/ABC/Paramount+/The Conversation</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the new year gets going and we’re all looking towards evenings on the couch again to unwind after work or school, there is again a glut of shows to choose from. </p>
<p>This month, our academics have suggested everything from a drama exploring the AIDS epidemic, to the latest outing from Marvel, to a documentary about a cult. </p>
<p>If you like your comedy black or romantic, if you want to watch a film or a series, we have you covered for what to stream this February. </p>
<h2>Fellow Travellers</h2>
<p><em>Paramount+ (Australia) and Neon (New Zealand)</em></p>
<p>Fellow Travellers picked up two nominations in the Golden Globes; I would have given it many more. But maybe the combination of political history and hot man-to-man sex was too much for the nominators.</p>
<p>Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel about two men who fall in love in the homophobic Washington of Senator McCarthy has been expanded to explore racism and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. But the essential tensions of forbidden love remain, even if the television series takes us into worlds Mallon chose not to explore.</p>
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<p>The performances of the two leading actors Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey are
extraordinary. So too is Jelani Alladin as a black reporter who struggles to balance his racial and sexual identity.</p>
<p>Bomer’s character is the ultimate survivor, who marries for his career and treats all relationships transactionally. Bailey’s is seemingly weaker, a right-wing Catholic who falls completely for Bomer. His transformation at the end into an AIDS activist stretches credulity, but Bailey has the skill to carry it off.</p>
<p>Fellow Travellers is politically more sophisticated than Oppenheimer and more complex in its sexual politics than Barbie. Like them it interrogates the myth of America, which sadly promises to preoccupy us over the coming year.</p>
<p><em>– Dennis Altman</em></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-kid-called-troy-at-30-this-beautiful-aussie-film-was-one-of-the-most-important-hiv-aids-documentaries-ever-produced-218715">A Kid Called Troy at 30: this beautiful Aussie film was one of the most important HIV/AIDS documentaries ever produced</a>
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<h2>The Curse</h2>
<p><em>Paramount+ (Australia) and Neon (New Zealand)</em></p>
<p>The genre-bending black comedy The Curse is a persistent, excruciating tummy ache of a show – and that’s a recommendation.</p>
<p>Newlywed white liberal do-gooders Whitney (Emma Stone) and Asher (Nathan Fielder) arrive in the socio-economically deprived town of Española, New Mexico, with louche filmmaker Dougie (Benny Safdie) to film an obnoxious HGTV show called Flipanthropy. The wealthy couple will ostensibly “help” the community through their high-end eco-home company, but things do not go to plan.</p>
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<p>The satirical ten-part series, created and written by Safdie and Fielder, defies convention and description. It’s filmed in an uncanny, dissociative style. Very long takes, awkward framing and unsettling points of view marry contemporary surveillance cultures with the dream-like stupor of David Lynch. It’s a Rorschach test for viewers as it takes on a huge range of targets: gentrification, the constructed nature of “reality” television, vanity, racism, class, colonisation, capitalism, power, art, privilege, entertainment, taste, masculinity, loneliness.</p>
<p>The show inflicts a lot of psychic damage on the viewer, but it’s worth making it to the end. The performances are impeccable, and the astonishing finale offers what might be the biggest water cooler moment of television this year.</p>
<p><em>– Erin Harrington</em></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nathan-fielders-new-comedy-the-rehearsal-will-be-familiar-to-anyone-with-autism-188071">Nathan Fielder's new comedy The Rehearsal will be familiar to anyone with autism</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Total Control season three</h2>
<p><em>iView (Australia)</em></p>
<p>Two years after First Nations MP Alex Irving (Deborah Mailman) outwitted the major
parties and leveraged the new power of the crossbench to install Paul Murphy
(Wayne Blair) as Australia’s first Indigenous prime minister, the shine has worn off Murphy’s leadership. </p>
<p>In the third season of Total Control, Murphy has sacrificed one social justice commitment after another on the altar of electoral politics and the knives are out between him and Irving.</p>
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<p>Irving is at boiling point, as her commitment to youth justice and to
securing resources for her disaster-struck regional community is constantly thwarted.</p>
<p>Her nemesis, former prime minister Rachel Anderson (Rachel Griffiths) – all
sangfroid and intrigue – has reinvented herself as a warrior for ethical, truly
representative democracy and is attempting to set up a new alliance of independents. The stakes are high, the tension palpable.</p>
<p>Filmed in Parliament House, this final season continues Total Control’s stylish, taut political drama. Consultations with political insiders informed themes of political corruption, dirty money in politics and the reconfiguration of the political landscape with the rise of independents, set against the ongoing neglect of Indigenous communities.</p>
<p>But this is no cynical exercise; there is an optimistic vision here for the real change independents could bring.</p>
<p><em>– Anne Rutherford</em></p>
<h2>Smothered</h2>
<p><em>Binge (Australia) and Neon (New Zealand)</em></p>
<p>Many of us have bemoaned the lack of rom-coms in the cinema, but luckily television is increasingly becoming a space for dynamic and interesting romantic-comedies from You’re the Worst to Everything I Know About Love. </p>
<p>A recent entry into the TV rom-com landscape is the delightful new British series Smothered, created by Monica Heisey. Danielle Vitalis stars as Sammy, a chaotic but fun twenty-something interior designer, who is disillusioned by her current dating (read: sex) life. </p>
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<p>Jon Pointing plays her counterpart Tom, a quiet, lost, old-before-his-years “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/27/four-lads-in-jeans-meme-made-into-statue-in-birmingham">lad in jeans</a>.” In a classic meet-cute conceit, an impossible but alluring deal is struck between our two leads: a hot casual affair, no last names, no details, three weeks and they’re done. But of course life and feelings complicate best laid plans. </p>
<p>Equal parts absurd and sincere, this is the perfect show for those who love Nora Ephron and Sex and the City. Like these predecessors, Smothered is populated by quirky supporting characters who are inexplicably invested in Sammy and Tom’s romance, but it works thanks to hilarious performances by Aisling Bea, Harry Trevaldwyn and Lisa Hammond.</p>
<p>– <em>Jessica Ford</em></p>
<h2>Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God</h2>
<p><em>Binge (Australia) and Neon (New Zealand)</em></p>
<p>Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God charts the life and death of Amy Carlson, who in early adulthood claimed she was a divine being in communication with a host of “Galactics”, including deceased comedian Robin Williams, and built a following of tens of thousands on Facebook and YouTube.</p>
<p>The three-part documentary series begins with the discovery by police in 2021 of the former McDonalds manager’s corpse, blue from ingesting copious amounts of <a href="https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/colloidal-silver-what-you-need-to-know">colloidal silver</a> and attended by her inner circle of devotees in Crestone, Colorado. </p>
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<p>Director and producer Hannah Olsen successfully compiles several key interviews with those closest to the believed 254th reincarnation of Mother God, including testimony from Carlson’s four “Father God” partners and from those who maintained the religious movements’s online presence whilst witnessing her decline first hand.</p>
<p>The eerie use of cloud photography (“starships” coming to ascend Carlson to a higher “5D” dimension) alongside the group’s influencer-style social media livestreams and a <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/46oBuu2KmtIUsMDFgQP89Z?si=5f34857125db4ccb&nd=1&dlsi=91f9923c750c4896&go=1">soundtrack</a> of atonal electronica makes for a unique post-millennium aesthetic.</p>
<p>Ultimately Love Has Won left me pondering the relationship between the unknowable mysteries of our existence and the myriad mental health effects of trauma.</p>
<p>– <em>Phoebe Hart</em></p>
<h2>Echo</h2>
<p><em>Disney+ (Australia) and Apple TV (New Zealand)</em></p>
<p>Among swathes of Marvel spin-offs, Echo’s bingeable five chapter run caught and kept my interest. Echo spotlights Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), a deaf assassin who flees New York following deadly conflict with her “uncle”, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). Fisk is “Kingpin”, a villainous businessman who lacks interstellar prowess but employs monstrous methods of controlling “his” city.</p>
<p>We open on Maya’s childhood within her Choctaw family and heritage. After a targeted tragedy – including the loss of her leg – Maya and her father move to New York where Fisk’s indoctrination begins. Present-day Maya returns home to a wary family and town. Only her cousin, Biscuits (Cody Lightning), leaps to provide support and charmingly obvious comedic relief.</p>
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<p>Kingpin’s shadow – cast by D’Onofrio’s stellar performance – looms, but Cox shines as a tight-lipped young woman at crossroads, determinedly independent, drawn to the past. Maya is a break-out role for Cox, who is herself Native American, deaf, and an amputee. Exposition and relationship-building are communicated through sign language. Sound mediates emotion and action, oscillating between manically heightened music and tense, heart-beating silence.</p>
<p>We soon root for antihero Maya, despite plentiful onscreen violence at her hand. While she debuted in Hawkeye as a heartless killer, Echo goes deeper, exploring inheritance, loss, and betrayal, via a lick of magic and a lot of blood.</p>
<p><em>– Marina Deller</em></p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/marvels-echo-is-a-one-of-a-kind-superhero-and-an-inspiration-to-the-deaf-community-221148">Marvel's Echo is a one-of-a-kind superhero – and an inspiration to the Deaf community</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
This month, our academics have suggested everything from a drama exploring the AIDS epidemic, to the latest outing from Marvel, to a documentary about a cult.
Anne Rutherford, Adjunct Associate Professor, Cinema Studies, Western Sydney University
Dennis Altman, VC Fellow, La Trobe University
Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury
Jessica Ford, Lecturer in Media, University of Adelaide
Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Flinders University
Phoebe Hart, Associate Professor, Film Screen & Animation, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/221148
2024-01-16T17:48:05Z
2024-01-16T17:48:05Z
Marvel’s Echo is a one-of-a-kind superhero – and an inspiration to the Deaf community
<p><em>Warning: this article contains spoilers for Echo season one.</em> </p>
<p>Marvel’s latest superhero series, Echo, is now streaming on Disney+. Deaf actress Alaqua Cox plays the eponymous superhero, a character she already portrayed in the Hawkeye series in 2021. Echo, real name Maya Lopez, who is Deaf, is a vengeful and bitter Native American hero with a distinctive fighting ability that allows her to copy her opponent’s moves.</p>
<p>The uppercase “Deaf” refers to deaf people who share a language, identity and culture. It therefore describes Maya Lopez, as she uses ASL (American Sign Language) all the time and hardly speaks.</p>
<p>Historically, Deaf roles in TV have been given to hearing actors and actresses. This is a typical example of ableism – discrimination in favour of able-bodied people. It is important that Deaf actors play Deaf characters in TV and film so that audiences engage with authentic depictions of disability.</p>
<p>In the first episode of Echo, Maya and her hearing cousin Bonnie (Devery Jacobs) are shown to have been raised by their loving parents, William and Taloa Lopez (Zahn McClarnon and Katarina Ziervogel) in Tamaha, Oklahoma. Maya uses ASL to communicate with Bonnie as they argue with each other to decide whether they are cousins or sisters. A beautiful closeup scene shows the silhouettes of young Echo and Bonnie using lively ASL inside a glowing tent.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Echo.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Maya’s parents speak in ASL, spoken English and their Native American Choctaw language, as do her grandparents, on her mother’s side, Chula (Tantoo Cardinal) and Skully (Graham Greene). Most Deaf people are <a href="https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing#:%7E:text=About%202%20to%203%20out,in%20one%20or%20both%20ears.&text=More%20than%2090%20percent%20of%20deaf%20children%20are%20born%20to%20hearing%20parents.&text=Approximately%2015%25%20of%20American%20adults,over%20report%20some%20trouble%20hearing.">born to hearing parents</a>. They learn ASL at school or college or through Deaf friends, because visual communication is important for Deaf people’s cognitive and social development.</p>
<p>At one point, Maya asks her mother for hot chocolate. Her mother tells her that it is finished, but if Maya comes to the shops with her, she will buy her more. Maya agrees. As Taloa drives toward a junction, she hits the brakes, but one of her husband’s enemies has tampered with them.</p>
<p>A car crashes into them, killing Taloa instantly. Fortunately, Maya survives, although, as a result of the accident, she has damage to her right leg.</p>
<p>When Maya is taken to the hospital to get her leg amputated, her grandmother blames her father’s criminal background for Taloa’s death. Ashamed, her father takes a job in New York and leaves Oklahoma and Maya’s family, taking Maya with him.</p>
<p>The sequence that follows shows that Maya no longer needs her wheelchair and has become proficient with her prosthetic leg. She has been through a lot of rehabilitation to practice her walking pace. This is a positive example of her fiery independence and determination. Losing her leg in the accident upsets Maya greatly, but it doesn’t damage her strong self-belief.</p>
<p>Once she arrives in New York, Maya is sent to a special school for Deaf pupils. There, she enrols in martial arts classes and begins developing some of the skills that will define her as a superhero. </p>
<p>Moving to New York is a significant turning point in Maya’s story, as here she will become embroiled in the city’s criminal underworld. She joins a gang as an enforcer working for Marvel super villain, Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio).</p>
<h2>Nuanced characters</h2>
<p>The character of Echo first appeared in the 1998 Marvel comic Daredevil. Daredevil (who has a Marvel television series of his own) is a blind lawyer and superhero with super-human senses due to an accident involving radioactive chemicals.</p>
<p>In the series, Maya is at one point called on to fight against a rival gang. Unexpectedly, Daredevil (Charlie Cox) intervenes and gets into a fight with Maya. The two are on opposing sides thanks to her connection with Kingpin. The battle is a formidable challenge between two opponents who are equally matched. Deaf hero versus blind hero. Superheroes with a disability are rarely portrayed in comic books and this scene in the series marks a positive step towards inclusive representation. </p>
<p>There are other interesting choices in the show. Although Kingpin is the main antagonist of the show, he has also been Maya’s benefactor and once employed a mysterious and cryptic ASL interpreter to help him communicate with Maya. Quite an unusual niche – an interpreter who works for a crime boss.</p>
<p>Deaf and disabled people are often treated like charity cases because they are patronised, mocked and pitied by an ableist and ignorant society. Echo is important because it positions a Deaf character as a positive and versatile role model. She is an inspiration to the Deaf and disabled community.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221148/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Buckle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It is important that Deaf actors play Deaf characters in TV and film, so that audiences engage with authentic depictions of disability.
Kevin Buckle, Graduate Research Fellow for BSL, Deaf Studies and Linguistics, York St John University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200530
2023-03-01T19:05:47Z
2023-03-01T19:05:47Z
From deadly jaws and enormous strength to mushroom farming, Ant-Man is only tapping into a portion of the real superpowers of ants
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512774/original/file-20230228-4992-va1d92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1278%2C720&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Disney</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant-Man_and_the_Wasp:_Quantumania">Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania</a> is the latest film in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. </p>
<p>The ant-filled film follows the adventures of Scott Lang (AKA Ant-Man), Hope Van Dyne (AKA The Wasp) and Cassie Lang (AKA The Stinger), who all use science-derived technology to give them ant-like powers. In the Ant-Man films, Ant-Man also has the ability to direct the actions of several ant species, each with its own unique set of characteristics. </p>
<p>Tiny ants might seem like unlikely inspirations and sidekicks for a superhero, but real-life ants have astonishing superpowers that make them formidable allies. </p>
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<h2>Super strength</h2>
<p>Ant-Man and The Wasp both wear suits that allow them to shrink and also give them the proportionate strength of an ant. </p>
<p>Ants are well known for their super-strength, with some workers being able to carry up to 50 times their own body weight. Since ants – like other insects – have their skeletons on the outside, their muscles do not have to support much of their body weight, leaving them free to apply more strength to lifting. </p>
<p>In addition, smaller animals tend to have greater strength relative to their body weight. Even ants’ joints are strong: the <a href="https://www.insidescience.org/news/ants-are-even-stronger-you-imagine">neck joints</a> of the common field ant <em>Formica exsectoides</em> can withstand <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-olympic-athletes-stack-up-against-invertebrates-not-very-well-164488">5,000 times the ant’s body weight</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-olympic-athletes-stack-up-against-invertebrates-not-very-well-164488">How do Olympic athletes stack up against invertebrates? Not very well</a>
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<h2>Super speed</h2>
<p>Ant-Man and The Wasp don’t have super speed – but real-life ants certainly do!</p>
<p>Saharan silver ants (<em><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/silver-saharan-ants-fastest-desert%23:%7E:text%3DThese%2520Saharan%2520silver%2520ants%2520are,body%2520length%2520in%2520a%2520second&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1677127817128278&usg=AOvVaw17D5WG1G8tPb5pDi-hveOj">Cataglyphis bombycina</a></em>) can travel 100 times their body length in a second, making them one of the fastest animals on the planet. That’s like a 180-centimetre human running at 200 metres per second (or 720km per hour)! <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://olympics.com/en/news/usain-bolt-record-world-champion-athlete-fastest-man-olympics-sprinter-100m-200m&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1677127817131145&usg=AOvVaw0S40Y9h6wLlUd15o1LgCf1">Usain Bolt</a>, the all-time fastest person in the world, could only hit a maximum speed of 47km per hour.</p>
<p>Ants are not just fast runners – they can move other parts of their bodies with mind-boggling speed. Trap jaw ants (<em>Odontomachus bauri</em>) can slam their jaws shut at an incredible <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0604290103">137km per hour</a>, one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom. Trap jaw ants use their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2okI6ZszQY">super-fast mandibles</a> to catch their favourite prey: termites. </p>
<p>The jaws of trap jaw ants are also impressive defensive weapons and can be used to stun attacking predators such as spiders. These ants can even make a rapid retreat by striking their jaws against the ground. This “bouncer defence” throws the ant an astonishing 8cm into the air, the equivalent of an average-sized human jumping 40 metres.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512776/original/file-20230301-4933-hdsbr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512776/original/file-20230301-4933-hdsbr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512776/original/file-20230301-4933-hdsbr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512776/original/file-20230301-4933-hdsbr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512776/original/file-20230301-4933-hdsbr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512776/original/file-20230301-4933-hdsbr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512776/original/file-20230301-4933-hdsbr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512776/original/file-20230301-4933-hdsbr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Trap jaw ants (Odontomachus bauri).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Strength in numbers</h2>
<p>What ants lack in size, they make up for in sheer numbers. A recent study estimated that there are more than <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-estimated-20-quadrillion-ants-live-on-earth-180980804/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1677127817132195&usg=AOvVaw2WM3_yrDLicX1LZiYAJ7iA">20 quadrillion</a> ants alive at any one time – there are many more ants on Earth than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. </p>
<p>Argentine ants (<em>Linepithema humile</em>) build some of the largest supercolonies on Earth, containing billions of workers spread over <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.092694199#:%7E:text=In%20the%20case%20of%20the,nests%20comprising%20billions%20of%20workers.">6,000 square kilometres</a>.</p>
<p>By working together in overwhelming numbers, ants can successfully attack animals many times bigger than themselves. Army ant swarms can take down <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsfiUR0ZzLw">large prey</a> such as lizards, frogs and even scorpions. Like the Ant-Man comic character Cassie Lang, some ant species possess a stinger capable of delivering painful venom. South American bullet ants (<em>Paraponera clavata</em>) have one of the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/scroller-schmidt-painscale/#14">world’s most painful stings</a>. It’s no wonder they were featured as “attack ants” in the first Ant-Man movie.</p>
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<h2>No leaders necessary</h2>
<p>Throughout the Ant-Man films, the heroes use communication devices to lead colonies of ants. However, there are no leaders in a real ant colony. </p>
<p>Worker ants are responsible for tasks such as hunting, cleaning and rearing larvae, while queens lay eggs to keep the colony stocked with workers. You might think a society containing millions of tiny-brained animals with no leader would be chaos, but by working together, ants can achieve feats that far exceed the brain power of any individual – this is called “swarm intelligence”. </p>
<p>Argentine ants, for example, can find the <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/building-better-transport-systems-lessons-from-ants-and-fungi/">shortest path between nests</a>, while fire ants escape flooding by linking their bodies together to form enormous <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ4IjC512bg">living life rafts</a>. In the First Ant-Man movie, Scott Lang uses the coordinated skills of fire ants to break into Pym Headquarters.</p>
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<h2>Super sized societies</h2>
<p>In the latest movie, a colony of ants accidentally enters the mysterious quantum realm where they undergo 1,000 years of evolution, resulting in a society of highly intelligent ants living in a futuristic society. </p>
<p>But modern-day ants have already evolved exceptionally complex societies. Some ant species have even evolved forms of agriculture by <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ants-herd-aphids-with-tranquilisers-in-their-footsteps">tending to and protecting herds of sap-sucking aphids</a>. Aphids respond to their ant farmers by producing droplets of a sugary substance called “honeydew” which the ants harvest as food. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-game-of-thrones-the-workers-of-yellow-crazy-ants-can-act-like-lazy-wannabe-queens-so-we-watched-them-fight-158426">Tiny Game of Thrones: the workers of yellow crazy ants can act like lazy wannabe queens. So we watched them fight</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Amazingly, leaf cutter ants in South America care for immense underground <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-leafcutter-ants-evolved-from-farmers-into-cows">fungi gardens which they grow for food</a>. The ants feed the fungus leaves and are able to select the leaf species that maximise fungal growth. Ants weed the garden by removing weedy fungi species, and can even use <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-antibiotics-humans-could-come-ant-fungus-gardens-180956300/">antibiotics</a> to protect the fungi from disease.</p>
<p>Given their super strength, incredible speeds and amazing swarm intelligence, Ant-Man is lucky to have ants on his side!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200530/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tanya Latty receives funding from The Australian Research Council and AgrifFutures Australia. She is affiliated with Invertebrates Australia, a conservation organization dedicated to the conservation of insects and other invertebrates. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caitlyn Forster receives funding from The Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>
Tiny ants might seem like unlikely inspirations and sidekicks for a superhero, but real life ants have astonishing superpowers that make them formidable allies.
Tanya Latty, Associate professor, University of Sydney
Caitlyn Forster, Associate Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200142
2023-02-21T10:19:49Z
2023-02-21T10:19:49Z
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Marvel’s Multiverse Saga has changed the franchise’s stakes
<p>A heavy burden rests on Ant-Man’s (Paul Rudd) diminutive shoulders: not only the fate of <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Earth-616">Earth-616</a>, but perhaps the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) itself.</p>
<p>Over the past 15 years, the MCU has redefined the Hollywood franchise blockbuster through their pioneering use of transmedia storytelling, in which a unified narrative unfolds systematically across multiple media forms and platforms. This rich world building has resulted in both cultural ubiquity and immense <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/317408/highest-grossing-film-franchises-series/">financial returns</a>.</p>
<p>But with a release schedule mapped out many years in advance, the limitations of this production line model (in particular a lack of quality control and over reliance on CGI) have become clear, especially in contrast to the impact of <a href="https://theconversation.com/top-gun-maverick-is-a-film-obsessed-with-its-former-self-179461">Top Gun: Maverick’s</a> (2022) thrillingly real stunts and the long-gestating CGI hit <a href="https://theconversation.com/avatar-the-way-of-the-water-review-tired-climate-cliches-distract-from-camerons-vision-196522">Avatar: The Way of Water</a> (2022).</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania finds itself charged with not only kick starting <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/marvel-2023-preview-mcu-phase-5-disney-plus-comics">Phase 5</a>, but also shaking the MCU’s audience out of their <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/marvel-dc-fandom-study-1235435282/">franchise fatigue</a>. </p>
<p>Marvel’s solution? To rewrite time itself. Enter <a href="https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Kang_the_Conqueror">Kang the Conqueror</a>, a Marvel comics villain of longstanding and fearsome reputation. Kang is more than another rote super villain. His ability to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTiZykN63U">shatter timelines</a> plays a key role in bringing the Marvel Multiverse (a potentially infinite series of alternative realities and dimensions) to the fore of the MCU.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Science_Fact_and_Science_Fiction/9ZpsBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22and+many+science+fiction+fans+prefer+%22alternate+history%22%23&pg=PA18&printsec=frontcover">Dreams of alternative realities</a> have long fuelled imaginations. The question “What if…?” is the starting point for any work of science fiction, facilitating the depiction of altered pasts, transformed presents, or possible futures.</p>
<p>Such realities have long existed in Marvel comics and are now manifesting themselves in the MCU. There are the alternate timelines of Endgame’s (2019) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2fnXFRXKTo">“Time Heist”</a>, the <a href="https://www.marvel.com/tv-shows/animation/what-if/1">animated series What If…?</a> (2021) and the many <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/loki-variant-time-variance-authority/">character “variants” in Loki</a> (2021). </p>
<p>This includes “He Who Remains,” creator of the Time Variance Authority (a bureaucratic organisation tasked with protecting the “sacred timeline”), who is himself a variant of Kang and whose death at the hands of a female variant of Loki shatters space and time and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSlyakitG-0">births the multiverse</a>.</p>
<p>If all this sounds confusing, then herein lies both the potential and the problem of the multiverse. With the introduction of Kang (or at least, one Kang of an infinite possibility of Kangs), anything and everything will be possible. Whether the already imposing MCU can keep a grip on its exponential expansion into infinite realms is another matter.</p>
<p>Just as the Time Variance Authority monitors all realities and prunes timelines that threaten universal stability, Marvel will now have inordinate tangled narrative threads and reality-crossing characters to keep in check.</p>
<h2>Disney’s Kang-like desire for dominance</h2>
<p>Much like Kang’s desire to conquer all realities, the multiverse is propelled by Disney’s <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/1824/disney/#dossier-chapter1">industry dominance</a>. The recent <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/20/18273477/disney-fox-merger-deal-details-marvel-x-men">procurement of 20th Century Fox</a> has offered up many worlds of intellectual property to plunder (though the monetisation of nostalgia is <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/03/cycles-sequels-spinoffs-remakes-and-reboots/474411/">hardly new</a> for Hollywood).</p>
<p>Justified by long-established comic ties to Kang’s <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Nathaniel_Richards_(Kang)_(Earth-6311)">intricate web</a> of identities, The Fantastic Four and X-Men franchises will likely be making future MCU appearances. The multiverse helps Marvel to neatly sidestep origin stories and “<a href="https://www.thewrap.com/captain-marvel-where-did-carol-danvers-go-for-25-years-before-avengers-endgame-earth/">where have you been?</a>” continuity issues – we already know these characters, so they’ve been here all along, just in another (cinematic) reality.</p>
<p>Though the team up of iterations of Spider-Man in No Way Home was joyously received, one consequence of the multiverse is a changing of the stakes. Death is now of little consequence. </p>
<p>With an infinite number of character variants waiting in the alternate universe wings (we’ve already seen a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZtqeA7Bcmk">reanimated Gamora</a> in Endgame and a deceased <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szj1iqYanFM">Wolverine will return</a> in 2024’s Deadpool 3), the multiverse may become self-reflexive, rather than a portal to new possibilities.</p>
<p>On this front, Quantumania largely sits on the fence, but in doing so performs some interesting meditations on its own purpose. As objects of mass consumption that resonate with vast audiences, Hollywood blockbusters are indicators of the <a href="https://zizek.uk/the-politics-of-batman/">ideological predicaments</a> of our societies.</p>
<p>In these terms, while the film’s primary selling point is to introduce Kang to the MCU as an omnipotent threat, beneath this lies a fairly mundane melodrama concerning the Pym family finding their place in the world (or indeed, worlds).</p>
<p>The stakes are surprisingly small and personal, despite their universal resonance. At Quantumania’s heart is a melancholic lament for things lost – time, purpose, identity, loved ones. The film’s message is that even in the face of unknowable existential threat, life can be given meaning through collective social justice, accepting responsibility towards our fellow creatures, sticking to one’s word and by (in a repeated refrain) “not being a dick”. </p>
<p>Not to mention the vital lessons that can be learned from socialist ants and the importance of not striking Faustian bargains with villainous despots (time travelling or otherwise).</p>
<p>Of course, as with any MCU offering, in order to court audiences across the political spectrum <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-avengers-seduced-both-liberals-and-conservatives">a careful balance is struck</a> between preaching the power of collective social justice and lionising the figure of the individualistic superhero employing militaristic might to get the job done.</p>
<p>Despite Marvel’s grand proclamations as to Quantumania’s importance and purpose, it is not a definitive statement of intent either in terms of its narrative, or ideologically. It remains unclear whether Phase 5 will put the MCU back on track. But this film is only a first tentative step across an infinite threshold and, with the Multiverse Saga due to stretch way into 2026, there’s still a long way to go.</p>
<p>Whether Kang will lead the MCU – and its fans – into a nostalgic past or an infinite future, only time will tell.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Starr does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniafinds itself charged with not only kick starting Marvel’s Phase 5, but also shaking the MCU’s audience out of their franchise fatigue.
Michael Starr, Associate Professor, Film & Screen Studies, University of Northampton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/196761
2022-12-27T09:02:59Z
2022-12-27T09:02:59Z
100 years of Stan Lee: how the comic book king challenged prejudice
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501587/original/file-20221216-21-nry0ra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4824%2C3172&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stan Lee poses on the red carpet for Doctor Strange (2016). </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/los-angeles-ca-october-20-2016-532339153">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>December 28 2022 marks 100 years since the birth of the world’s most famous comic book writer: the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/12/stan-lee-obituary">late Stan Lee</a>.</p>
<p>The 1960s were Stan Lee’s most astonishing decade, during which he came up with <a href="https://www.insider.com/characters-created-by-stan-lee-2018-11">ideas and scripts</a> for the first appearances of such heroes as the original <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-an-x-men-writer-inspired-binge-worthy-character-driven-tv-from-buffy-to-game-of-thrones-110764">X-Men</a>, Iron Man, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj50cygzoX8AhVLZcAKHUW_BH4QFnoECA8QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconversation.com%2Ffor-the-love-of-thor-why-its-so-hard-for-marvel-to-get-its-female-superheroes-right-186639&usg=AOvVaw0hIK_JDhSCrlzMjlzeZERc">Thor</a>, the Hulk, <a href="https://theconversation.com/black-panther-2-why-the-death-of-someone-young-can-be-harder-to-handle-195307">Black Panther</a>, Daredevil and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjwzPKCzoX8AhVREsAKHZ25BJsQFnoECBQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconversation.com%2Fthe-witch-treatment-what-dr-stranges-wanda-tells-us-about-representations-of-female-anger-184509&usg=AOvVaw3HAx8D5RDXB5ZUMGpysA6w">Doctor Strange</a>. </p>
<p>This extraordinary purple patch elevates Lee as one of the architects of modern pop culture. The <a href="https://www.cbr.com/marvel-comics-marvel-method-depictions/">Marvel method</a> of writing comics (where artists plot the story of a comic and the layout of the pages based on a collaborative approach between artist and scriptwriter) enabled him to <a href="https://www.comics.org/searchNew/?q=stan+lee&selected_facets=facet_model_name_exact:story&selected_facets=country_exact:United%20States">script several hundred comics in the 1960s</a>. </p>
<p>He wrote the dialogue for the first decade of titles featuring Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men and many others.</p>
<p>Stanley Martin Lieber (who later changed his name to Stan Lee) was born to Jewish-Romanian immigrants in Manhattan. His father was a dress cutter and Lee had <a href="https://www.looper.com/53983/stan-lee-went-delivering-sandwiches-face-marvel">teenage jobs</a> delivering sandwiches, as a theatre usher and an office boy, before his first writing jobs. These included advance obituaries for a news service and publicity material for the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/72b52a2c-e80e-11e8-8a85-04b8afea6ea3">National Tuberculosis Centre</a>.</p>
<p>In 1939, he found work at <a href="https://screenrant.com/why-marvel-change-name-timely-comics/">Timely</a> – later renamed Atlas Comics, and eventually Marvel – as an editorial assistant, with <a href="https://money.com/stan-lee-net-worth-marvel-universe/">his first writing credit</a> on an early issue of Captain America in 1941. <a href="https://stanmarvellee.weebly.com/early-career.html">This issue</a> saw the writer adopt his pen name and saw Cap throw his shield as a weapon for the first time – now a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uULSTvYcwa0">signature move</a> for the hero.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501863/original/file-20221219-16-n9w9cz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Spider-Man perched atop a street light in Spider-Man: No Way Home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501863/original/file-20221219-16-n9w9cz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501863/original/file-20221219-16-n9w9cz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=680&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501863/original/file-20221219-16-n9w9cz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=680&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501863/original/file-20221219-16-n9w9cz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=680&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501863/original/file-20221219-16-n9w9cz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501863/original/file-20221219-16-n9w9cz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501863/original/file-20221219-16-n9w9cz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of Marvel’s most popular characters, Spider-Man, was a Stan Lee invention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sonypicturespublicity.com/dom/secured/mediaassets/viewMediaAssetsLevel2.jsf#">Matt Kennedy / Marvel</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Superheroes had been around <a href="https://kleinletters.com/Blog/the-dc-comics-offices-1930s-1950s-part-2/">since the 1930s</a>, with DC Comics finding an early lead publishing Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. But <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/superhero/Silver-Age-1956-69">by the early 1960s</a> the genre had stagnated.</p>
<p><a href="https://comicbookhistorians.com/from-atlas-monsters-to-marvel-superheroes/">At this time</a>, sci-fi and horror anthologies were Marvel’s staples. For the final issue of one floundering Marvel anthology, <a href="http://www.marvelmasterworks.com/marvel/hcs/omniboo/omni_amfan01.html">Amazing (Adult) Fantasy</a>, Lee and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/7/17543924/steve-ditko-spider-man-doctor-strange-marvel-comics-artist-obituary">artist Steve Ditko</a> invented a new character – <a href="https://www.cbr.com/amazing-fantasy-trivia-facts-spiderman-first-comic/">Spider-Man</a>. The character was <a href="https://www.historynet.com/spider-man-history/">“an instant success”</a>, helping revive the superhero genre.</p>
<h2>Superheroes in the 1960s</h2>
<p>In 1960, DC hit on the idea of gathering their most popular heroes together to create the <a href="https://ew.com/books/brief-history-of-the-justice-league-in-all-its-incarnations/">Justice League of America</a>, following their earlier Justice Society. At Marvel, Lee had only just co-created such characters as the Hulk, Iron Man and Ant Man but within a year of their first appearances brought them together to form <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/TheAvengers">The Avengers</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501586/original/file-20221216-26-ynh8ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Stan Lee wears large tinted glasses, wears a green shirt and holds a microphone. His hair is grey." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501586/original/file-20221216-26-ynh8ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501586/original/file-20221216-26-ynh8ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501586/original/file-20221216-26-ynh8ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501586/original/file-20221216-26-ynh8ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501586/original/file-20221216-26-ynh8ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501586/original/file-20221216-26-ynh8ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501586/original/file-20221216-26-ynh8ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stan Lee speaking at a convention in the 1980s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stan_lee_circa_80.jpg">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These initiatives show that Lee was not only good at creating concepts that others could build on. He also had a savvy nose for marvellous ideas, copying what rival companies were doing and looking to new readerships.</p>
<p>He also remembered <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sub-Mariner">the company’s back catalogue</a>. First he brought back <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/comics/how-namor-complicated-relationship-fantastic-four-possible-mcu-theories-explored">Namor in 1962</a>, then revived <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/CaptainAmerica">Captain America in 1964</a>. He also reimagined 1930s characters Angel and Human Torch as members of the X-Men and Fantastic Four respectively.</p>
<p>Lee rose quickly from fill-in writer to <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/from-stan-lee-on-down-a-brief-history-of-marvel-comics-editors-in-chief/">editor-in-chief</a> at Marvel, partially due to <a href="https://www.looper.com/31532/untold-truth-stan-lee/">the exodus</a> of Captain America creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby to DC due to lack of profit sharing and, <a href="https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/stan-lee-silver-age-history-of-marvel-comics">perhaps, being a cousin of the owner’s wife</a>. </p>
<p>Lee enjoyed being the public face of Marvel, conducting <a href="https://therealstanlee.com/life-of-an-icon/stan-lee-speaker-man/">Q&As about comics</a> at colleges in the 1960s. He also added “Stan’s Soapbox” to hundreds of titles, a column which allowed to not only respond to reader letters, but also pursue <a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/35553-marvel-comics-stan-lee-racism-bigotry-soapbox">an anti-racist agenda</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PFzDEySeYdY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Fans associated Stan Lee with his Marvel movie cameos.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The public associated him with many of the characters he co-created because he also narrated Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends and The Incredible Hulk cartoons in the 1980s, as well as the Spider-Man video games in the 2000s.</p>
<p>More recently, <a href="https://movieweb.com/stan-lee-mcu-movie-cameo/">cameos</a> in nearly every Marvel adaptation between 2000 and 2018 made Lee the face of the film franchises.</p>
<h2>Lee’s faith and multiculturalism</h2>
<p>Despite being of Jewish descent, Lee showed <a href="https://www.heyalma.com/the-complicated-jewishness-of-stan-lee/">little interest</a> in faith <a href="https://eu.independentmail.com/story/news/2018/11/15/stan-lee-and-fortuitous-faith-his-fantasy-family/1981350002/">but saw</a> “world religion as a way into the storytelling process”.</p>
<p>While the <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/FantasticFourNumberOne">Fantastic Four’s Thing</a> was eventually revealed to be Jewish, it took four decades for this to be <a href="https://screenrant.com/fantastic-four-thing-jewish-identity-marvel-deepest-hero/">worked into storylines</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501858/original/file-20221219-26-bf4ic6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pair of trainers/sneakers standing on an array of Marvel comics." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501858/original/file-20221219-26-bf4ic6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501858/original/file-20221219-26-bf4ic6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501858/original/file-20221219-26-bf4ic6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501858/original/file-20221219-26-bf4ic6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501858/original/file-20221219-26-bf4ic6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501858/original/file-20221219-26-bf4ic6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501858/original/file-20221219-26-bf4ic6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many Marvel fan favourites were Stan Lee’s creation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/RlQhqhfH1DE">Erik Mclean</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lee’s fellow Jewish collaborator <a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/jack-kirbys-golem">Jack Kirby</a>, however, may have included <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/czech-republic/articles/the-legend-of-the-golem-of-prague/">iconography of the Golem</a> (a mythical <a href="https://www.jmberlin.de/en/topic-golem">humanoid made of earth</a> brought to life in Jewish folklore) into the character’s design and gave him a fictional <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Yancy_Street">Jewish neighbourhood</a> as a home.</p>
<p>Although Lee didn’t bring his own background to his comics, he and <a href="https://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/dynamics/2012/04/24/9165/">Kirby wished to create</a> the “<a href="https://www.thegeektwins.com/2018/02/the-secret-history-of-black-panther-by.html">first black superhero</a>”, leading to the <a href="https://www.history.com/news/the-real-history-behind-the-black-panther">co-creation of Black Panther</a> in 1966. </p>
<p>Interested in minority representation in the genre, Lee was also working on a TV adaptation of an LGBTQ+ superhero novel <a href="https://www.mtv.com/news/ayikws/perry-moore-hero-tv-adaptation">Hero</a> in the 2000s, before that project was stymied by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/books/19moore.html">its gay writer’s passing in 2011</a>.</p>
<p>One comic he co-created – X-Men – has resonated with LGBTQ+ readers. In an article for Syfy, author Sara Century wrote that with its 1980s run X-Men “implied queerness … and <a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/x-men-as-a-queer-metaphor">an analog to AIDS</a>”.</p>
<p>Pop culture expert <a href="https://www.academia.edu/38163857/Reading_the_Superhuman_Embodiments_of_Multiplicity_in_Marvel_Comics">Anna Peppard notes</a> Marvel comics in the 1960s and beyond took in themes from “the Civil Rights movement, second-wave feminism … and liberal multiculturalism”.</p>
<p>One of the last characters Lee created for Marvel was <a href="https://www.cracked.com/article_33968_she-hulk-was-created-because-of-stan-lees-paranoia.html">She-Hulk</a>, whose 2022 TV series challenged <a href="https://www.cbr.com/she-hulk-toxic-masculinity-captain-marvel-disney-plus/">toxic masculinity in superhero fandom</a>. Stan Lee died, aged 96, in 2018.</p>
<p>By accident or design, Lee’s comics and the characters he helped create have not only had a huge influence on pop culture but also <a href="https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/comic-writer-stan-lee-left-indelible-mark-on-modern-pop-culture-37520972.html">reflect an increasingly liberal world</a>.</p>
<p>For these reasons and many more, his impact on the world is well worth celebrating.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196761/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Fitch receives funding from Design Star Centre for Doctoral Training, on behalf of the UKRI Arts and Humanitites Reseach Council. </span></em></p>
Stan Lee deserves his place in the pantheon of great pop culture architects, but his Marvel characters did more than just entertain – they actively fought against prejudice.
Alex Fitch, Lecturer and PhD Candidate in Comics and Architecture, University of Brighton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195922
2022-12-06T03:38:55Z
2022-12-06T03:38:55Z
‘Any means necessary’: the police who adopt the skull symbol of the ultra-violent comic book vigilante the Punisher
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499154/original/file-20221206-10103-yb6d53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3988%2C2000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/ Disney</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Travis Linnemann’s book <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-horror-of-police">The Horror Of Police</a>, he quotes <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/warrior-cop-class-dave-grossman-killology.html">David Grossman</a>, founder of the “bulletproof warrior” seminar series, <a href="https://www.insider.com/bulletproof-dave-grossman-police-trainer-teaching-officers-how-to-kill-2020-6/">notorious</a> for teaching police that killing is “just not that big of a deal.”</p>
<p>At the end of a long day, Grossman says, police should “look out on your city and let your cape blow in the wind”.</p>
<p>This suggests police should see themselves as superheroes. In reality, they seem drawn to one superhero in particular: the classic Marvel comics character, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punisher">the Punisher</a>.“</p>
<p>He doesn’t wear a cape, admittedly. He’s more famous for the stylised skull logo plastered across his chest.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499163/original/file-20221206-22-lr7xk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499163/original/file-20221206-22-lr7xk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499163/original/file-20221206-22-lr7xk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499163/original/file-20221206-22-lr7xk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499163/original/file-20221206-22-lr7xk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499163/original/file-20221206-22-lr7xk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499163/original/file-20221206-22-lr7xk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499163/original/file-20221206-22-lr7xk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Punisher as depicted in Marvel comics in 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Brutal and abusive</h2>
<p>It’s a skull that a <a href="http://archive.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/112982324.html/">group of rogue officers</a> in Milwaukee wore while on patrol in 2011. They were characterised as "brutal and abusive” by a police academy supervisor. In 2017, the logo was <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/punisher-logo-removed-kentucky-cop-cars-public-outcry-979612/">added to police cruisers</a> in Lexington, Kentucky – morphed together with a <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/politics/blue-lives-matter/">Blue Lives Matter flag</a> – and only removed after public outcry. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-police-officer-wore-punisher-skull-on-uniform-during-2019-incident/">A Chicago officer</a> wore a Punisher skull in 2019 while pointing his weapon at teenagers, and <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2020/06/as-the-punisher-skull-re-emerges-on-cops-in-u-s-protests-marvel-comics-reckons-with-its-imagery/">police wearing the same skull</a> were spotted at the crackdowns after George Floyd’s death in 2020.</p>
<p>Before you think this is limited to America, the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5356951/NSW-Police-slammed-Punisher-skull-car.html">skull has appeared</a> on an Australian police car, too.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"835165585298370564"}"></div></p>
<h2>Why do so many police love the Punisher?</h2>
<p>What makes the Punisher so appealing to these police? Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, the Punisher first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974. He was the gun-toting, ex-soldier Frank Castle, determined to wipe out crime with deadly force after his family were murdered in front of him.</p>
<p>While initially an antagonist, it wasn’t long before he graduated to anti-hero. By 1986 he starred in his own Marvel miniseries, by the late ‘80s he was popular enough to have multiple ongoing comic books at once.</p>
<p>This included ten issues of <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Punisher_Armory_Vol_1">The Punisher Armory</a>, one of the strangest series Marvel has ever published: just page after page of flat, technical drawings of weapons. As Professor of Political Science Kent Worcester wrote in Law Text Review:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is difficult to think of another comic book figure, in any universe, that could inspire such a relentless, militaristic, and fetishistic series.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A Marvel editor, Stephen Wacker, <a href="https://www.cbr.com/greg-rucka-unleashes-the-punisher/">once noted</a> the Punisher had killed around 48,502 people since his first appearance. Compare that to Batman, who refuses to kill – much to the annoyance of some fans. According to <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Caped-Crusade/Glen-Weldon/9781476756738">critic Glen Weldon</a>, this is more than a moral decision. It’s also a “deliberate storytelling choice: it would be easy to mow down a roomful of bad guys with an uzi”.</p>
<p>Why would the police choose the Punisher skull instead of Batman’s logo? The police chief in Lexington, Kentucky, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/punisher-logo-removed-kentucky-cop-cars-public-outcry-979612/">defended</a> its use on their police cars by saying that the skull “represents that we will take any means necessary to keep our community safe.”</p>
<p>The adoption of the skull is a sign some police no longer want to be police – they want to be vigilantes, capable of using “any means necessary”. After all, as Worcester states, “the legal system is little more than an inconvenience” to the Punisher.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1267998373560401921"}"></div></p>
<h2>The vigilante impulse</h2>
<p>After American citizen <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-20/kyle-rittenhouse-trial-protest-shooting-kenosha/100603512">Kyle Rittenhouse</a> was found not guilty of murder, after killing two men and seriously injuring a third with a gun during a Black Lives Matter protest, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/opinion/kyle-rittenhouse-not-guilty-vigilantes.html">New York Times</a> opinion piece described the vigilante impulse as a “central feature of the American experience”. The police are far from immune.</p>
<p>Gerry Conway, the Punisher’s co-creator, is appalled by law enforcement adopting the logo. He said <a href="https://twitter.com/gerryconway/status/1182807817020829697?s=20&t=raSoM6YFnc0TmCe1Tb1nZQ">on Twitter</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Any ‘cop’ who wears a Punisher logo in his official capacity is identifying law enforcement with an outlaw. These ‘cops’ are a disgrace to serious police officers everywhere. They show an imbecilic level of irresponsibility and should be fired immediately.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many called on Marvel to make a statement about the skull’s unofficial use after the George Floyd crackdown. <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2020/06/as-the-punisher-skull-re-emerges-on-cops-in-u-s-protests-marvel-comics-reckons-with-its-imagery/">A spokesperson said</a> they were “taking seriously” any unlicensed usage, but otherwise referred to a general message shared by Marvel:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We stand against racism. We stand for inclusion. We stand with our fellow Black employees, storytellers, creators and the entire Black community. We must unite and speak out.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They also pointed to a specific issue of The Punisher from the year before. In The Punisher #13 (2019), Frank Castle tears up a skull decal on a police car, explaining that if the police want a role model, they should look to Captain America instead.</p>
<p>This set a precedent: it is the character who would apparently be speaking for the company.</p>
<p>Professor of Film and Cultural Studies Will Brooker <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/what-is-a-superhero-9780199795277?cc=au&lang=en&">writes</a> that origin stories are those that “bury the old, battered, weaker self and give the character a new life as someone braver and bolder”. But the origin for the Punisher’s crusade – watching his family die – had already been complicated by other Marvel stories.</p>
<p>A recent Punisher series suggests it wasn’t his family’s deaths that created the Punisher. It shows teenage Frank as a pathetic loser in grimy flashbacks, sulking in a Captain America mask. Instead of allowing him to become “braver and bolder”, we see Frank was always prone to fits of extreme violence.</p>
<p>In this version, the Punisher didn’t begin as a “bulletproof warrior”. He was a disturbed child – more Dexter Morgan than Dirty Harry.</p>
<h2>Skulls for justice</h2>
<p>A few years ago, Punisher creator Gerry Conway launched an initiative called <a href="https://www.comicsbeat.com/gerry-conway-skulls-for-justice-punisher-emblem/">Skulls For Justice</a>. It asked artists to create new versions of the Punisher skull by combining it with the imagery of Black Lives Matter. Conway explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For too long, symbols associated with a character I co-created have been co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate Black Americans. This character and symbol was never intended as a symbol of oppression. This is a symbol of a systematic failure of equal justice. It’s time to claim this symbol for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499151/original/file-20221206-14-d7vnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499151/original/file-20221206-14-d7vnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499151/original/file-20221206-14-d7vnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499151/original/file-20221206-14-d7vnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499151/original/file-20221206-14-d7vnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499151/original/file-20221206-14-d7vnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499151/original/file-20221206-14-d7vnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499151/original/file-20221206-14-d7vnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Punisher as depicted in Marvel comics in 2022, with a new skull logo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These skulls were not approved by Marvel. However, in the latest Punisher series, Marvel has also changed the iconic logo on Frank’s chest. Almost as if they know the old skull is too toxic to be redeemed, and – at least for now – they’re abandoning it to the vigilante police who’ve embraced it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martyn Pedler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The classic Marvel comic book anti-hero is known for ultra-violence and vigilante justice: why is he so appealing to law enforcement?
Martyn Pedler, PhD Candidate, Swinburne University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195307
2022-12-01T16:00:38Z
2022-12-01T16:00:38Z
Black Panther 2: why the death of someone young can be harder to handle
<p>The Marvel Studios’ film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever addresses themes of grief and the injustice of dying young, connected to the death of the lead actor, Chadwick Boseman, in 2020. Boseman died from colorectal cancer at the age of 43, throwing the original trajectory of his character’s script off the rails, forcing Marvel to revise the film’s plot. </p>
<p>As Boseman’s character, T’Challa, is dying, his sister Shuri is in her lab, desperately trying to save his life. She refuses to give up and misses his passing. Without an outlet for her grief, she delves deeper into technology, rejecting her mother’s Wakandan rituals and the process of mourning. </p>
<p>The death of T’Challa at the beginning of the film is heart-breaking, both on- and off-screen. In the book <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Superhero-Grief-The-Transformative-Power-of-Loss/Harrington-Neimeyer/p/book/9780367145590">Superhero Grief</a>, psychologists Jill Harrington and Robert Niemeyer acknowledge that “Chadwick embodied the superhero – personifying the beauty, the character, and the strength of the Black Panther.” The grief associated with the death of such youthful virtues can be particularly challenging.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/moving-back-home-doesnt-mean-youve-failed-in-life-heres-why-187300?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Moving back home doesn’t mean you’ve failed in life – here’s why</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-to-do-in-your-20s-and-30s-to-reduce-your-risk-of-preventable-cancer-191283?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Five things to do in your 20s and 30s to reduce your risk of preventable cancer</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/stroke-young-people-can-have-them-too-heres-how-to-know-if-youre-at-risk-and-what-to-look-out-for-189272?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Stroke: young people can have them too – here’s how to know if you’re at risk and what to look out for</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>A dream of the future lost</h2>
<p>The death of a younger person, like T'Challa, is often experienced differently to the death of an older person. Medical ethicists <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-abstract/34/1/66/597172?login=false">Nancy Jecker and Lawrence Schneiderman</a> have argued that there is often an increased intensity of injustice, sorrow, anger and despair in the grief associated with the death of the young. They point to common descriptors that are more often used to describe younger people’s deaths, such as “senseless” or “tragic”.</p>
<p>The American philosopher <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Setting_Limits.html?id=NH1T-sVvEw4C&redir_esc=y">Daniel Callahan</a> pointed out that we often believe that those who die in old age “have lived a full life, done what they could, and are not victims of the malevolence of divinity or nature”. </p>
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<p>In contrast, a younger person’s death means that they forgo parts of life that a future promises, such as falling in love, fulfilling ambition and making contributions to society. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-abstract/34/1/66/597172?login=false">There is a perception</a> that death has been greedier and taken more from us, giving rise to intensified feelings of cruelty, brutality and senselessness.</p>
<p>Psychiatrist <a href="https://www.yalom.com/loves-executioner">Irvin Yalom</a> noted that the particular “sting” in the loss of the young is connected to projection. The lives of our younger relatives and loved ones are intimately connected to the future we project for ourselves. </p>
<p>In losing someone young, we often lose a life that imbued our own with meaning. Yalom argues that it’s not the same when we lose an elderly parent. In such circumstances, although we grieve, the idea we have for our future remains viable and in some cases is even enlivened – our grief is typically more about the past than the future. </p>
<p>In Black Panther, there is a sense that experiences of grief around King T'Challa’s death are significantly associated with such “unfinished business” and an “incomplete mission”. The grief is most palpable in those who saw their futures including him the most, like his sister and mother.</p>
<h2>Grieving the young</h2>
<p>The unique injustices associated with dying young can complicate patterns of grief. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953613001044">Research</a> has suggested that some of the most common experiences young people report following the death of a young friend are emptiness and disbelief at the senselessness of the loss and anger at the perceived injustice. It is particularly difficult for young people to make sense of the harsh reality that life can be so brutally unkind.</p>
<p>Symptoms of <a href="https://www.cruse.org.uk/understanding-grief/effects-of-grief/complicated-grief/">complicated grief</a> have been considered in relation to the diagnosis of mental disorders by the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm">American Psychiatric Association</a>. The complexities of such grief include feelings of persistent yearning and longing, a preoccupation with the circumstances of the death, severe difficulty accepting it and exaggerated and prolonged feelings of anger and bitterness. Its prolonged and intensified nature distinguishes it from more typical patterns of grief.</p>
<p>Psychiatrist <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/da.22068">Holly Herberman and her colleagues</a> have identified a high prevalence (21%) of complicated grief responses in young adults grieving the loss of a close young friend or sibling. Almost 40% of the young adults reported symptoms of depression that persisted up to three years after the loss of their friend or sibling. </p>
<p>One of the challenges facing grieving young adults is the painful realisation that close others will not be around in the future. The effect of such grief can persist. Psychologists <a href="https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-022-00717-8">Iren Johnsen and Ane Tømmeraas</a> argued that adolescence and young adulthood is a period of significant identity formation, “with increased responsibility, maturity, independence, separation, autonomy and freedom”. When young people experience loss during this critical period, they are often profoundly affected, and “their lives may change forever”.</p>
<p>Grieving the young is challenging, and so too is facing grief at a young age. Given the enduring disruptions that grief can create for young adults, it is important to support them in coping with their grief. Unlike Shuri, who stubbornly refuses the passing of T’Challa, young adults need an outlet to voice their feelings and make sense of such losses.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195307/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
When someone dies young, the grieving process can be more complicated.
Sam Carr, Reader in Education with Psychology and Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath
Chao Fang, Research Fellow, Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/194506
2022-12-01T13:39:12Z
2022-12-01T13:39:12Z
Resounding success of ‘Black Panther’ franchise says little about the dubious state of Black film
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498066/original/file-20221129-20-p656p4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C8%2C2982%2C2029&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' is one of only three Black films since 2018 to have a production budget exceeding $100 million.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-handout-image-provided-by-disneyland-resort-in-news-photo/1244803203?phrase=black panther wakanda&adppopup=true">Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Marvel Studios released “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683">Black Panther</a>” in February 2018, it marked the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to feature a Black superhero and star a predominantly Black cast. </p>
<p>Its estimated production budget was <a href="https://bamsmackpow.com/2018/02/14/black-panther-movie-budget/">US$200 million</a>, making it the first <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/entertainment-weekly-a-celebration-of-black-film/id1552725693">Black film</a> – conventionally defined as a film that is directed by a Black director, features a Black cast, and focuses on some aspect of the Black experience – ever to receive that level of financial support.</p>
<p>As a scholar of media and Black popular culture, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS5U4ax6Cu4">I was often asked</a> to respond to the resounding success of that first “Black Panther” film, which had shattered expectations of its box office performance. </p>
<p>Would it lead to more big-budget Black films? Was its popularity an indication that the global marketplace – the real <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2018/01/17/can-disney-possibly-succeed-with-black-panther-in-china/#3c8ad4727e8e">source of trepidation</a> about the film’s potential – was finally ready to embrace Black-cast films?</p>
<p>With the release of the <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/e2-80-98black-panther-wakanda-forever-e2-80-99-box-office-leaps-past-24400m-globally/ar-AA14fas6">massively successful</a> “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9114286">Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</a>” in November 2022, I expect those questions to reemerge. </p>
<p>Yet as I review the cinematic landscape between the original and its sequel, I am inclined to restate the answer I gave back in 2018: Assumptions should not be made about the state of Black film based on the success of the “Black Panther” franchise.</p>
<h2>Reason for optimism</h2>
<p>Prior to its release, the producers of <a href="https://deadline.com/2018/02/black-panther-african-american-films-foreign-box-office-1202286475/">“Black Panther” faced questions</a> about whether there was a market for a Black blockbuster film, even one ensconced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.</p>
<p>After all, since the Wesley Snipes-led “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120611/">Blade</a>” trilogy, which came out in the late-1990s and early 2000s, Black superhero films had experienced diminishing returns. There was one notable exception: the commercially successful, though heavily panned “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448157/">Hancock</a>” (2008), starring Will Smith. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498285/original/file-20221130-18-nzih42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man with red sunglasses pumps his first in front of a movie poster." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498285/original/file-20221130-18-nzih42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498285/original/file-20221130-18-nzih42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498285/original/file-20221130-18-nzih42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498285/original/file-20221130-18-nzih42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498285/original/file-20221130-18-nzih42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498285/original/file-20221130-18-nzih42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498285/original/file-20221130-18-nzih42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Wesley Snipes attends the premiere of ‘Blade 2’ in March 2002.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actor-wesley-snipes-attends-the-premiere-of-the-film-blade-news-photo/705528?phrase=blade%20wesley%20snipes&adppopup=true">Vince Bucci/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Otherwise, Black superhero films such as “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327554/">Catwoman</a>” (2004) and “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4573516/">Sleight</a>” (2016) either flopped or had a limited release.</p>
<p>Furthermore, until “Black Panther,” no Black film exceeded a $100 million budget, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0611/why-movies-cost-so-much-to-make.aspx">the average benchmark</a> for modern Hollywood blockbusters. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, despite these early concerns, “Black Panther” earned the highest domestic gross, <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2992866817/">$700 million</a>, of all films released in 2018, while earning $1.3 billion in worldwide gross, second only to “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154756">Avengers: Infinity War</a>.”</p>
<p>“Black Panther” emerged at the tail end of what many industry experts considered to be a surprisingly <a href="https://www.glamour.com/story/girls-trip-is-killing-it-right-now-why-that-matters">successful</a> run of Black films, which included the biopic “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846340">Hidden Figures</a>” (2016) and the raunchy comedy “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3564472">Girls Trip</a>” (2017). Despite their modest budgets, they earned over $100 million apiece at the box office – <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4846340">$235 million</a> and <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3564472">$140 million</a>, respectively. </p>
<p>However, both films were mostly reliant on the domestic box office, especially the R-rated “Girls Trip,” which was only released in a handful of foreign markets. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-black-movies-global-audience-myth-20170324-story.html">Conventional wisdom</a> has long held that Black films will fail abroad. International distributors and studios typically ignore them during the presale process or at film festivals and markets, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/are-black-movies-being-shut-by-global-buyers-1138916/">reasoning</a> that Black films are too culturally specific – not only in terms of their Blackness, but also their Americanness. </p>
<p>Films like “Black Panther” and the Oscar winning “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4975722">Moonlight</a>” (2016), <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4975722">which earned more on the international market</a> than the domestic market, certainly challenged those assumptions. It has yet to upend them. </p>
<h2>Black films after ‘Black Panther’</h2>
<p>What do those Black films released in theaters in the nearly five years between “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” tell us about the former’s impact? </p>
<p>The simple answer is that the original “Black Panther” has had no discernible influence on industry practices whatsoever.</p>
<p>Since 2018, no other Black blockbuster has emerged, save for the sequel itself. Granted, Black filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s remake of “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1620680">A Wrinkle in Time</a>” (2018) reportedly cost an estimated $100 million; however, while Black actors portrayed the protagonist and a few other characters, the film features a multicultural ensemble cast – which, as scholars such as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3661094">Mary Beltran</a> have pointed out, has become the primary strategy for achieving diversity in film. </p>
<p>Even if one were to include “A Wrinkle in Time,” the grand total of Black films with budgets exceeding $100 million is three, with the two “Black Panther” films being the others – all during an era in which there <a href="https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/budgets/all">have been hundreds</a> of mainstream films with budgets exceeding $100 million.</p>
<p>Otherwise, most of the Black films released in theaters between 2018 and 2022 typically were low budget by Hollywood standards – $3 million to $20 million in most cases – with only a handful, such as the 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2452150/">Respect</a>,” costing $50 million to 60 million.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most notable change has been the medium. Many Black films now appear on either cable networks that cater to a Black audience – namely Black Entertainment Television and, more recently, Lifetime – or on streaming services such as Netflix. Tyler Perry, the most popular and prolific Black filmmaker of the modern era, has released his latest films – “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14307536">A Jazzman’s Blues</a>” (2022), “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14813966">A Madea Homecoming</a>” (2022) and “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11390036">A Fall from Grace</a>” (2020) – directly to Netflix.</p>
<p>Furthermore, no other Black film has approached the financial success of “Black Panther.” Granted, several Black films have fared well at the box office, especially relative to their production costs. Foremost among them is Jordan Peele’s “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6857112/">Us</a>” (2019), which cost an estimated $20 million, yet earned approximately $256 million worldwide despite its R rating and the fact that it was never released in China.</p>
<h2>Whither Black film</h2>
<p>Without question, large budgets and commercial success are not the only measures of a film’s value and significance. </p>
<p>As has historically been the case, Black film has managed to do more with less. The critical acclaim afforded to films such as “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7349662">BlackKlansman</a>” (2018), “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7125860">If Beale Street Could Talk</a>” (2019) and “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9620288">King Richard</a>” (2021) reflect this fact. All reflect trends in contemporary Black filmmaking – comedies, historical dramas and biopics abound, for instance – and were made for a fraction of the cost of both “Black Panther” films.</p>
<p>In truth, the zeal with which some cast “Black Panther” as a bellwether for Black films is part of continued haranguing over their viability, particularly after the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/movies/oscarssowhite-history.html">#OscarsSoWhite</a> movement that drew attention to the lack of diversity at the 2016 Academy Awards. </p>
<p>However, its positioning as a Disney property within Marvel’s transmedia storytelling effort makes it so atypical that its success — and that of its sequel — portends little about Black film.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phillip Lamarr Cunningham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
After the first ‘Black Panther’ shattered box office expectations, some critics wondered if it marked the dawn of a new era of big-budget Black films.
Phillip Lamarr Cunningham, Assistant Professor, Media Studies, Wake Forest University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195157
2022-11-25T12:33:37Z
2022-11-25T12:33:37Z
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reclaims the myth of an African utopia
<p>Black Panther is set in the fictional country of Wakanda. The creation of the Wakandan African identity has been a contentious issue. Borrowing aspects of cultures from around Africa, it presents the world with a confusing sense of “Africaness”. </p>
<p>Wakanda is an amalgamation of African ethnic groups, with its “indigenous” outfits and symbols: cowry shells adornments, grass skirts, decorative scarring and lip plates. The average viewer won’t know that the language being spoken is <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/xhosa">Xhosa</a>, a South African language, or that some of the garments are made with <a href="https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a33670853/what-is-kente-cloth/">Ghanaian Kente cloth</a> and designs. </p>
<p>Africa is a continent of 54 countries that are diverse culturally and geographically. But this “borrowing” could suggest that they were one and the same, their cultural markers shared and interchangeable. </p>
<p>So I was ready to be critical of Wakanda Forever and how it returns to stereotypes of Africa, collapsing different civilisations (many of which have fought each other) into digestible but erroneous “myths” of a homogenous Africa. </p>
<p>And yet, I was mesmerised.</p>
<h2>An African ‘homeland’</h2>
<p>Wakanda Forever is a powerful meditation on grief and power. King T'Challa is dead and his family must pick up where he left off. Wakanda, previously believed to be a small weak nation, has made the true extent of its power known to the world, which also opens it up to foreign aggression. </p>
<p>It made me reconsider the importance of the myth of Africa as a place of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41819054">harmony and welcome</a> – an idealised Black space – for people across the African diaspora, especially for <a href="http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1917beyond/essays/harlem.htm">Black people in the US</a>. The dream of returning to Africa for many colonised Black people in the Americas, even in death, was pervasive and could be heard in the rhetoric of Black leaders such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/garvey_marcus.shtml">Marcus Garvey</a>.</p>
<p>My own grandfather, born on a plantation in colonial Martinique, took his family to live in Senegal as he felt a calling from his “homeland”. He wanted to be embraced by his “African brothers and sisters”. The reality was very different and it took time for him to be accepted.</p>
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<p>The US has historically been less connected to African cultures than many Caribbean nations. The lifespan of enslaved people in the Caribbean during the plantation period, due to horrific conditions, was very short. This meant there were <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/teacher-resources/historical-context-facts-about-slave-trade-and-slavery">low birth rates among the enslaved population</a>.</p>
<p>New African captives were brought to keep the workforce stable, renewing African cultural connections. Wakanda is then, perhaps, a reflection of Black America’s lost connections, their dreams of a Black African utopia.</p>
<p>Wakanda evokes an Africa free of western colonial destruction. It’s resources and traditions have not been eroded. Its sense of culture is strong. And, left to develop at its own speed without foreign intervention, it’s a technologically advanced and superior nation. </p>
<p>In the film, the Wakandans are positioned a people who avoided colonisation by turning inwards. They become the smallest but most powerful kingdom in existence, refusing to share their precious materials with the rest of the world or take part in global affairs. In the first Black Panther, after seeing what life was like for the formerly enslaved Africans in the US, T'Challa decides to open up and let people know about his country’s powerful metal resource, vibrainium. </p>
<p>Elements of a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/black-nationalism">Black nationalist philosophy</a>, based on the idea of empowering and uniting Black people who share a history of oppression and exploitation drive the kingdom of Wakanda as a Black utopia. This is symbolised by the “African” marketplace scenes in which food is in abundance and people dressed in traditional “African” clothing (with a futuristic twist) smile and shop in intergenerational harmony. </p>
<p>Some Black nationalists also advocated the establishment of a Black society separate from white people, a Black nation which flourishes in economical and cultural independence. Where Wakanda moves away from this ideology is in its lack of real interest in supporting Black people outside of Wakanda and reaching out to unite the disenfranchised Black diaspora. </p>
<h2>Reclaiming ritual</h2>
<p>The film celebrates the reclamation of an African identity through references to creation myths and diasporic storytelling traditions where ancestral wisdom is passed down through the generations. </p>
<p>Actor Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther star who died of colon cancer aged 43, looms large in Wakanda Forever. The narrative itself centres around Princess Shuri coming to terms with her the death of her brother T'Challa, her feelings of inadequacy and her need for revenge.</p>
<p>If you don’t connect with your ancestors, we are told, you will remain in a state of spiritual stasis. Wakandan funerals draw from <a href="https://www.instyle.com/black-panther-wakanda-forever-mourning-6828920">Yoruba Orisha ceremonies</a> with mourners dressed in white and pouring of libations for the ancestors.</p>
<p>The queen mother processes her grief in “the bush”, sitting with her pain and performing ancestral rituals. She tells her daughter she has found her son “on the breeze, pushing her like a hand on her shoulder”. Shuri rejects this and the rituals, and her lack of faith is the main barrier to her success in leadership.</p>
<p>A popular counter-narrative to discrimination for people of African descent is the insistence that all our African ancestors were the “<a href="https://www.theroot.com/maybe-my-ancestors-were-kings-and-queens-but-more-than-1822038353">kings and queens</a>” of great <a href="https://africasacountry.com/2020/09/beyond-african-royalty">kingdoms and empires</a>. </p>
<p>Yet at the heart of any kingdom is an uneven distribution of power and wealth and successful empires often rely on exploitation, theft and slavery. Thankfully, Wakanda Forever avoids the complete romanticisation of powerful monarchies, revealing the corrosive nature of the desire for control, the problem with unchallenged hierarchies and the stupidity of war.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Zobel Marshall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The film sees myths created by the Black diaspora come alive as Wakanda is presented as a Black utopia.
Emily Zobel Marshall, Reader in Postcolonial Literature, Leeds Beckett University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/172572
2022-11-23T17:05:56Z
2022-11-23T17:05:56Z
Black Panther is a step in the right direction and a diverse audience is hungry for more inclusive roles and storylines
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497086/original/file-20221123-14-yey8kp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C13%2C2950%2C1985&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Letitia Wright as Shuri.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.marvel.com/articles/movies/black-panther-wakanda-forever-shuri-nexus-of-the-movie">Marvel</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>From <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9419884/">Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness</a> to the recent <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10857160/">She-Hulk: Attorney at Law</a>, comics and their adaptations or spin-offs are big business. The just-released <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9114286/">Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</a> earned an astonishing <a href="https://www.boxofficepro.com/weekend-box-office-black-panther-wakanda-forever-opens-to-180m-domestic-330m-global/">US$330 million worldwide</a> (£278 million) in its opening weekend. </p>
<p>US comics and graphic novels, meanwhile, made <a href="https://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2021.html">US$600 million in 2021</a> – 36% more than the previous year. And <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/">four of the most popular films of 2022</a> are based on comics – with the Black Panther sequel joining the top ten a week after release.</p>
<p>These days more and more comics are featuring a diverse range of performers and roles. In Marvel’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9140554/">Loki</a>, for example, the God of Mischief <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/06/24/director-kate-herron-confirms-marvel-loki-disney-bisexual/7781779002/">is bisexual</a>, while the Black Panther films and the animated Spider-man movies have people of colour <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a25616148/spider-man-into-spider-verse-2-characters-cast-plot-release-date-spin-off/">as their leads</a>.</p>
<p>There’s also been the introduction of new characters to bridge the diversity gap, such as <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Kamala_Khan_(Earth-616)">Ms Marvel, played by Kamala Khan</a> and <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/America_Chavez_(Earth-616)">America Chavez</a> played by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7961780/">Xochitl Gomez</a>. Ms Marvel’s Muslim faith has been well received and seen as a “<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ms-marvel-muslim-identity-a-changing-hollywood-1234666/">gamechanger</a>” for depictions of the religion on screen. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m9EX0f6V11Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Queering characters</h2>
<p>Both Marvel and DC have massively increased LGBTQ+ representation onscreen and in comics in recent times. Though a notable difference is that Marvel’s LGBTQ+ superheroes are mainly new characters, whereas DC has changed the sexuality of older characters. </p>
<p>Marvel’s Young Avengers, for example, has long featured <a href="https://www.pride.com/geek/2020/4/23/will-mcus-young-avengers-characters-all-be-lgbtq">a large number of LGBTQ+ characters</a>. And DC recently created a <a href="https://theconversation.com/supermans-not-the-first-hero-to-be-portrayed-as-bisexual-but-hell-bring-hope-to-lgbtq-fans-169898">bisexual narrative</a> for Superman’s son, Jonathan Kent – though he is still presented as straight in the <a href="https://arrow.fandom.com/wiki/Jonathan_Kent">current TV adaptation</a>.</p>
<p>DC also recently changed another previously straight character, the third male Robin, Tim Drake, to have him <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/11/batmans-sidekick-robin-comes-out-as-lgbtq-in-new-comic">attracted to another man</a>. Meanwhile Aquaman’s teen protege, Aqualad, was changed from a <a href="https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Garth_(Prime_Earth)">straight white teen</a> to <a href="https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/how-the-new-gay-aquaman-is-being-reintroduced-by-a-black-socal-writer">a gay black teen</a> – first in an animated TV series and then in comics. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Robin, aka Tim Drake, with his boyfriend, Bernard." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495685/original/file-20221116-24-bzj1fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495685/original/file-20221116-24-bzj1fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495685/original/file-20221116-24-bzj1fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495685/original/file-20221116-24-bzj1fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495685/original/file-20221116-24-bzj1fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495685/original/file-20221116-24-bzj1fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495685/original/file-20221116-24-bzj1fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Robin, aka Tim Drake, with his boyfriend, Bernard.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dc.com/comics/dc-pride-tim-drake-special-2022/dc-pride-tim-drake-special-1">DC.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Back in 2012, there was also the marriage of Northstar, a fairly minor member of the X-Men, to his <a href="https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/40803/astonishing_x-men_2004_51">non-white husband</a>, which <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/x-men-gay-wedding_b_1536037">led to</a> <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/marvel-comics-hosts-first-gay-wedding-in-astonishing-x-men-235209/">positive reviews</a>. And in the same year, the original Green Lantern <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/green-lantern-comes-out-as-gay-in-earth-two-234596/">came out as gay</a>. </p>
<p>Some fans criticised how this was handled – not only was it suggested he had been <a href="https://screenrant.com/original-green-lantern-alan-scott-gay-infinite-frontier/">in the closet for years</a>, but rather than giving him a life-affirming storyline, the third issue to feature a younger version of the <a href="https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Green_Lantern">Green Lantern</a> character saw his boyfriend <a href="https://www.queerty.com/that-was-fast-green-lanterns-boyfriend-killed-off-almost-immediately-20120712">killed in a train crash</a>. </p>
<h2>What readers want</h2>
<p>When it comes to diversity, Marvel has had mixed responses from some employees. In 2017 for example, David Gabriel, Marvel’s senior vice president of print, sales and marketing, said “people didn’t want any more diversity … (or more) female characters,” but later <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/03/marvel-executive-says-emphasis-on-diversity-may-have-alienated-readers">dialled back his comments</a>, adding “we are proud and excited to … reflect new voices and new experiences.” </p>
<p>In terms of readers, it seems that while changes to <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/hire-authors-of-color-in-comics/">existing characters</a> are not so welcome,
<a href="https://uncannymagazine.com/article/representation-matters-embracing-change-in-comics/">diversity in newer storylines</a> is seen as a positive thing.
Indeed, as <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-74974-3_1#Sec210">academic, Jos van Waterschoot</a>, puts it: “<a href="https://www.popmatters.com/fandom-negative-nostalgia-2648778748.html">fandom gatekeepers may be hostile to newcomers</a>”. Perhaps for some fans, a previously straight character feeling same-sex attraction is a step too far, even if <a href="https://psychcentral.com/health/coming-out-later-in-life#typical-ages">belatedly coming out of the closet</a> is hardly new.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496749/original/file-20221122-18-h8xw41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="DC Superheros line up." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496749/original/file-20221122-18-h8xw41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496749/original/file-20221122-18-h8xw41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496749/original/file-20221122-18-h8xw41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496749/original/file-20221122-18-h8xw41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496749/original/file-20221122-18-h8xw41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496749/original/file-20221122-18-h8xw41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496749/original/file-20221122-18-h8xw41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">DC Pride is an annual LGBTQ+ comic book anthology first published by DC Comics in June 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dc.com/sites/default/files/imce/2022/04-APR/DCPRIDE_2022_WRAPAROUND_VARIANT_SWAY_624de10fd31852.69939736.jpg">DC.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But while narrative changes to <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315604626-4/superheroes-identity-carol-tilley">comics</a> may lead to <a href="https://ew.com/tv/2017/04/03/marvel-female-diverse-characters-hurting/">unwelcome criticism</a> if long-lasting characters are killed off or have their characterisation changed, when done well it adds to the storyline – and is <a href="https://movieweb.com/marvel-movie-character-deaths/">welcomed by fans</a>.</p>
<p>Writer, Mark Russell, for example, is noted for <a href="https://bookriot.com/nostalgic-comics/">reviving cartoon characters</a> in comics and giving them an <a href="https://www.salon.com/2019/06/10/snagglepuss-lgbt-hero-legendary-hanna-barbera-character-reborn-in-new-comic-series/">LGBTQ+ twist</a>. One of his <a href="https://www.cbr.com/mark-russell-best-comic-book-series-ranked/">celebrated creations</a>, <a href="https://thequeerreview.com/2020/04/13/book-review-exit-stage-left-the-snagglepuss-chronicles/">The Snagglepuss Chronicles</a>, reimagines the <a href="https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/hanna-barbera">Hanna-Barbera</a> cartoon character, Snagglepuss, as a gay US playwright in the 1950s being victimised under McCarthyism.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495688/original/file-20221116-18-z3eolp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cartoon cat as The Statue of Liberty, draped in US flag." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495688/original/file-20221116-18-z3eolp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495688/original/file-20221116-18-z3eolp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495688/original/file-20221116-18-z3eolp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495688/original/file-20221116-18-z3eolp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495688/original/file-20221116-18-z3eolp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1172&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495688/original/file-20221116-18-z3eolp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1172&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495688/original/file-20221116-18-z3eolp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1172&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Exit, Stage Left!: The Snagglepuss Chronicles is a satirical comic book, published by DC Comics, that features a gay Snagglepuss being victimised under McCarthyism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Stage_Left!:_The_Snagglepuss_Chronicles#/media/File:Exit,_Stage_Left,_The_Snagglepuss_Chronicles_Comic_Issue_1_Cover.jpg">DC.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>But more needed</h2>
<p>At least the inclusion of new <a href="https://www.cbr.com/young-justice-outsiders-aquaman-kaldur-gay/">positive diverse characters</a> seems to be leading to <a href="https://viewsfromabookshop.com/2021/01/09/diverse-comics-graphic-novels/">new readers picking up titles</a> – with Australia’s ABC News noting a “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-14/genre-fiction-comic-books-graphic-novels-diversity-storytelling/101299596">thirst for more inclusive works</a>”.</p>
<p>That said, comics have been accused of being a medium that gives <a href="https://www.peterdavid.net/2012/12/24/the-illusion-of-change/">the illusion of change</a>, when often they are just trying out various combinations of the <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/how-marvel-comics-made-an-art-form-of-the-illusion-of-change/">same characters in different roles</a> – and so ultimately still end up <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/StatusQuoIsGod/ComicBooks">resetting the status quo</a> at the end of storylines.</p>
<p>Either way, even though LGBTQ+ and <a href="https://www.qualitycomix.com/learn/superhero-diversity-in-comic-books">minority</a> representation is <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/karltonjahmal/all-the-lgbtq-characters-in-the-mcu-so-far">improving on screen</a> and in comics, there’s still a way to go in <a href="https://www.flowjournal.org/2018/02/comics-%E2%9F%B7-media-bam-pow-comics-arent-just-for-white-men-anymore-benjamin-woo-carleton-university/">the push for diverse characters</a>. Especially so given that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/may/26/marvel-editor-in-chief-axel-alonso-civil-war-x-men">straight, white men</a> still feature strongly <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/run-the-comics/">on the page</a> and <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2016/7/14/20591832/marvel-s-heroes-may-be-diverse-but-their-employees-not-so-much">behind the scenes</a> in terms of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/30/us-publishing-american-dirt-survey-diversity-cultural-appropriation">industry employees</a>. </p>
<p>It’s great that many comics are now more representative of the people who actually read them, but with a recent study noting <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2021/12/06/is-gen-z-too-cool-for-marvel/">13% of Marvel fans are Black and 18% Hispanic</a> – and this not currently depicted on the page – it’s clear there’s room for more diversity when it comes to our superheroes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172572/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Fitch receives funding from UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training, Design Star. </span></em></p>
Many comics are now more representative of the people who actually read them but it’s clear there’s room for more diversity when it comes to our superheroes.
Alex Fitch, Lecturer and PhD Candidate in Comics and Architecture, University of Brighton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/193508
2022-11-11T13:14:02Z
2022-11-11T13:14:02Z
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ continues the series’ quest to recover and celebrate lost cultures
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494547/original/file-20221109-11077-dnjqha.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=109%2C2%2C791%2C523&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Talokan is inspired by Mesoamerica, a vast area that encompasses Central America and parts of Mexico.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://boundingintocomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022.10.04-09.56-boundingintocomics-633cac0bc8998.png">Marvel Studios</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UlX5LEoAAAAJ&hl=en">As someone who teaches and writes about Afrofuturism</a>, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9114286/">Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</a>.” I’m particularly excited about the introduction of Namor and the hidden kingdom of Talokan, which he leads.</p>
<p>The first “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/">Black Panther</a>” film adhered to a longstanding practice in Afrofuturist stories and art by engaging in what I call “acts of recovery” – the process of reviving and celebrating elements of Black culture that were destroyed or suppressed by colonization. This practice is often linked to “<a href="https://www.berea.edu/cgwc/the-power-of-sankofa/">Sankofa</a>,” an African word from the Akan tribe in Ghana that roughly translates to “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.”</p>
<p>“Wakanda Forever” pulls from the past in the same way, but with a twist: Talokan is inspired not by African cultures, but by <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/resource-library-mesoamerica">Mesoamerica</a>, a vast area that covers most of Central America and part of Mexico.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Z3QKkl1WyM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A theory of time</h2>
<p>The idea that African knowledge and contributions to science and culture have been erased and must be recovered is central to Afrofuturism. The term, which was <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-afrofuturism-an-english-professor-explains-183707">coined in 1994</a>, describes a cultural movement that pulls from elements of science fiction, magical realism, speculative fiction and African history.</p>
<p>On its home page, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160411045955/https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/afrofuturism/info">the Afrofurist listserv</a>, an email list organized by social scientist <a href="http://www.alondranelson.com/">Alondra Nelson</a> in 1998, pointed to this process of recovery as a central tenet of the genre:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past, cultural producers of the African diaspora composed unique visions on the world at hand and the world to come. This speculation has been called AfroFuturism – cultural production that simultaneously references a past of abduction, displacement and alien-nation; celebrates the unique aesthetic perspectives inspired by these fractured histories; and imagines the possible futures of black life and ever-widening definitions of ‘blackness.’” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This fascination with uncovering the ways in which Black contributions have been erased and suppressed means that Afrofuturist works often mine the past as a first step toward creating visions of the future. </p>
<p>Afrofuturist scholars such as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kinitra-Brooks">Kinitra Brooks</a> even describe Afrofuturism as <a href="https://d.lib.msu.edu/vbi/7">a theory of time</a>. For her, the “present, past, and future” exist together, creating the opportunity to push against the systemic devaluation of Black people that occurred during slavery and Jim Crow segregation, and persists in contemporary anti-Black violence.</p>
<h2>Looking back to see tomorrow</h2>
<p>This recovery can take many forms. </p>
<p>Several Black writers published serialized novels of speculative fiction, such as Martin R. Delany’s “<a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/blake-or-the-huts-of-america-1859-1861/">Blake: Or the Huts of America</a>,” a slave revolt story written between 1859 and 1861. Pauline Hopkins’ “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69255">Of One Blood: Or, the Hidden Self</a>,” published in 1903, tells the story of mixed-race Harvard medical students who discover Telassar, a hidden city in Ethiopia, home to an advanced society possessing technology and mystical powers.</p>
<p>Both narratives refuse to depict Black culture as backwards or impotent, and instead celebrate Black empowerment and the rich cultural legacies of Black people.</p>
<p>Curator <a href="https://www.ingridlafleur.com/">Ingrid Lafleur</a> has long talked about how Afrofuturist visual aesthetics relies on recovering ancient <a href="https://youtu.be/x7bCaSzk9Zc">African cosmology</a>. You can see this practice in the work of musical artists such as <a href="https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/sun-ra">Sun Ra</a>, who used Egyptian symbolism throughout his work, and visual artists such as <a href="https://youtu.be/IktCTXffjIc">Kevin Sipp</a>, who remixes and reimagines African cultural symbolism to create sculptures and visual work that fuse past styles and symbols with contemporary practices.</p>
<p>Simply put, a reverence for ancestral knowledge and culture is the beating heart of Afrofuturism, and has become an integral part of Afrofuturism’s mission to forge a better future.</p>
<h2>Mesoamerica takes center stage</h2>
<p>The first “Black Panther” film celebrated an array of African cultures. </p>
<p>Costume designer Ruth Carter deliberately infused elements from across the continent <a href="https://youtu.be/mmP1aHJjJ-U">in every scene</a>. For example, the headdress worn by Queen Ramonda, played by Angela Bassett, was inspired by the <a href="https://collections.mfa.org/objects/533926">isicholo</a>, a South African hat traditionally associated with married women. And Lupita Nyong'o’s Nakia wore clothing inspired by <a href="https://www.atlasofhumanity.com/suri">the Suri tribe</a>. </p>
<p>And so the film highlighted African cultures not by depicting them as fragile or foundering, but as paragons of artistry and sophistication.</p>
<p>In “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” these themes are explored both in the way the mantle of Black Panther presumably passes to Princess Shuri, and in the depiction of Namor and the kingdom of Talokan. </p>
<p>While Talokan is an underwater society inspired by <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/classical-literature-mythology-and-folklore/folklore-and-mythology/atlantis">the myth of Atlantis</a>, Marvel Studios has signaled that the people of Talokan sought refuge underwater in response to colonial invasion. </p>
<p>By invoking the complexities of this history – and seemingly leaning heavily on parallels to Mayan culture – the film celebrates a society that scholarship has long noted for its <a href="https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/kislak/tortuguerobox/index.html">achievements</a> in <a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-6326/">architecture</a>, <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ASPC..501..265V/abstract">mathematics</a>, <a href="https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/exploring-the-early-americas/the-heavens-and-time.html">astronomy</a> and <a href="https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/exploring-the-early-americas/language-and-context.html">language</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman with feathered hat stands next to soldiers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494508/original/file-20221109-2908-9qjgqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494508/original/file-20221109-2908-9qjgqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494508/original/file-20221109-2908-9qjgqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494508/original/file-20221109-2908-9qjgqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494508/original/file-20221109-2908-9qjgqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494508/original/file-20221109-2908-9qjgqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494508/original/file-20221109-2908-9qjgqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The costumes of Talokan soldiers were inspired by Mesoamerican culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Wakanda_Forever_Talokan.jpg">Marvel Studios</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>History books <a href="https://www.americanyawp.com/text/01-the-new-world/">reference these accomplishments</a>. But in popular culture, there’s little attention given to this cultural landscape.</p>
<p>Namor and the kingdom he leads are poised to remind a global audience of the rich world of Mesoamerica that thrived – until European <a href="https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/exploring-the-early-americas/explorations-and-encounters.html">contact</a> beginning in 1502 led to conquest, decline and eradication. </p>
<p>Today, immigration, trade and drug trafficking dominate discussions of Central America and Mexico in the U.S. media. This film, on the other hand, invites the viewer to appreciate the profound cultural legacy of Mexican and Central American civilizations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193508/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian C. Chambliss does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Whereas the first ‘Black Panther’ film celebrated an array of African cultures, the follow-up seeks to also highlight the rich legacy of Mesoamerican cultures destroyed by colonial conquest.
Julian C. Chambliss, Professor of English, Michigan State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/193443
2022-11-03T19:00:23Z
2022-11-03T19:00:23Z
Black Panther and Brown Power – how Wakanda Forever celebrates pre-Columbian culture
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493155/original/file-20221102-12-y5vob9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C1592%2C893&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Studios</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wakanda is back in cinemas, promising to deliver high-voltage action and trigger new discussions about how Hollywood represents other races and cultures. On November 10 Marvel’s Black Panther will receive its long-awaited sequel, Wakanda Forever. </p>
<p>The first film was considered a landmark in how Black culture is represented in mainstream movies, breaking box office records and earning a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Now there are hopes that Wakanda Forever will have a similar impact in its depiction of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pre-Columbian">pre-Columbian</a> culture. </p>
<p>Directed by Ryan Coogler, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-afrofuturism-gives-black-people-the-confidence-to-survive-doubt-and-anti-blackness-130974">first Black Panther</a> became an exemplar of ethnic diversity in mainstream cinema, as well as a watershed moment for how film interacts with everyday racial politics. </p>
<p>NBA icon and cultural commentator Kareem Abdul-Jabbar described Black Panther as a “cultural spearhead disguised as a thrilling action adventure”.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>if you’re white, you’ll leave with an anti-‘shithole’ appreciation for Africa and African-American cultural origins. If you’re black, you’ll leave with a straighter walk, a gratitude for your African heritage and a superhero whom black children can relate to. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>At last, global Black culture was imagined by Hollywood as empowered and proud, and immune to the lasting effects of colonialism and forced migration. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Z3QKkl1WyM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Reimagining pre-Columbian culture</h2>
<p>After Black Panther’s original star Chadwick Boseman tragically died in 2020, Marvel Studios had to reframe the future of the franchise, with Coogler deciding not to recast the lead role of T’Challa. </p>
<p>The story of Wakanda Forever centres around the political turmoil within the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-afrofuturism-gives-black-people-the-confidence-to-survive-doubt-and-anti-blackness-130974">Afrofuturistic</a> nation of Wakanda after the death of its king. Different factions must band together to repel the advances of a new enemy, the hidden undersea civilisation of Talokan, led by Namor (played by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta).</p>
<p>In ancient Aztec culture, Talokan was the home of Tlaloc and his consort Chalchiuhtlicue, deities associated with rain and fertility. Marvel Studios has borrowed from pre-Columbian mythology to create a visually lush underwater civilisation based, in turn, on the character of Namor created by Bill Everett for 1939’s Marvel Comics #1. </p>
<p>The combination of an Aztec worldview and an old Marvel antihero could prompt concerns regarding cultural appropriation. However, given how Ryan Coogler and Marvel celebrated Afro culture in Black Panther, there is an expectation that this new Marvel movie will subvert stereotypes and expand wider understanding of the often misunderstood ancient cultures of what is now the Americas (known as the Kuna term <a href="https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/abya-yala">Abya Yala</a> by Indigenous activists and organisations). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-afrofuturism-gives-black-people-the-confidence-to-survive-doubt-and-anti-blackness-130974">How afrofuturism gives Black people the confidence to survive doubt and anti-Blackness</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How Black Panther unleashed a wave of non-white heroes</h2>
<p>Coogler’s first film proved that inclusivity can also be profitable in Hollywood. Since Black Panther, a wave of blockbusters have been released featuring non-white heroes and challenge Western-centric conventions of action-adventure cinema. </p>
<p>In the past year alone, films such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-bruce-lee-to-shang-chi-a-short-history-of-the-kung-fu-film-in-cinema-168273">Shang-Chi</a> (based on Chinese mythology), <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6443346/">Black Adam</a> (set in a fictional Middle Eastern country), and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8093700/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">The Woman King</a> (about a group of 19th century African female warriors) have provided a corrective to the historical disservice that Hollywood has done to so-called minorities. </p>
<p>Examples of mainstream cinema depicting pre-Columbian civilisations have been rare, and tend to cater to the tourist gaze by oversimplifying the history and richness of the Mesoamerican region. Films such as Mel Gibson’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472043/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Apocalypto</a>, Steven Spielberg’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367882/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull</a>, or the more recent live-action version of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7547410/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_4">Dora the Explorer</a> reduce complex civilisations later vanquished by European colonial forces to a handful of cliches.</p>
<p>These depictions misconstrue the history of civilisations that were highly advanced in science and technology compared to their European counterparts. They also have a negative impact on how millions of Latin Americans and Latinx individuals are represented onscreen and perceived in everyday life.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493171/original/file-20221102-13-i6k5pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493171/original/file-20221102-13-i6k5pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493171/original/file-20221102-13-i6k5pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493171/original/file-20221102-13-i6k5pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493171/original/file-20221102-13-i6k5pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493171/original/file-20221102-13-i6k5pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493171/original/file-20221102-13-i6k5pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493171/original/file-20221102-13-i6k5pm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black Panther (2018) was considered a landmark in how Black culture is represented in mainstream movies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Studios</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Namor reframed as an Aztec-inspired antihero</h2>
<p>First appearing in comic books in 1939, Namor has traditionally been depicted as the sometimes-villainous king of Atlantis. Wakanda Forever repositions Namor’s underwater home to the Pacific Ocean and draws on Aztec and other pre-Columbian culture to realise this new Marvel hero. </p>
<p>The new Namor wears an Aztec-inspired headdress and armour, as well as facial piercings, and his underwater kingdom features buildings resembling Mesoamerican pyramids. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493168/original/file-20221102-22-r6iys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493168/original/file-20221102-22-r6iys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493168/original/file-20221102-22-r6iys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493168/original/file-20221102-22-r6iys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493168/original/file-20221102-22-r6iys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493168/original/file-20221102-22-r6iys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493168/original/file-20221102-22-r6iys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493168/original/file-20221102-22-r6iys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Namor in his underwater realm in Wakanda Forever.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Studios</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta, who stars as Namor, is one of the main voices of a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-10-20/mexico-anti-racism-movement-protests-colorism">social media campaign</a>, #PoderPrieto (“Brown Power”), which fights against the white washing of the Mexican screen industry. </p>
<p>Contrary to fellow male Mexican actors who have been given diverse opportunities, up until now, the darker skinned Huerta has been typecast as a criminal and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-mexico-racism-trfn-idUSKBN23I3DW">faced discrimination </a>in the Mexican screen industry. Mexican film and television generally favours European-looking talent and systematically under-represents Indigenous Mexicans.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-bruce-lee-to-shang-chi-a-short-history-of-the-kung-fu-film-in-cinema-168273">From Bruce Lee to Shang-Chi: a short history of the kung fu film in cinema</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The release of Wakanda Forever coincides with renewed efforts by the incumbent Mexican government and activists to revisit the Indigenous and colonial histories of the country, and address systematic racism on and off-screen. For example, the federal government <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47701876">has demanded Spain and the Vatican apologise</a> to Indigenous Mexicans over human rights abuses during the conquest over 500 years ago. </p>
<p>Huerta has spoken about the importance of inclusivity and representation of non-white characters in superhero movies. <a href="https://remezcla.com/film/tenoch-huerta-confirms-role-origin-black-panther-wakanda-forever-trailer/">When Huerta was first unveiled</a> to be playing the iconic character at San Diego Comic-Con he explained to the thousands of fans in attendance “I wouldn’t be here without inclusion”, and then switching to Spanish said “Thank you to all the Latin Americans – you guys crossed the river, and you all left everything you love behind. Thanks to that, I’m here.”</p>
<p>The first Black Panther film was a milestone in Black representation on-screen, now it is hoped Wakanda Forever will be both a mirror and a spotlight for millions of Latin Americans, as well as for the vast Latinx diaspora around the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193443/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The first Black Panther film was a milestone in Black representation on-screen – now it is hoped Wakanda Forever will be both a mirror and a spotlight for millions of Latin Americans.
César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology
Liam Burke, Associate Professor and Cinema and Screen Studies Discipline Leader, Swinburne University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/186450
2022-07-21T17:56:39Z
2022-07-21T17:56:39Z
Getting hammered by cancer: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ re-examines the hero’s journey
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475399/original/file-20220721-22-swp7hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C4%2C2992%2C1521&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Meaning is found in love and risk, not in superpowers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Marvel Studios)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/getting-hammered-by-cancer---thor--love-and-thunder--re-examines-the-hero-s-journey" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><em>This story contains spoilers about ‘Thor: Love and Thunder.’</em></p>
<p>In the new movie <em>Thor: Love and Thunder</em>, based on recent comic books about the superhero, cancer complicates what it means to be Thor.</p>
<p>The superhero Thor <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Journey_into_Mystery_Vol_1_83">first appeared in 1962</a>, quickly joining the super-team The Avengers. Thor was the epitome of the male superhero: morally upstanding and astonishingly physically powerful.</p>
<p>But recent comic book stories have seen different characters — the original, a male Thor Odinson and, lately, a female Mighty Thor, also known as Jane Foster — team up to command the power of Thor.</p>
<p><em>Thor: Love and Thunder</em>, the newly released film by director <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/movies/taika-waititi-thor-love-and-thunder.html">Taika Waititi,</a> adapts some of these stories. Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) is surprised when, after an eight-year separation, his ex-girlfriend Foster (Natalie Portman) transforms into The Mighty Thor. </p>
<p>Foster as The Mighty Thor has cancer in both the movie and in recent comics. </p>
<p>The character raises questions about the impact cancer has on ideas of worthiness, responsibility and power — and what it means to be a superhero. These are themes we examine in our forthcoming book, <em>The Cancer Plot: Terminal Immortality in Marvel’s Moral Universe</em>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Go8nTmfrQd8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ official trailer.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Bewildered, angry fans</h2>
<p>In both the recent comic books and film, Foster controls the enchanted hammer <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Mjolnir">Mjolnir</a>, the weapon that grants superheroic powers to the person who can to lift it. </p>
<p>Some comic book <a href="https://www.cbr.com/fans-calm-down-jane-foster-mighty-thor/">readers reacted</a> negatively to Foster’s time as The Mighty Thor, arguing that Marvel was stripping away or confusing the history of a male Thor superhero in order to introduce gender diversity in its characters.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ms-marvel-matters-so-much-to-muslim-south-asian-fans-184613">Why Ms. Marvel matters so much to Muslim, South Asian fans</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some movie viewers have expressed similar disappointment about seeing a <a href="https://www.insider.com/fans-react-to-natalie-portman-playing-female-thor-2019-7">female Thor</a>.</p>
<p>The film’s focus, however, is not on the gender of Thor, but on Odinson’s moral journey. Foster’s spreading cancer is the catalyst for Thor Odinson’s moral growth.</p>
<h2>Facing enemies</h2>
<p>In both comic books and the Thor film franchise, which began with the 2011 movie <em>Thor</em>, Thor Odinson is a deity: <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Thor/">the Norse God of Thunder</a>. A moral exemplar, Odinson could only lift the enchanted hammer <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Mjolnir">Mjolnir</a> if he was worthy. </p>
<p>In both earlier comic books and films, Foster’s typical role was as a minor character. Writers used her as the love interest in danger, giving the male hero someone to rescue.</p>
<p>That is, until she became The Mighty Thor herself. </p>
<p>In <em>Love and Thunder</em>, Foster takes on new enemies: cancer and the <a href="https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Gorr_the_God_Butcher">cosmic villain Gorr</a> (Christian Bale). While Foster and Odinson vanquish Gorr, they are not able to defeat her cancer.</p>
<p>By taking on Gorr, and risking death from cancer, Foster shows Odinson that a meaningful life is one of emotional and physical risk that may result in loss.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black and white image of a vampirish-looking pale villain's grimacing face." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475404/original/file-20220721-9523-13bqsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475404/original/file-20220721-9523-13bqsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475404/original/file-20220721-9523-13bqsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475404/original/file-20220721-9523-13bqsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475404/original/file-20220721-9523-13bqsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475404/original/file-20220721-9523-13bqsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475404/original/file-20220721-9523-13bqsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cosmic villain Gorr (Christian Bale) is one of the enemies The Mighty Thor faces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Marvel Studios)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Complicating the superhero</h2>
<p>Foster transforms when she holds Mjolnir in both the comic book and movie.</p>
<p>Emaciated from chemotherapy, Foster becomes muscled (and blonde) as The Mighty Thor. The film and comic books link these different bodies through the ethical decisions she must make.</p>
<p>The movie runs up against idealizing narratives of cancer. Cultural critic Barbara Ehrenreich has criticized depictions of cancer as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/02/cancer-positive-thinking-barbara-ehrenreich">the source of [one’s] happiness</a>.”</p>
<p>Such narratives <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/detailing-the-problems-of-breast-cancer-culture/2012/02/09/gIQA3DiT2Q_story.html">minimize the painful process of cancer care to promote</a> a lifestyle brand.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cancer-and-loneliness-how-inclusion-could-save-lives-140516">Cancer and loneliness: How inclusion could save lives</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The film mostly avoids this. Cancer becomes the occasion for determining what’s important in life through struggle on behalf of others while facing death.</p>
<p>Foster’s continual decision-making — to have chemotherapy or engage in battle — vividly characterizes the struggle of cancer patients highlighted <a href="https://www.bcaction.org/from-the-executive-director-pink-ribbon-culture-gaslighting-and-the-breast-cancer-epidemic/">in critical</a> works <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6303890">and memoirs</a>. </p>
<p>Thus, The Mighty Thor’s cosmic work cannot be separated from her mortal life as a cancer patient.</p>
<h2>The cost of superheroism</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A smiling man seen against a Marvel backdrop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475412/original/file-20220721-10055-c3xwd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475412/original/file-20220721-10055-c3xwd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475412/original/file-20220721-10055-c3xwd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475412/original/file-20220721-10055-c3xwd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475412/original/file-20220721-10055-c3xwd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475412/original/file-20220721-10055-c3xwd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475412/original/file-20220721-10055-c3xwd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chris Hemsworth in role as Thor Odinson does not have to consider the same complicated ethical decisions as his girlfriend, Jane Foster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Baker)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The same superheroic action has different effects on Odinson and Foster.</p>
<p>For Odinson, the cost of battle does not jeopardize his superhero identity or practice. He can <a href="https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Thor%27s_Prosthetic_Eye">lose a body</a> <a href="https://screenrant.com/thor-metal-arm-origin-marvel-comics/">part, or</a> use a cane when in <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Donald_Blake_(Earth-616)">a temporary human form</a>, but neither puts him at risk of dying. </p>
<p>The costs for Foster, however, are much higher. Foster’s superhuman power, ironically, prevents her cancer treatments from working. Being The Mighty Thor risks killing her. </p>
<p>She must consider death and disease when choosing to battle. Cancer forces The Mighty Thor to make complicated ethical decisions that Odinson doesn’t have to consider.</p>
<h2>Renewed life</h2>
<p>In both the comic books and the film, cancer kills Foster.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/the-full-reading-order-of-jason-aaron-s-thor">the years-long comic book story</a>, <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Mighty_Thor_Vol_2_706">Foster dies</a> after throwing Mjolnir into the sun. </p>
<p>Odinson rewards Foster with renewed life and the consolation prize of new <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Valkyrie:_Jane_Foster_Vol_1">superhero identity</a> as a Valkyrie, an elite warrior of Asgard.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women in fancy dresses seen against a blue backdrop smiling at each other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475410/original/file-20220721-22-gu6xud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475410/original/file-20220721-22-gu6xud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475410/original/file-20220721-22-gu6xud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475410/original/file-20220721-22-gu6xud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475410/original/file-20220721-22-gu6xud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475410/original/file-20220721-22-gu6xud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475410/original/file-20220721-22-gu6xud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Foster (Natalie Portman) finds new life as a Valkyrie in New Asgard, ruled by King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Scott Garfitt)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Love and loss</h2>
<p>In <em>Thor: Love and Thunder</em>, Foster’s cancer journey enables Odinson learn a lesson on meaning and risk. While she is in hospital, Odinson begs her to give up Mjolnir so that he won’t lose her. </p>
<p>Despite the likelihood of her death, Foster chooses to live, and die, on her own terms. She joins Odinson in the final battle against Gorr, dying as a result of the wounds she sustains and her cancer. </p>
<p>Early in the movie, fellow superhero Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) talks to Odinson about the loss of own his love. He advises: “<a href="https://gamerant.com/best-quotes-from-thor-love-and-thunder/">I hope one day you can feel this shitty</a>,” a variation on the adage that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. </p>
<h2>How meaning is found</h2>
<p>By choosing to make hard moral decisions and take risks, even that of losing him, Foster gives Odinson things to feel shitty about. In this state, Odinson now empathizes with Gorr to the point of taking on the care of his enemy’s orphaned daughter.</p>
<p>Though Foster dies, she is rewarded as The Mighty Thor with entry into <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valhalla-Norse-mythology">Valhalla</a>. However, she enters the place of the gods in her mortal form. Her heroism is not tied to her powers but to her moral decision-making and risk-taking.</p>
<p><em>Thor: Love and Thunder</em> offers a new way to read Foster’s cancer. It shows how meaning is found in love and risk, not in superpowers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186450/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In the latest ‘Thor’ movie, the character Jane Foster raises questions about the impact of cancer on ideas of worthiness, responsibility and power — and what it means to be a superhero.
Reginald Wiebe, Associate professor, Department of Language and Literature, Concordia University of Edmonton
Dorothy Jean Woodman, Associate Lecturer, Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/186978
2022-07-21T08:59:57Z
2022-07-21T08:59:57Z
Love and Thunder: the evolution of Thor’s masculinity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
<p><em>SPOILER ALERT: this article contains plot references to Thor: Love and Thunder.</em></p>
<p>Chris Hemsworth’s <a href="https://www.marvel.com/characters/thor-thor-odinson/on-screen/profile">Thor</a> often refers to himself as the “strongest Avenger” – an idealistic manifestation of masculinity beyond the reach of ordinary mortal men.</p>
<p>Sure, this is mostly played for laughs, but if we look beyond the comedy, there is an interesting message about what it means to be a man underpinning the Thor franchise. It’s a message that has shifted and changed over the last decade, and not always for the better.</p>
<p>In the latest instalment, <a href="https://www.marvel.com/movies/thor-love-and-thunder">Thor: Love and Thunder</a> , there is not one Thor but two: step forward the Mighty Thor, in the guise of the original’s one-time love, <a href="https://www.marvel.com/characters/jane-foster">Jane Foster</a>, played by Natalie Portman. </p>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.marvel.com/movies">Marvel Cinematic Universe</a> (MCU) is a multi-billion-dollar multiverse franchise that unites a range of superheroes adapted from Marvel Comics. Hemsworth’s “space Viking” first appeared in the MCU in Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 movie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOddp-nlNvQ">Thor</a>. </p>
<p>Even though this incarnation of Thor is a pastiche of masculine superheroes, the cues of stereotypical “normal” <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/hypermasculinity">hypermasculinity</a> were still at the core of the film. Yes, the audience were encouraged to laugh at Thor’s arrogance and roll their eyes at his insufferable hubris. But, in the end, it was his superior strength and aggression, combined with the love of a “good woman” – Jane Foster – that won the day in a celebration of hypermasculine prowess. </p>
<h2>Playing with masculinity</h2>
<p>It was all standard Hollywood action hero fare, and this continued into the second instalment in the franchise, Alan Taylor’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npvJ9FTgZbM">Thor: The Dark World</a> (2013), as well as Joss Whedon’s cross-franchise <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL8AuX7MBc4">The Avengers</a> (2012) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmeOjFno6Do">Avengers: Age of Ultron</a> (2015).</p>
<p>It wasn’t until New Zealand actor/director <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Taika-Waititi">Taika Waititi</a> took the helm for the third instalment, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7MGUNV8MxU">Thor: Ragnarok</a> (2017), that we began to see a real shift in the representation of Thor’s masculinity. Here, it is celebrated for its ridiculousness not its effectiveness, planting the seeds for a new interpretation of how the hypermasculine can be understood in everyday culture. </p>
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<p>In the Russo brothers’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMSITikqKiM">Avengers: Endgame</a> (2019), the reimagining of Thor’s masculinity took a potentially problematic turn. Having failed to prevent Josh Brolin’s <a href="https://www.marvel.com/articles/movies/avengers-endgame-refresher-thanos">Thanos</a> – the ultimate bad guy in the MCU – from erasing half of life in the universe in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZfuNTqbHE8">Avengers: Infinity War</a> (2018), Thor slips into depression. </p>
<p>In his depressive state, he is stripped of his masculine prowess. Now inhabiting a <a href="https://screenrant.com/avengers-endgame-thor-cut-scene-details-worse/">fat body</a> that is exposed for comedic effect, Thor’s depression is correlated with laziness, a lack of personal hygiene and emotional instability.</p>
<p>In this new guise, he is diminished as a member of the Avengers, with his role as peak masculinity now taken by Mark Ruffalo’s <a href="https://www.marvel.com/characters/hulk-bruce-banner/on-screen/profile">Hulk character</a> who has become Professor Hulk – a combination of the brute strength of the Hulk and superior intellect of Bruce Banner. “Fat” Thor is a jokey figure – the inverse of hypermasculinity. </p>
<h2>The new ideal (spoiler alert!)</h2>
<p>Things are different in Taika Waititi’s latest Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). In the opening montage of the movie, Thor returns his body to the hypermasculine form. Again it is ridiculous – as ridiculous as the <a href="https://nerdist.com/article/thor-love-and-thunder-goats-history-mcu-marvel-comics-mythology/">gigantic screaming goats</a> that carry his space boat across the universe. </p>
<p>He is still an exaggerated uber-muscled masculine presence, simultaneously a figure of ridicule and spectacle. He is to be consumed or scoffed at depending on your preference. Or maybe even both. </p>
<p>Jane Foster’s reimagining as the Mighty Thor introduces a new gender dynamic into the franchise. The Mighty Thor is just as powerful as Thor, or maybe even more so, as she comes to his rescue on several occasions. Yet Thor’s masculinity does not collapse or enter crisis in the face of powerful femininity.</p>
<p>In the end he works with the Mighty Thor as an equal to save the day. The arrival of this female Thor incarnation in the story amplifies the absurdity of Thor’s masculine hubris, but it does so in a way that still allows the audience to enjoy Thor’s laughable excesses. </p>
<p>Even though the central relationship explored in the movie is heterosexual, Thor’s masculinity is not rigidly heterosexual, as demonstrated in an amusing scene where he gazes into the eyes of Chris Pratt’s <a href="https://www.marvel.com/characters/star-lord-peter-quill">Star Lord</a>, when asked about people he loves.</p>
<p>In Love and Thunder, Thor’s hypermasculinity is complex: arrogant and hubristic, but also caring. His supernatural strength causes and solves problems. It is is framed as aspirational and childlike, such as when, near the end of the movie, he shares his powers (temporarily) with the children he has set out to rescue. He is both a saviour and in need of saving. </p>
<p>Waititi’s Thors live in a reciprocal dynamic. We discover in flashback that it was Hemsworth’s Thor, in asking his hammer Mjölnir to protect Jane, who inadvertently caused her to become the Mighty Thor. Later, when it is revealed that Jane’s continued use of Mjölnir will lead to her death, she chooses to sacrifice herself to save Thor.</p>
<p>Ultimately, when Thor agrees to care for the orphaned daughter of the vanquished <a href="https://www.marvel.com/articles/movies/christian-bale-joins-thor-love-thunder-gorr-god-butcher">God Butcher</a> played by Christian Bale, he becomes a new and idealised version of masculinity – one that is not only focused on the body, strength and physical superiority, but also on caring, nurturing and domestic life.<br>
The new hypermasculine ideal realised by Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder is fluid, contradictory and subject to change and interpretation, which seems a perfect fit for our changing times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186978/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Quinn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Director Taika Waititi enjoys playing with notions of masculinity in this latest outing of the franchise which sees the macho hero eclipsed by a female character of equal standing.
John Quinn, Lecturer in Screen & Performance, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of Scotland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/186716
2022-07-19T20:29:17Z
2022-07-19T20:29:17Z
Biceps instead of boobs and butts: how Natalie Portman’s Mighty Thor brings us a new physical reality for female superheroes
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474764/original/file-20220719-24-4osyy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C18%2C6038%2C3992&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Studios</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10648342/">Thor: Love and Thunder</a>, the latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has just hit Australian cinemas. Following Thor’s adventure in the aftermath of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154796/">Avengers: Endgame</a>, the film re-introduces Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, now as <a href="https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/55786/mighty_thor_2015_1">the Mighty Thor</a>.</p>
<p>The Mighty Thor’s introduction adds to Marvel Universe’s growing roster of female superheroes, which includes characters such as Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, and Ms. Marvel. </p>
<p>But, more than just another name on the list, the Mighty Thor represents another type of female superhero: one who is physically strong and with the biceps to show for it.</p>
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<h2>Becoming the Mighty Thor</h2>
<p>Jane Foster first appeared in Marvel Comics’ <a href="https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/9780/journey_into_mystery_1952_84">Journey into Mystery #84</a> as a nurse employed by Dr. Donald Blake, Thor’s alter-ego. In her early appearances, she serves as Thor’s love interest, often the damsel-in-distress in Thor’s daring exploits. </p>
<p>The Marvel Universe introduces Jane Foster in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800369/">Thor</a> as an accomplished astrophysicist. But, much like her counterpart in the comics, Foster’s arc revolves around being Thor’s love interest.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473906/original/file-20220713-20-g0ppvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473906/original/file-20220713-20-g0ppvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473906/original/file-20220713-20-g0ppvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473906/original/file-20220713-20-g0ppvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473906/original/file-20220713-20-g0ppvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473906/original/file-20220713-20-g0ppvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473906/original/file-20220713-20-g0ppvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473906/original/file-20220713-20-g0ppvf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marvel Comics’ Mighty Thor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Comics</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the comics, Foster takes up <a href="https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/50970/thor_2014_1">Thor’s mantle</a> after picking up the enchanted hammer Mjolnir following the original Thor losing his “worthiness”. And although Stan Lee and John Buschema <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comics-Marvel-Way/dp/0671530771/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how+to+draw+comics+the+marvel+way&qid=1657701521&s=books&sprefix=how+to+draw+comics+th%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C313&sr=1-1">emphasise</a> that female superheroes in Marvel comics should be drawn “to look smooth and soft as opposed to the muscular, angular rendition of a man”, Foster’s Thor is anything but. As the Mighty Thor, Foster’s weak body, ridden with terminal cancer, transforms into a strong, statuesque body befitting a goddess warrior.</p>
<p>Thor: Love and Thunder loosely draws from Foster’s character arc in the comics. Natalie Portman’s Foster first appears in the film as she is undergoing treatment for her stage-four cancer. Having learned that Mjolnir gives its wielder great health, she travels to New Asgard seeking the hammer. Sensing Foster’s presence, the shattered pieces of Mjolnir restore itself and chooses Foster as its new wielder, transforming her into the Mighty Thor.</p>
<p>Portman, whose past roles often capitalise on her petite figure, <a href="https://www.womenshealth.com.au/the-training-routine-that-got-natalie-portman-thor-strong/">spent 10 months</a> training to “get as big as possible”. Fans got a first glimpse of Portman’s portrayal of the goddess of thunder in the film’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgB1wUcmbbw">teaser trailer</a>. </p>
<p>Like her comics counterpart, Marvel’s cinematic Mighty Thor sports a prominently muscular physique. When <a href="https://twitter.com/empiremagazine/status/1522894340200218624?s=20&t=oZevEGSlnM9Hi8p-EkEAUw">set photos</a> of Portman in full Thor gears surfaced, the internet lost its collective mind over her jacked arms.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474769/original/file-20220719-18-4r3kz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474769/original/file-20220719-18-4r3kz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474769/original/file-20220719-18-4r3kz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474769/original/file-20220719-18-4r3kz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474769/original/file-20220719-18-4r3kz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474769/original/file-20220719-18-4r3kz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474769/original/file-20220719-18-4r3kz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474769/original/file-20220719-18-4r3kz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth as Thors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Studios</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A different embodiment of the female superhero</h2>
<p>The hyper-sexualisation of female superheroes in film is nothing new. Characters such as Catwoman, Black Widow and Wonder Woman have all suffered this fate. They are sexualised through their dialogues and mannerisms, not to mention the exposing costumes <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/24642398">highlighting their bums and breasts</a>, often with exposed cleavages. In the poster for <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843866/">Captain America: The Winter Soldier</a>, for example, <a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/14238-scarlett-johanssons-waist-isnt-actually-the-issue-with-her-captain-america-2-poster">Black Widow is posed and positioned</a> in a way that align the viewers with a sexualising gaze.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474791/original/file-20220719-16-z5sje2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474791/original/file-20220719-16-z5sje2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474791/original/file-20220719-16-z5sje2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474791/original/file-20220719-16-z5sje2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474791/original/file-20220719-16-z5sje2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474791/original/file-20220719-16-z5sje2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474791/original/file-20220719-16-z5sje2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474791/original/file-20220719-16-z5sje2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Scarlett Johansson in the Captain America: The Winter Soldier poster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
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<p>Films such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/">Black Panther</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154664/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Captain Marvel</a> have taken a better approach in representing their female characters.
The women in these films are neither <a href="https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy-f.deakin.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/15295036.2021.1889012">visually objectified</a> nor defined by their roles as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2018/02/23/the-women-of-black-panther-are-empowered-not-just-in-politics-and-war-but-also-in-love/">love interests</a>. Instead, they unapologetically display their <a href="https://www.antithesisjournal.com.au/blog/2019/4/18/feminism-as-a-super-power-why-captain-marvel-is-the-ultimate-female-superhero">agency, skills and powers</a>. Thor: Love and Thunder takes another step forward in the representation of embodiment of female heroism and power.</p>
<p>The Mighty Thor’s depiction in Thor: Love and Thunder is not without its <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-the-love-of-thor-why-its-so-hard-for-marvel-to-get-its-female-superheroes-right-186639">problems</a>, including her function in the narrative as a love interest and a tool for Thor’s character development. But, the character opens the possibility for a more diverse and inclusive representation of women’s bodies in mainstream superhero movies. </p>
<p>In addition to the more practical superhero suit, the Mighty Thor does not shy away from showing her muscles. This is why the character is a refreshing departure from the hyper-sexualisation of female superheroes before her.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-the-love-of-thor-why-its-so-hard-for-marvel-to-get-its-female-superheroes-right-186639">For the love of Thor! Why it's so hard for Marvel to get its female superheroes right</a>
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<p>Representations of female superpowers are often limited by gendered stereotypes. This is exemplified by the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Women-Superheroes-Trina-Robbins/dp/0878164812/ref=sr_1_1?crid=26TXYM5WPIBYH&keywords=the+great+women+superheroes&qid=1657702885&s=books&sprefix=the+great+women+superheroe%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C382&sr=1-1">“hands off” power sets</a> most female superheroes have, such as Scarlet Witch’s magic, Jean Grey’s telekinesis, and Emma Frost’s telepathy. The Mighty Thor is one of the rare examples where a female superhero is characterised by explicitly physical powers.</p>
<p>In a recent interview, <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/features/natalie-portman-thor-marvel-1235299328/">Portman noted</a> that her physical transformation to embody the character gave her an empowering “state of mind as a woman”. For female audiences as well, the Mighty Thor’s physical stature is a powerful visual representation.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1522894340200218624"}"></div></p>
<p>Additionally, representations of women’s bodies in popular culture reflect gender conventions that associate femininity with slender and soft bodies. With the rare appearances of muscular women on the big screen, the Mighty Thor introduces a different physical representation that challenges traditional gender expectations of what femininity looks like.</p>
<p>As cultural products, superheroes not only reflect our culture but also inform our understanding of it, including the discourse around gender. So, representation of diversity – in terms of race, sex, gender, economics, sexual orientation, and shape – is important. We need more representation of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We also need more representation women of all shapes – tall, short, small, or large. For this reason, the Mighty Thor is a valuable addition to the new wave of strong female superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186716/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashika Paramita does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Thor: Love and Thunder takes another step forward in the representation of embodiment of female heroism and power, through Natalie Portman’s embodiment of The Mighty Thor.
Ashika Paramita, PhD Candidate, Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/186639
2022-07-12T01:44:16Z
2022-07-12T01:44:16Z
For the love of Thor! Why it’s so hard for Marvel to get its female superheroes right
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473300/original/file-20220711-26-sq97xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C9%2C6029%2C3992&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it was first revealed that Natalie Portman was to become the “female Thor” in Marvel’s latest superhero instalment, Thor: Love and Thunder, fans were quick to <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/if-she-be-worthy/259582">condemn the decision</a> on social media. </p>
<p>Portman was lambasted as not “<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Swole">swole</a>” enough, too petite, and generally not what people imagined the character to be. Ten months of <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/new-movies/natalie-portmans-trainer-reveals-how-the-star-got-so-ripped-for-thor/news-story/f068c4080ebb18716dcd25855905611b">intensive workouts and a high-protein diet</a> later, and Portman is being <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/natalie-portman-thor-arms-madonna-b2117769.html">applauded</a> for arms that “could actually throw giant hammers at baddies’ heads”. </p>
<p>Yet that early reaction to Portman’s casting attests to how the representation of female superheroes can be difficult for movie-makers when the established audience is often perceived to be young, white, cisgender and male. </p>
<p>It seemingly doesn’t matter that the number of women consuming superhero content has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540253.2019.1633460?journalCode=cgee20">increased</a>. Offering feminist depictions of characters that could challenge the defining masculinity of the genre remains a problem.</p>
<p>What does this mean for Portman and the female superheroes who have come before (and will follow) her? The answer seems to be that the makers of superhero movies inevitably <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793624598/The-Superhero-Multiverse-Readapting-Comic-Book-Icons-in-Twenty-First-Century-Film-and-Popular-Media">subvert some gender stereotypes</a> while maintaining others. </p>
<p>In short, they offer token female representation so as not to ostracise audiences. So while she might now be more muscular, Portman is still subordinated to Chris Hemsworth’s Thor by highlighting that she is first and foremost his love interest.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473303/original/file-20220711-12-cwnqgg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473303/original/file-20220711-12-cwnqgg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473303/original/file-20220711-12-cwnqgg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473303/original/file-20220711-12-cwnqgg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473303/original/file-20220711-12-cwnqgg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473303/original/file-20220711-12-cwnqgg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473303/original/file-20220711-12-cwnqgg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">More muscles but still mainly the love interest: Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Too few female superheroes</h2>
<p>Granted, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise has at least attempted to cast female leads and to advocate for women’s issues. For example, Black Widow’s standalone film was in part <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/scarlett-johansson-black-widow-feminist-me-too-times-up-empire-a9704806.html">intended to contribute</a> to the dialogue around the #Timesup and #MeToo movements. </p>
<p>And the latest Thor offering explores the value of female friendships, with co-star <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/06/22/thor-love-and-thunder-natalie-portman-building-mighty-physique/7687523001/">Tessa Thompson attesting</a> to her character Valkyrie being “happy to have found a new sister”.</p>
<p>There’s no doubt female viewers can identify with these powerful women and their stories and as a result form positive attitudes to the superhero genre in general. But that means more superhero films need to be made with the female viewer in mind.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-witch-treatment-what-dr-stranges-wanda-tells-us-about-representations-of-female-anger-184509">The witch treatment: What Dr. Strange's Wanda tells us about representations of female anger</a>
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<p>Such offerings are few and far between, however. Let’s not forget it took Marvel ten years to give Black Widow her own film after her original introduction to the franchise (in 2010’s Iron Man 2). </p>
<p>In many ways, Marvel’s films continue to depict women as auxiliaries – damsels in distress, love interests, or subordinate in some way to their male counterparts. In fact, actress <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-57524423">Scarlett Johansson criticised</a> the earlier “hyper-sexualisation” of her Black Widow character. </p>
<p>Similarly, Scarlet Witch, one of the most powerful of the Avengers characters, is often defined by the male relationships in her life. In the recent Dr Strange: The Multiverse of Madness, she typifies many <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-witch-treatment-what-dr-stranges-wanda-tells-us-about-representations-of-female-anger-184509">unfavourable female tropes</a>, including the “hysterical woman” and “monstrous mother”.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473309/original/file-20220711-23-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473309/original/file-20220711-23-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473309/original/file-20220711-23-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473309/original/file-20220711-23-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473309/original/file-20220711-23-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473309/original/file-20220711-23-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473309/original/file-20220711-23-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A billboard advertising Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow: ‘hyper-sexualised’ stereotypes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The hyper-sexualised stereotype</h2>
<p>Treating even powerful female characters as <a href="https://www.panicdiscourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/5-19-Holding-Out-for-a-Heroine.pdf">subordinate or dependent</a> might reassure male fans that superheroines aren’t a threat to the masculine undertones of the genre, but it does a disservice to the female audience. </p>
<p>Asked to assess superhero graphic novels and films, most women in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1045159514546214">one study</a> said they disliked and avoided the DC Comics character of Catwoman because she was presented as manipulative and emotional. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/captain-marvel-why-female-superheroes-are-not-just-for-international-womens-day-113083">Captain Marvel: why female superheroes are not just for International Women's Day</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>Other <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/car.1094">research has found</a> that exposure to messages of powerlessness can lead girls to feel demoralised and dissatisfied with their own identities, and the overly sexualised depiction of female superheroes can result in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-015-0455-3">lower body esteem</a> in women.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some also rebel against the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2014.916327">stereotypes</a>. <a href="https://thehawkeyeinitiative.tumblr.com/">The Hawkeye Initiative</a>, for example, parodies the male gaze within the comic book genre by depicting men in the same absurd costumes and poses normally reserved for female characters.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"751795774900543488"}"></div></p>
<h2>Male backlash and box office risk</h2>
<p>The real issue, though, is whether women should even have to challenge such depictions. If more films and comics were made by women for women, perhaps there would be fewer tokenistic portrayals to begin with.</p>
<p>Marvel has rejected criticism of its female characters, with its <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/marvels-kevin-feige-calls-black-widow-backlash-a-little-strange-boasts-his-movies-are-full-of-smart-intelligent-powerful-women/">president saying</a> the studio has always “gone for the powerful woman versus the damsel in distress” and pointing to the recent release of female-led superhero films and TV programs such as She-Hulk and Ms Marvel.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/supermans-not-the-first-hero-to-be-portrayed-as-bisexual-but-hell-bring-hope-to-lgbtq-fans-169898">Superman's not the first hero to be portrayed as bisexual, but he'll bring hope to LGBTQ+ fans</a>
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<p>Trouble is, it’s hard to keep everyone happy. Marvel has felt the backlash from die-hard male fans to a supposed feminist agenda underpinning the studio’s direction. 2019’s Captain Marvel, for example, was touted as <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-captain-marvel-directors-20190228-story.html">bringing feminism</a> to the Marvel universe, but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/movies/captain-marvel-brie-larson-rotten-tomatoes.html">poor reviews and audience ratings</a> were attributed in part to perceived political correctness and a narrative based on female agency. </p>
<p>Researchers such as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2016.1219958?casa_token=DXr8QHcO8nUAAAAA%3AHBBbBqJoe6-VxG-a1kak5O-52rNPUXySYFwJRKjh9ALcXyO9KpYTQLcRL0j-7Q6AVIdGp6Kq7pVibA">Stephanie Orme</a> have contended that the dominance of men in the superhero genre leaves many female fans feeling alienated and unable to change the gender stereotypes, precisely because they’re not seen as the target audience.</p>
<p>It seems that without more and better film and comic female superheroes telling women’s stories, these male-centric genres will continue to alienate female audiences – and to fall short of their creative and commercial potential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186639/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angelique Nairn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Director Taika Waititi’s new Thor: Love and Thunder features a female superhero, but again struggles to transcend the stereotypes of a genre where the male fan base still decides the rules.
Angelique Nairn, Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/184613
2022-06-30T18:46:26Z
2022-06-30T18:46:26Z
Why Ms. Marvel matters so much to Muslim, South Asian fans
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470859/original/file-20220624-7096-f4dosk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C42%2C4034%2C2017&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muslim participants of different backgrounds who participated in an audience study said they identify with Kamala Khan, also known as Ms. Marvel, because she's connected both to her ancestral culture and her American one. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Daniel McFadden/Marvel Studios 2022)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Disney+ TV show featuring Ms. Marvel, also known as Kamala Khan — the first Muslim superheroine of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/how-to-watch-ms-marvel">launched June 8</a> — and the internet has been alight with <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/new-disney-mcu-series-ms-marvel-rotten-tomatoes-imdb-reviews-rcna32889">discussions</a> about the lovable titular character.</p>
<p>The comic book series, <em>Ms. Marvel</em> <a href="https://www.diamondcomics.com/Article/156090-Top-100-Graphic-Novels-October-2014">shot to No. 1 on the comic book charts after its 2014 debut</a>. </p>
<p>The Pakistani American teen Kamala has been <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/1/7/21038179/ms-marvel-kamala-khan-disney-plus">one of the most successful characters Marvel</a> unveiled in the past decade, with a large audience reach. </p>
<p>The show has <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ms_marvel">received strong reviews</a>, and Kamala’s representation is a breakthrough — particularly to her South Asian, Muslim and racialized fans.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the show has also <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ms-marvel-mcu-disneyplus-review-bombing-racist-white-nonsense-1714538">received some racist and sexist backlash</a> in the form of internet “review bombers,” people who spam a show with negative reviews, who are upset with the new identity of Ms. Marvel.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m9EX0f6V11Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for ‘Ms. Marvel.’</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Regular Pakistani American teen</h2>
<p>Kamala, played by Iman Vellani, is a regular Pakistani American Muslim teen who transforms into a superhero. In the comics, this happens after she comes into contact with a <a href="https://supernatural-powers.fandom.com/wiki/Terrigenesis">mist that induces genetic mutation</a>. In the show, her powers are unlocked after she puts on her grandmother’s bangle. </p>
<p>Viewers can partly credit <em>Ms. Marvel</em>’s success to the comic series’ <a href="https://elle.in/article/sana-amanat-marvel-first-muslim-superhero">co-creator and editor, Sana Amanat</a>, a Pakistani American Muslim, and its first writer, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/g-willow-wilsons-american-heroes">G. Willow Wilson</a>, a white American convert to Islam.</p>
<p>Wilson wrote Kamala so beautifully that her struggles appealed to a large audience. As <em>The New Yorker</em> reports, Amanat and Wilson knew that as a breakthrough Muslim superhero, Ms. Marvel would face high expectations: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/g-willow-wilsons-american-heroes">traditional Muslims might want her to be more modest, and secular Muslims might want her to be less so</a>.” </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-stakes-are-so-high-for-the-black-panther-57612">Why the stakes are so high for the Black Panther</a>
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</em>
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<p>Their work was also unfolding in the charged <a href="https://nyupress.org/9780814707326/arabs-and-muslims-in-the-media">post-9/11 climate when representations of Muslims</a>, while gaining some nuance, have also reiterated long-standing orientalist stereotypes — and Islamophobes framed <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-shows-its-time-to-do-away-with-the-racist-clash-of-civilizations-theory-178297">debates that questioned the compatibility of Islam with the West</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People dressed up and dancing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471681/original/file-20220629-26-ofloxm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471681/original/file-20220629-26-ofloxm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471681/original/file-20220629-26-ofloxm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471681/original/file-20220629-26-ofloxm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471681/original/file-20220629-26-ofloxm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471681/original/file-20220629-26-ofloxm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471681/original/file-20220629-26-ofloxm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kamala’s friends Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher) and Bruno (Matt Lintz) are seen dancing with her and her Auntie Ruby (Anjali Bhimani) at her brother’s wedding.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>South Asian Muslim culture</h2>
<p>In both the comic and TV series, Kamala’s representation of Islam is primarily a South Asian one. For instance, Kamala wears a South Asian <em>dupatta</em>, when praying in the mosque. And the inter-generational trauma <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple">created by Partition</a>, which led to the creation of the South Asian Muslim state, Pakistan, is a driving force in the plot. </p>
<p>Characters speckle their conversations with phrases and words in Urdu. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2022/06/09/ms-marvel-episode-1-recap-and-review-a-charming-imaginative-new-disney-plus-gem/?sh=451423b270d7">Episode 1</a> shows Kamala and her mother shopping for a ceremony that is among the most important events
in South Asian backgrounds: a wedding. The event is later shown in Episode 3.</p>
<p>The audience is treated to a fitting of Kamala’s go-to-South Asian wear in this episode, the <em>shawlaar kameeze</em>. In this scene, another major fixture in South Asian culture debuts: <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/whats-life-without-the-omnipresent-aunties-their-inappropriate-questions-and-spicy-gossip/article6383319.ece">The gossiping aunty</a>. South Asian music is also a regular feature on the show, and Marvel has <a href="https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/ms-marvel-every-song-featured-in-episode-1">posted links</a> to the soundtracks which include a mix of pop and desi tracks.</p>
<h2>Supporting cast: Nani and Red Dagger</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471235/original/file-20220627-14-wo7ckh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young man smiling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471235/original/file-20220627-14-wo7ckh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471235/original/file-20220627-14-wo7ckh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471235/original/file-20220627-14-wo7ckh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471235/original/file-20220627-14-wo7ckh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471235/original/file-20220627-14-wo7ckh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471235/original/file-20220627-14-wo7ckh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471235/original/file-20220627-14-wo7ckh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aramis Knight is cast as the Red Dagger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I’m looking forward to the plot lines with two South Asian characters — <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/2361843/samina-ahmed-enters-ms-marvel-as-kamala-khans-nani">Kamala’s <em>nani</em> (maternal grandmother), played by Samina Ahmed</a>, and the Pakistani male superhero, the <a href="https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/ms-marvel-trailer-red-dagger-first-look/">Red Dagger, played by Aramis Knight</a>.</p>
<p>Red Dagger currently stars in a <a href="https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/105500/love_unlimited_ms_marvel_red_dagger_infinity_comic_2022_1">webcomic with Ms. Marvel</a> and is important mainly because western popular media has often depicted <a href="https://nyupress.org/9780814707326/arabs-and-muslims-in-the-media/">Muslim men as oppressors of women</a>, not superheroes.</p>
<h2>Breaking the tired tropes</h2>
<p>I’m excited about Kamala’s screen debut because of what she signifies to her South Asian, Muslim and racialized female fans after a lifetime of seeing <a href="https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/great-south-asian-characters-in-recent-movies-and-television">sparse</a> or <a href="https://www.statepress.com/article/2020/09/specho-insight-western-shows-still-misrepresent-south-asian-characters">orientalist</a> representations of ourselves. </p>
<p>After watching the first two episodes, journalist Unzela Khan said she feels like her “<a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/ms-marvel-episode-2-muslim-representation">day-to-day reality (minus the superpowers) was finally being shared accurately</a> and safely with the whole world.” </p>
<p>In an audience study I conducted on <a href="https://mpcaaca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Hosein-Ms-Marvel-Final-1.pdf">the Muslim superhero archetype</a> as part of my doctoral research, participants of many different Muslim backgrounds indicated an eagerness to receive Ms. Marvel.</p>
<p>Respondents expressed relief at seeing Kamala as a unique three-dimensional Muslim superhero in American comics, because she is a break from the relentless <a href="https://nyupress.org/9780814707326/arabs-and-muslims-in-the-media/">terrorist and oppressed women tropes</a> entwined with representations of Islam that have dominated the western popular culture landscape.</p>
<p>They regard her as “relatable” because she connects both to her ancestral culture and American one. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A superhero is seen extending her hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470857/original/file-20220624-18-8dk62k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=195%2C0%2C3638%2C1603&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470857/original/file-20220624-18-8dk62k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470857/original/file-20220624-18-8dk62k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470857/original/file-20220624-18-8dk62k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470857/original/file-20220624-18-8dk62k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470857/original/file-20220624-18-8dk62k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470857/original/file-20220624-18-8dk62k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Iman Vellani stars as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios’ ‘Ms. Marvel.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Marvel Studios 2022)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The South Asian Muslim participants in particular were excited for her because she not only embodies much of their customs, but because she represents a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40338912">break from the “Muslim equals Middle Eastern”</a> portrayals. Black Muslim participants voiced this last point as well.</p>
<h2>Refuge from stereotypes?</h2>
<p>While most participants in my study welcomed Ms. Marvel as a refuge from Islamophobic stereotypes, one stressed that if a Muslim superhero appeared in a story showing something that didn’t reflect Islamic principles, there would be a risk this could negatively affect the Muslim community. </p>
<p>Since the show launched, some Muslim fans were outraged by Episode 3’s revelation <a href="https://in.mashable.com/entertainment/34050/ms-marvel-makers-twisting-kamala-khans-backstory-has-left-muslim-fans-furious-heres-why">that Kamala is a djinn</a>.
According to the <em>Encyclopedia of Islam</em>, a djinn is a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei2glos_SIM_gi_01011">Qurʾānic term applied to bodies composed of vapour and flame</a>. Djinns are <a href="https://theconversation.com/omar-sakrs-epic-stunningly-dirty-debut-novel-challenges-macho-heterosexual-myths-of-arab-australian-culture-175640">popularly understood as supernatural beings</a>. The djinn filtered through a western orientalist lens has been a staple <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-dream-of-jeannie-left-us-with-enduring-stereotypes-119279">of orientalist “genie” depictions</a>. </p>
<p>Many have said that it was a baffling choice to draw <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87qSac_1Ls8&feature=youtu.be">on orientalist tropes while making the first Muslim superhero in the MCU a djinn — and that they can’t cosplay as her now</a>. The plot turn of Kamala-as-djinn isn’t in the comics.</p>
<h2>Turning point of representation?</h2>
<p>In my audience study, a young Indian Muslim woman was excited to see Kamala take over the Ms. Marvel mantle from her blonde and <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Carol_Danvers_(Earth-616)">blue-eyed predecessor, Carol Danvers</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-further-faster-marvels-first-female-cinematic-superhero-112678">Higher, further, faster: Marvel's first female cinematic superhero</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>She said Kamala would let young, brown and dark-skinned girls know that they too were special after a lifetime of not seeing themselves represented in western popular media.</p>
<p>The Pakistani American Muslim illustrator, Anoosha Syed, recently tweeted about this in response to questions on Kamala’s identity, writing: “Seeing a lot of people online … angrily commenting ‘who is this show even for??’ Hi! Hello! It’s for me!!! ME!!!! A Pakistani Muslim girl who has literally never seen herself represented in media like this before!!”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1534566804206637057"}"></div></p>
<p>With the <em>Ms. Marvel</em> series currently clocking in at a <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ms_marvel">96 per cent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes</a>,
I question whether we are on the cusp of a turning point for Muslim representation in the West — especially for South Asian and Muslim girls. </p>
<p>In the past, some dressed up as <a href="https://browngirlmagazine.com/disney-aladdin-american-orientalism/">the orientalist Disney character</a>, Princess Jasmine, for Halloween. With Ms. Marvel and other superheroines, girls are gaining heroines to choose from.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184613/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Safiyya Hosein received funding from the RBC Immigrant, Diversity, and Inclusion Project Award at Toronto Metropolitan University to conduct her audience study. </span></em></p>
Ms. Marvel represents a break from the ‘Muslim equals Middle Eastern’ portrayals popular in western media.
Safiyya Hosein, Part-time lecturer, Communication and Culture, Toronto Metropolitan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/183002
2022-05-13T12:44:53Z
2022-05-13T12:44:53Z
Moon Knight – an Egyptologist on how the series gets the gods right
<p>Marvel’s Moon Knight follows Steven Grant who, despite living quietly as a museum gift shop employee, finds himself drawn into the strange world of Egyptian gods. He discovers that he has other personalities – mainly Marc Spector, a human vessel who is being used to carry out the will of the moon god, Khonshu.</p>
<p>Steven and Marc (both played by Oscar Isaac) struggle to work together to defeat the plans of Khonshu’s former host, Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), who is leading the followers of another god, Ammit.</p>
<p>Part of the fun of watching adaptations of Ancient Egypt for me is analysing the historical content and Moon Knight succeeds in retaining the spirit of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. While some aspects have been altered for dramatic effect, the six-part series has been well researched and remains quite faithful to the original mythology. </p>
<p>One of its selling points is that it doesn’t simply tread over old ground but brings lesser-known gods to the fore. The result is a show that has the unusual quality of entertaining a popular audience while also keeping the specialists happy.</p>
<h2>Khonshu</h2>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x7Krla_UxRg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Khons(h)u, or Khons, was an moon god, known in the age of the pyramids as a violent, blood-thirsty deity. This is perhaps due to his having possibly existed before the state of Egypt was formed, when settlers in the Nile Valley were adapting to their new environments as they moved in and vied for supremacy. </p>
<p>Khonshu mellowed over time, but remained powerful, and is most commonly associated with the gods of the capital city of Thebes, including his father <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amon">Amun</a>, king of the gods. Khonshu was also associated with time and his name – <em>khenes</em>, “traveller” – likely relates to the journey of the moon through the night sky.</p>
<p>He is usually shown as a falcon-headed man, or a young man in a shroud-like garment. In the series, Khonshu is a tall figure commandingly voiced by F Murray Abraham (and performed by Karim el-Hakim), with a terrifyingly large bird skull for a head and carrying a moon-topped staff. </p>
<h2>Ammit</h2>
<p>Probably best known as the demon who sits at the foot of the scales in the Hall of Judgement in the <a href="https://blog.britishmuseum.org/what-is-a-book-of-the-dead/">Book of the Dead</a>, a set of spells which assist the dead in reaching the afterlife. She is part lion, part crocodile, part hippopotamus (the three animals considered to be the <a href="https://www.mmu.ac.uk/media/mmuacuk/content/documents/mcys/CPD%C2%A0Book-of-the-Dead.pdf">most dangerous</a> in Ancient Egypt). She patiently awaits the heart of the dead, weighed against the feather of truth, should they be found “guilty” by the scales. Her name means “the devourer”. She prevents those who are not worthy from entering the afterlife by consuming their heavy hearts, so that they can’t live on.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Drawing of Egyptian gods on papyrus." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463003/original/file-20220513-23-308qg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463003/original/file-20220513-23-308qg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463003/original/file-20220513-23-308qg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463003/original/file-20220513-23-308qg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463003/original/file-20220513-23-308qg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463003/original/file-20220513-23-308qg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463003/original/file-20220513-23-308qg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Osiris with Ammit ‘the devourer’ behind.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA10470-3">The Trustees of the British Museum</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Moon Knight’s Ammit (voiced by Sara Mubarak) has an imposing crocodilian form. In the series, she doesn’t want to wait for death but to dole out judgment before people can do wrong. However, she has been trapped in a stone idol so her followers are searching for her tomb to resurrect her and restore her to her place as the true arbiter of justice.</p>
<h2>Taweret</h2>
<p>A goddess of the household, Taweret (“the great one”) has a hippopotamus-crocodile hybrid form, sometimes with the claws of a lion. She is fearsome with her bared teeth and often brandishes a blade, to keep away dark forces and protect the vulnerable – pregnant women, new mothers, children – through prayers, spells and amulets. She carries out her protective duties in Moon Knight in the shape of a much friendlier hippo (portrayed by Antonia Salib). Her “Hi!” on meeting Steven and Marc is comically high-pitched coming from her looming form. She is as steadfast and determined as her mythological counterpart (minus the gnashing teeth), helping Marc and Steven in their tasks. In the series, she takes on a role more traditionally held by Anubis, god of mummification, by guiding people into the afterlife. </p>
<p>Other members of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon feature in the chamber of the gods, but have much less screen time. Nevertheless, they play a big role in the movement of the plot, as their judgments have a pivotal effect on how the rest of the show plays out (no spoilers). They are portrayed in the series in the form of their human hosts. In mythology, they are some of the most significant gods of all.</p>
<h2>Osiris</h2>
<p>Lord of the dead, king of the underworld, benign guardian of the afterlife, Osiris is shrouded, wearing a white crown with a cobra, which symbolises rule over the southern half of Egypt. In mythology, he was the first king, and the first to die. He was resurrected by his wife, Isis, and took his place as the personification of the deceased pharaoh, becoming the first mummy and representation of hope in life after death. He is green or black-skinned to represent new life. He is also a god of agriculture and fertility. In the series, he pronounces the gods’ decisions in the chamber through his human host.</p>
<h2>Horus</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Statue of Horus Egypt" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463008/original/file-20220513-24-fqfg7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463008/original/file-20220513-24-fqfg7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463008/original/file-20220513-24-fqfg7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463008/original/file-20220513-24-fqfg7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463008/original/file-20220513-24-fqfg7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463008/original/file-20220513-24-fqfg7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463008/original/file-20220513-24-fqfg7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Horus is the god of the sky and the son of Osiris.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horus#/media/File:Temple_of_Edfu,_Statue_of_Horus_2,_Egypt.jpg">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, avenged his father’s murder and took on the role of king, representing the living pharaoh. He battled Seth, his father’s brother, to retrieve the throne and restore order – which is why Horus is heavily associated with the ruling king. Horus is usually shown as a falcon or falcon-headed man. With his father Osiris, they represent the divine nature of the king. </p>
<h2>Hathor</h2>
<p>A goddess of love, music, childbirth and dancing, Hathor is often shown as a cow or as a woman with a cow’s head, ears or horns. She is a very ancient goddess, perhaps dating back to before state formation in Egypt. Hathor is a protector, usually benevolent but vengeful when needed. She was worshipped widely in Egypt and abroad, with cults spreading up the Levant and into Sinai, earning her the title “mistress of foreign lands”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183002/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Isabella Gilmour does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Lesser-known gods are featured in the Marvel series, which has pleased experts and fans alike.
Claire Isabella Gilmour, PhD Candidate, Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/181781
2022-05-05T19:57:45Z
2022-05-05T19:57:45Z
The multiverse is huge in pop culture right now – but what is it, and does it really exist?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461415/original/file-20220504-21-vcdhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C444%2C1667%2C1437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Studios</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether you need a new villain or an old Spider-Man, your sci-fi movie will sound more scientifically respectable if you use the word <em>multiverse</em>. The Marvel multiverse puts different versions of our universe “out there”, somewhere. In these films, with the right blend of technology, magic, and imagination, travel between these universes is possible.</p>
<p>For example (spoilers!), in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10872600/">Spider-Man: No Way Home</a>, we discover there are other universes and other Earths, some of which have their own local Spider-Man. In the universe of the movie, magic is possible. </p>
<p>This magic, thanks to a misfiring spell from superhero Dr Strange, causes some of the other Spider-Men to be transported into our universe, along with a few supervillains. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9419884/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness</a> (in cinemas this week), the universe-on-universe buffoonery threatens a “desecration of reality”.</p>
<p>So, which of these ideas has Marvel borrowed from science, and which ones are pure fiction?</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aWzlQ2N6qqg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Multiverse lite: a really big universe</h2>
<p>Could there be other Earths? Could there be other people out there, who look a lot like us, on a planet that looks like ours? Scientifically, it’s possible, because we don’t know how big our universe actually is.</p>
<p>We can see billions of light years into space, but we don’t know how much more space is out there, beyond what we can see. </p>
<p>If there is more space out there, full of galaxies, stars and planets, then there are more and more chances for Another-Earth to exist. Somewhere. With enough space and enough planets, any possibility becomes likely.</p>
<p>The fiction of the Marvel multiverse stems from the ability to travel between these other earths. There’s a good reason why Dr Strange needs to use magic for this.</p>
<p>According to Albert Einstein, we can’t travel through space faster than light. And while more exotic ways to travel around the universe are scientifically possible – wormholes, for example – we don’t know how to make them, the universe doesn’t seem to make them naturally, and there is no reason to think they’d connect us to Another-Earth rather than some random part of empty space. </p>
<p>So, almost certainly, if Another-Earth is out there somewhere, it’s unimaginably far away, even for an astronomer.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461419/original/file-20220504-26-xvbabn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461419/original/file-20220504-26-xvbabn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461419/original/file-20220504-26-xvbabn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461419/original/file-20220504-26-xvbabn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461419/original/file-20220504-26-xvbabn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461419/original/file-20220504-26-xvbabn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461419/original/file-20220504-26-xvbabn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461419/original/file-20220504-26-xvbabn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the multiverse is breached by various magical spells and special abilities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Studios</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Changing the laws of nature</h2>
<p>The Marvel multiverse might seem wild, but from a scientific perspective it’s actually too tame. Too normal. Too familiar. Here’s why.</p>
<p>The basic building blocks of our universe - protons and neutrons (and their quarks), electrons, light, etc. - are able to make amazing things, such as human life. Your body is astounding: energy-gathering, information-processing, mini-machine building, self-repairing.</p>
<p>Physicists <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/was-our-universe-created-in-a-laboratory/">have discovered</a> that the ability of our universe’s building blocks to make life forms is extremely rare. Just any old blocks won’t do. </p>
<p>If electrons had been too heavy, or the force that holds atomic nuclei together had been too weak, the stuff of the universe wouldn’t even stick together, let alone make something as marvellous as a living cell. Or, indeed, <em>anything</em> that could be called alive. </p>
<p>How did our universe get the right mix of ingredients? Perhaps we won the cosmic lottery. Perhaps, on scales much bigger than what our telescopes can see, other parts of the universe have different building blocks.</p>
<p>Our universe is just one of the options – a particularly fortunate one – among a multiverse of universes with losing tickets.</p>
<p>This is the scientific multiverse: not simply more of our universe, but universes with different fundamental ingredients. Most are dead, but very very rarely, the right combination for life-forms comes up. </p>
<p>The Marvel multiverse, by contrast, merely rearranges the familiar atoms and forces of our universe (plus a bit of magic). That’s not enough.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461423/original/file-20220505-12-27tqss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461423/original/file-20220505-12-27tqss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461423/original/file-20220505-12-27tqss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461423/original/file-20220505-12-27tqss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461423/original/file-20220505-12-27tqss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461423/original/file-20220505-12-27tqss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461423/original/file-20220505-12-27tqss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461423/original/file-20220505-12-27tqss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Spider-Man No Way Home, three different Spider-Man’s from alternate universe (and alternate Spider-Man movie franchises) team up to battle villains from across the multiverse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cosmic inflation and the Big Bang</h2>
<p>What was our universe like in the past? The evidence suggests that the universe was hotter, denser and smoother. This is called the <a href="https://www.space.com/25126-big-bang-theory.html">Big Bang Theory</a>.</p>
<p>But was there a Big Bang? Was there a moment when the universe was infinitely hot, infinitely dense, and contained in a single point? Well, maybe. But we’re not sure, so scientists have explored a bunch of other options.</p>
<p>One idea, called <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/definition/cosmic-inflation/">cosmic inflation</a>, says that in the first fraction of a second of the universe, it expanded extremely quickly. If true, it would explain a few things about why our universe expands in just the way it does. </p>
<p>But, how do you make a universe expand so rapidly? The answer is a new type of energy field. It has control of the first moments of the universe, causes a rapid expansion, and then hands the reins to the more familiar forms of matter and energy: protons, neutrons, electrons, light, etc.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/butt-plug-duels-and-fanny-pack-stunts-how-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-fits-into-the-canon-of-comedy-martial-arts-films-181480">Butt plug duels and fanny pack stunts: how Everything Everywhere All At Once fits into the canon of comedy-martial arts films</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Cosmic inflation might make a multiverse. Here’s how. According this idea, most of space is expanding, inflating, doubling in size, moment to moment. Spontaneously and randomly, in small islands, the new energy field converts its energy into ordinary matter with enormously high energies, releasing what we now see as a Big Bang. </p>
<p>If these high energies scramble and reset the basic properties of matter, then each island can be thought of as a new universe with different properties. We’ve made a multiverse.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461424/original/file-20220505-24-q7ut4p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461424/original/file-20220505-24-q7ut4p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461424/original/file-20220505-24-q7ut4p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461424/original/file-20220505-24-q7ut4p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461424/original/file-20220505-24-q7ut4p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461424/original/file-20220505-24-q7ut4p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461424/original/file-20220505-24-q7ut4p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461424/original/file-20220505-24-q7ut4p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) is about a regular woman trying to get her taxes done, who must also battle an evil that spans across the multiverse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So is there a Multiverse?</h2>
<p>In the cycle of the scientific method, the multiverse is in an exploratory phase. We’ve got an idea that might explain a few things, <em>if</em> it was true. That makes it worthy of our attention, but it’s not quite science yet. We need to find evidence that is more direct, more decisive.</p>
<p>Something left over from the aftermath of the multiverse generator might help. A multiverse idea could also predict the winning numbers on our lottery ticket.</p>
<p>However, as Dr Strange explains, “The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Barnes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The multiverse has been the topic of multiple recent films, such as Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All At Once: but what does science know about the multiverse?
Luke Barnes, Lecturer in Physics, Western Sydney University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/180634
2022-04-07T14:10:52Z
2022-04-07T14:10:52Z
Five exciting additions to Marvel’s cinematic universes – according to a comics expert
<p>Two new Marvel heroes have been brought to the big and small screens that may be quite new to many people. The first is the titular character in the Disney+ series <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10234724/">Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac</a>, which is set in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe. The other is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5108870/">Morbius</a>, an unlucky vampiric doctor, played by Jared Leto, who is the newest villain-turned-good-ish guy in <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a39583017/sony-spider-man-universe-timeline-venom-morbius/">the Sony Spider-Man Universe</a> to get a film, after Venom. </p>
<p>These are stories featuring violent male anti-heroes – who are also characters fairly unknown to the general public. When the first Venom was released, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/why-venom-is-dividing-movie-audiences-1149713/">The Hollywood Reporter</a> noted: “The MCU makes it easy to be a Marvel fan without having ever read the source material”.</p>
<p>Morbius has not fared so well, bringing in the lowest box office numbers compared to its Spider-Man counterparts. Critics suggest that this might be due to the character’s “<a href="https://qz.com/2150556/morbius-logged-the-lowest-box-office-in-the-spider-man-universe/">relative obscurity</a>”. On the other hand, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/30/moon-knight-review-oscar-isaac-is-a-crime-fighting-frank-spencer">Moon Knight has garnered good reviews</a>.</p>
<p>Like it or not, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding and there are a whole host of new heroes making their way from the more obscure corners of the comic universe onto the screen. Here are five such characters who will be headlining new films and TV series as part of numerous forthcoming Marvel projects, from <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a834277/marvel-phase-4-mcu-movies-tv-shows/">Disney’s Marvel Studios</a>, and <a href="https://spiderman-films.fandom.com/wiki/Sony%27s_Spider-Man_Universe">Sony</a>.</p>
<h2>1. Ms Marvel</h2>
<p>The world’s first female, teen, Muslim superhero, Ms Marvel received a lot of praise when she made her debut in 2013 in a <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Kamala_Khan_(Earth-616)">Captain marvel comic</a>. Critics praised the character as a <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/03/16/ms-marvel-trailer-muslim-women-crying-over-superhero-representation-16287152/">positive representation of a young Pakistani American woman who is also Muslim</a>. This outing was so successful, the teen got her own comic the following year. She will also officially be joining Marvel’s Cinematic Universe in June 2022 with her own series on Disney+. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m9EX0f6V11Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The series revolves around a young woman called Kamala Khan, who is a huge fan of superheroes. When she mysteriously gets powers, Khan is inspired by Captain Marvel to become a hero herself. Ms Marvel will be appearing alongside Captain Marvel and <a href="https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Monica_Rambeau">Photon</a> in the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10676048">2023 film The Marvels</a>.</p>
<h2>2. She-Hulk</h2>
<p>In the comics, lawyer Jennifer Walters receives a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner after she’s shot by a mobster. Afterwards, <a href="https://www.marvel.com/characters/she-hulk-jennifer-walters/in-comics">she also turns green when angry</a>. First appearing in 1980, and <a href="https://therealstanlee.com/comics/stan-lee-trivia-the-savage-she-hulk/">one of the last characters created by Marvel impresario Stan Lee</a>, She-Hulk comics often lean towards <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/SensationalSheHulk">comedy, with characters breaking the fourth wall</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PFpT5ZkuLlo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>While the Guardians of the Galaxy films are <a href="https://screenrant.com/guardians-galaxy-most-hilarious-moments-mcu/">more comedic than their stablemates</a>, and the two Deadpool movies were <a href="https://www.cbr.com/deadpool-most-hilariously-raunchy-jokes-fans-missed/">black comedies</a>, this is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe project to overtly use this genre. So, like <a href="https://collider.com/wandavision-tv-tropes-sitcom-references-explained/">WandaVision which used the sitcom format</a> as a jumping off point, this is an interesting experiment for the Marvel brand. The She-Hulk show, set for release in late 2022, is expected to <a href="https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1210891-she-hulk-director-comedy-mcu">have audiences laughing more than any hero before her</a>. </p>
<h2>3. Werewolf by Night</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Comic cover of a man standing in front of a werewolf." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456856/original/file-20220407-11-cuzh19.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456856/original/file-20220407-11-cuzh19.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456856/original/file-20220407-11-cuzh19.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456856/original/file-20220407-11-cuzh19.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456856/original/file-20220407-11-cuzh19.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456856/original/file-20220407-11-cuzh19.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456856/original/file-20220407-11-cuzh19.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Werewolf by Night will be MCU’s first horror outing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Following the cinema release of <a href="https://www.distractify.com/p/is-doctor-strange-2-a-horror-movie">Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness</a>, this will be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first horror themed TV show. Featuring the somewhat prosaically named <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Jack_Russell_(Earth-616)">Jack Russell</a>, Werewolf by Night ran for four years in the 1970s, following a relaxation on <a href="http://cbldf.org/comics-code-revision-of-1971/">censorship of horror comics</a>, which allowed for the creation of Marvel’s vampire characters <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Eric_Brooks_(Earth-616)">Blade</a> and <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Morbius_(Earth-616)">Morbius</a> in the first half of the decade. </p>
<p>A sometimes-friendly lycanthrope, Russell joined up with other Marvel horror characters to form <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Legion_of_Monsters_(Earth-616)">the Legion of Monsters</a> appearing in <a href="https://comicvine.gamespot.com/legion-of-monsters/4060-46227/">various comics on and off since 1976</a> to fight evil. The TV version, set for release in October 2022, will also feature this helpful werewolf, played by <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/gael-garcia-bernal-to-lead-marvels-halloween-special-werewolf-by-night/">Gael Garcia Bernal</a>. </p>
<h2>4. Kraven the Hunter</h2>
<p>Kraven is the orphaned son of Russian aristocrats with a penchant for hunting big game. While hunting in Africa, he ends up drinking a potion that gives him superhuman strength, speed and the instincts of a jungle cat. Bored of hunting animals he sets his sights on larger prey, Spider-Man.</p>
<p>Kraven first appeared in comics as <a href="https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/who-is-kraven-the-hunter">Spider-Man’s foe in 1964</a>. The maniacal hunter will be the <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/aaron-taylor-johnson-kraven-the-hunter-1234982555/">third villain to lead a live-action Spider-Verse film</a>. However, unlike Venom and Morbius before him, Kraven is not known in the comics for performing good deeds, so it will be an interesting challenge for Marvel to make an anti-hero of the artistocrat. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cartoon of a hunter." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456858/original/file-20220407-21-vtn8z2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456858/original/file-20220407-21-vtn8z2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456858/original/file-20220407-21-vtn8z2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456858/original/file-20220407-21-vtn8z2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456858/original/file-20220407-21-vtn8z2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456858/original/file-20220407-21-vtn8z2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456858/original/file-20220407-21-vtn8z2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kraven The Hunter is not a nice guy in the comics but is set to be an anti-hero in his first outing in the Spider-Man Sony universe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Kraven rarely appears without Spider-Man in the comics so Sony have set themselves a challenge to flesh out the hunter in a film where his nemesis doesn’t appear. Kraven will be played by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8790086/">Aaron-Taylor Johnson</a>, who is no stranger to a tight suit, having previously played the low-rent superhero <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/">Kick Ass</a> in two films.</p>
<h2>5. Silk</h2>
<p>The first Spider-Man Sony universe TV show will feature Cindy Moon, a female student bitten by the same radioactive spider that gave Spider-Man his abilities. However, unlike Peter Parker who was left to swing around New York and discover his new powers, Moon was <a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Cindy_Moon_(Earth-616)">kidnapped and held in a bunker for 13 years</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A woman suspended in a spider's web." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456859/original/file-20220407-26-t014q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456859/original/file-20220407-26-t014q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456859/original/file-20220407-26-t014q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456859/original/file-20220407-26-t014q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456859/original/file-20220407-26-t014q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456859/original/file-20220407-26-t014q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456859/original/file-20220407-26-t014q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Silk was turned by the same spider as Spider-Man.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_(comics)#/media/File:Silk-comic_cover.jpg">Marvel/Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>With Sony’s films only apparently allowing for Spider-Man to be <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/venom-post-credit-scene-spiderman-marvel-b1939566.html">shown</a> or <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2022/04/morbius-post-credits-scenes-what-they-are-1234712844">discussed</a> in their end credit scenes, it will be interesting to see how Silk deals with the heroine’s creation without any mention of Spidey – unless given permission by Disney to do so. There has been speculation that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2022/01/11/how-sony-rehabilitated-their-spider-man-franchise-at-marvel-and-disney-expense">Sony may revive Andrew Garfield’s incarnation of the character</a> in the future, so time will tell how Silk proceeds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Fitch receives funding from UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training, Design Star. </span></em></p>
The Marvel universe is expanding with new heroes in new films and shows that break new boundaries and tackle new genres.
Alex Fitch, Lecturer and PhD Candidate in Comics and Architecture, University of Brighton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/171608
2021-12-07T14:58:31Z
2021-12-07T14:58:31Z
Quantum entanglement: what it is, and why physicists want to harness it
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434373/original/file-20211129-25-djd15g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Two particles are said to be entangled when one cannot be perfectly described without information about the other being included.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/ezphoto</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Quantum entanglement” is one of several plot devices that crops up in modern sci-fi movies. Fans of the <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/marvel-movies-science">Marvel superhero movies</a>, for instance, will be familiar with the idea of different time lines merging and intersecting, or characters’ destinies becoming intertwined through seemingly magical means.</p>
<p>But “quantum entanglement” isn’t just a sci-fi buzzword. It’s a very real, perplexing and useful phenomenon. “Entanglement” is one aspect of the broader collection of ideas in physics known as quantum mechanics, which is a theory that describes the behaviour of nature at the atomic, and even subatomic, level.</p>
<p>Understanding and harnessing entanglement is key to creating many cutting-edge technologies. These include quantum computers, which can solve certain problems far faster than ordinary computers, and quantum communication devices, which would allow us to communicate with one another without the slightest possibility of a eavesdropper listening in.</p>
<p>But what exactly <em>is</em> quantum entanglement? Two particles in quantum mechanics are said to be <em>entangled</em> when one of the particles cannot be perfectly described without including all of the information about the other one: the particles are “connected” in such a way that they are not independent of one another. While this sort of idea may seem to make sense at first glance, it is a difficult concept to grasp – and physicists are still learning more about it.</p>
<h2>Quantum dice</h2>
<p>Suppose that I give you and your friend, Thandi, each a small, opaque black box. Each box contains an ordinary six-sided die. You are both told to lightly shake your boxes to jumble the dice around. Then you part ways. Thandi goes home to one South African city, Cape Town; you return to another, Durban. You don’t communicate with each other during the process. When you get home, you each open your box and look at the upward-facing number on your die. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434372/original/file-20211129-21-q1lxam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434372/original/file-20211129-21-q1lxam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434372/original/file-20211129-21-q1lxam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434372/original/file-20211129-21-q1lxam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434372/original/file-20211129-21-q1lxam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434372/original/file-20211129-21-q1lxam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434372/original/file-20211129-21-q1lxam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Ordinarily, there would be no correlation between the numbers you and Thandi see. She would be equally likely to observe any number between 1 and 6, as would you; importantly, the number she sees on her die would have no bearing whatsoever on the number you see on yours. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-reality-a-game-of-quantum-mirrors-a-new-theory-suggests-it-might-be-162936">Is reality a game of quantum mirrors? A new theory suggests it might be</a>
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<p>This is unsurprising – indeed, it’s how the world normally works. However, if we could make this example “quantum”, it could behave quite differently. Suppose that I now tell Thandi and you to first lightly tap your boxes together, before then separately shaking them and heading your separate ways. </p>
<p>In a quantum mechanics analogy, this action of tapping the boxes against one another would enchant the dice and link – or entangle – them in a mysterious fashion: once you each arrive home, open your boxes and look at the numbers, your number and Thandi’s are guaranteed to be perfectly correlated. If you see a ‘4’ in Durban, you know that Thandi in Cape Town is guaranteed to measure a ‘4’ on her die too; if you happen to see a ‘6’, so will she.</p>
<p>In this analogy, the dice represent individual particles (like atoms or particles of light called photons) and the magic act of tapping the boxes together physically is what entangles them, so that measuring one die gives us information about the other.</p>
<h2>Making better entanglement</h2>
<p>As far as we know, there’s no magical box-tapping action to enchant a pair of dice or other objects on our human, macroscopic scale (if there were, we would be able to experience quantum mechanics in our everyday life and it would probably not be such a foreign, perplexing concept). For now, scientists have to be content with using things on the microscopic level, where it is much easier to observe quantum effects, like charged atoms called ions or special superconducting devices called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MFPvrjHgF0">transmons</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-quantum-machine-learning-and-how-can-it-help-us-114627">Explainer: what is quantum machine learning and how can it help us?</a>
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<p>This is the kind of work carried out in the University of the Witwatersrand’s <a href="https://structured-light.org/">Structured Light Laboratory</a>, in South Africa. Instead of ions or transmons, however, researchers in the lab use particles of light, called photons, to better understand quantum mechanics and its implications. We are interested in using the quantum nature of light for a variety of purposes: from designing efficient communication systems which are completely unhackable by a malevolent third party, to creating methods of imaging sensitive biological samples without damaging them. </p>
<p>Studies like this often require us to start with specially created states of entangled photons. But it’s not as simple as putting two dice in separate boxes and tapping them together. The processes used to create entangled photons in a real laboratory are constrained by many experimental variables. These include the shape of laser beams used in experiments and the sizes of small crystals where the entangled photons are created. These can give subpar outputs – or unideal states – that require researchers to selectively throw away some measurements once an experiment is done. This is not an optimal situation: photons are discarded and so energy is wasted.</p>
<p>A group of researchers from the lab, myself among them, recently took a step towards solving this problem. In <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qute.202100066">a journal article</a>, we mathematically calculated what the optimal laser shape needs to be in order to, as best as possible, create the entangled state that an experimenter would want to start their experiment with. The method proposes changing the input laser beam shape at the beginning of an experiment to maximise the entangled photon creation process later in the experiment. This will mean more photons available to perform your experiment the way you want to, and fewer stray ones.</p>
<p>Improving the efficiency of the entanglement creation and manipulation process, using techniques such as the one proposed, will be important to optimise the efficiency of a number of other quantum technologies, like quantum cryptography systems and the other technologies already mentioned. This is especially important as the fourth industrial revolution moves ahead globally and technologies with quantum mechanics at their cores undoubtedly <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/10/quantum-computers-next-frontier-classical-google-ibm-nasa-supremacy">become more commonplace</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171608/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Bornman receives funding from the CSIR Scarce Skills Programme.</span></em></p>
The quantum nature of light can be harnessed for a variety of purposes.
Nicholas Bornman, Ph.D. student, University of the Witwatersrand
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/172009
2021-11-25T14:40:23Z
2021-11-25T14:40:23Z
The Eternals – Marvel consulted me to help superheroes chit chat in Babylonian
<p>In the Marvel film <a href="https://www.marvel.com/movies/eternals">Eternals</a> you’ll hear lines of Babylonian being spoken. It is the first major film to feature this ancient Iraqi language, which was spoken from at least 2000 BC to at least 500 BC. </p>
<p>Our knowledge of Babylonian comes from written sources, usually clay tablets in cuneiform script. The surviving body of these inscriptions, together with those in Babylonian’s close relative Assyrian, comprises some ten million words. Thanks to this huge documentation, the language is well understood, and we have a good idea how it was <a href="https://www.soas.ac.uk/baplar/recordings/">pronounced</a> – it was written with vowels, and there are ancient transcriptions into the Hebrew and <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_Sp-III-245">Greek</a> alphabets.</p>
<p>As I am one of the few researchers in the world who specialise in the Babylonian language, Marvel brought me on board as consultant to do the translations for the film and make sure that the words were pronounced authentically. This involved me providing written text and audio recordings, which the actors processed with the help of the film’s expert dialect coach, Sarah Shepherd.</p>
<p>I was not new to working with Babylonian in a film context, but Eternals presented a new set of challenges. For this language in particular, it’s exceptionally difficult to come up with words for more informal and chatty conversations.</p>
<h2>Translating into a long-dead language</h2>
<p>My first foray into Babylonian in film was with a short I directed in the language (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxYoFlnJLoE">The Poor Man of Nippur</a>) with my students at the University of Cambridge. This was a dramatisation of a Babylonian folk tale, and, though we smuggled in the odd line from elsewhere, it only used sentences from Babylonian sources. So the <a href="https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/295335">script</a> didn’t require us to compose anything new. </p>
<p>In 2019, I also worked for the film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFxN2oDKk0E&ab_channel=WarnerBros.Pictures">Godzilla: King of the Monsters</a> translating a song into Babylonian for the soundtrack. The elegy-like song had a “heroic” feel to it, and was quite similar to the sorts of things found in Babylonian poems. This meant that I had clear models to follow, which helped a lot with my work. I think I did it in an afternoon.</p>
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<p>Eternals was different. It did include a “heroic” speech, for which I had plenty of models. But there were also shorter, snappier, colloquial-sounding expressions, such as “Can I help you?” and “Thank you”. These were much harder to translate, and really tested my grasp of the language to the limit. It was a paradox of the whole experience that things which sounded easy and natural to an English ear gave me kittens, while more highfalutin and complicated expressions proved much easier.</p>
<p>The difficulty in translating colloquial speech is that Ancient Mesopotamia was a world in which writing was a specific tool, used for specific things. Though we are lucky to have a huge mass of (wonderfully informative) documentation, most things went unwritten, and the tone of what did get written was rarely colloquial. This comes across very clearly in Babylonian private letters: they have a business-like, “transactional” character, with little or no chatty or gossipy messages to family and friends, such as we enjoy reading and writing today. For Babylonians, informal and chatty conversation happened only in speech, not in writing.</p>
<p>So, to come up with “chatty” Babylonian, I had to reassemble what we find in written documents, and generate expressions for which I had no exact models or parallels.</p>
<p>To take a simple example, early in the film the character Gilgamesh shouts “Through the gate!”. Babylonian documents normally use full sentences, with a verb, and it’s hard to prove how they might have clipped them. Also, Babylonian has a separate word for “city-gate” (<em>abullu</em> rather than <em>bābu</em>), but it seemed to me that with the urgency of the moment Gilgamesh would have used the shorter, more basic word – a bit as if an English speaker said “gate” rather than “gateway”. So I trusted in linguistic common sense, left out the verb, and made it <em>ana libbi bābi</em> “into the gate”, pretty much like the English.</p>
<h2>When two words become one</h2>
<p>Despite what I’ve said about the difficulty of accessing “chatty” Babylonian, we do have occasional hints. For example, we know that the prepositions <em>ina</em> “in”, “from” and <em>ana</em> “to, for” were sometimes run together with the word that followed. So “in the house” would become one word <em>ibbīti</em>, rather than the two-word <em>ina bīti</em>.</p>
<p>This raised the question: what to use in such cases, the one-word or two-word version? Hoping that this captured something of ancient usage, I decided to give more formal sounding speech the two-word versions, and more urgent or colloquial speech the one-word version.</p>
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<p>Another exciting challenge was that the film script included many English words that just don’t exist in Babylonian – like “to thank”, “to help”, “to feel”, “to vibrate”, “legend” and “myth”. This is, of course, a problem faced by all translators. There was no general rule for the conversions – each one had to be decided on a case-by-case basis. There was a lot of looking things up to check what phrases were available to me in existing Babylonian sources, to try and make sure everything sounded as “natural” as possible. Thus “myth” became “a lie of the singers”, and for a character who needed to say that they could feel everything around them vibrating I literally had them say “everything around me is constantly touching me”, combining the ideas of “feel” and “vibrate” into an “iterative” form of the verb <em>lapātu</em> “to touch”. I should say that it sounds better in Babylonian than it does in English.</p>
<p>Plus, trying to find the right paraphrase was a stimulus to thinking about what the English words actually mean – how does “to help” differ from “to enable”? And what exactly are we doing when we “thank” someone? These, and others, are things I am still thinking about.</p>
<p>The whole Eternals experience was great training in processing Babylonian as a spoken language – something I have always tried to build into my teaching.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Worthington consulted for Marvel.</span></em></p>
Babylonians were quite formal in their written records, so working out how to be chatty in their long-dead language was an exciting challenge.
Martin Worthington, Trinity College Dublin
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/168273
2021-09-26T20:06:25Z
2021-09-26T20:06:25Z
From Bruce Lee to Shang-Chi: a short history of the kung fu film in cinema
<p>With action sequences that are being hailed as some of the best in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is shaping up to overtake Black Widow as the <a href="https://deadline.com/2021/09/shang-chi-weekend-box-office-1234839150/">biggest film of the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>A hit with critics and audience alike, <a href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings/">many commentators</a> are praising Shang-Chi’s cast and, in particular, the performance by <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/shang-chi-tony-leung-interview-wenwu-fathers-the-mandarin-stereotypes">Hong Kong screen legend Tony Leung Chiu-wai</a>, for helping breathe new life into a familiar Marvel formula. </p>
<p>Given the huge challenge of presenting a film of this scale with a kung fu master as its central character, it was imperative the filmmakers delivered authentic fight scenes that could stand alongside the classics and showcase the best action the genre has to offer. </p>
<p>Tracing through China, Hong Kong and Hollywood, martial arts films have a history almost as long cinema itself. This history is on exciting display in Shang-Chi, and will cement the film’s position in kung fu cinematic history. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-didnt-have-a-superhero-that-looked-like-me-marvels-new-female-culturally-diverse-and-queer-protagonists-mirror-our-times-160917">'I didn't have a superhero that looked like me': Marvel's new female, culturally diverse and queer protagonists mirror our times</a>
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<h2>Birth of the kung fu genre and the first boom</h2>
<p>Beginning with Shanghai productions in the 1920s, early martial arts films drew influence from Chinese opera and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia">wuxia novels</a>: narratives set in Ancient China focusing on heroes with supernatural martial arts abilities. Fight scenes in these early films emphasised flowing dramatised movements, but rarely showcased actual martial arts skills. </p>
<p>This changed with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Hong_Kong#Years_of_transformation_(1970s)">transformation of Hong Kong cinema</a> in the 1970s. Resisting the fantastical elements of the wuxia style, local studios Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest put actual martial artists into their films. </p>
<p>With this move, the kung fu genre was born. </p>
<p>Popular titles of the time like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077559/">Five Deadly Venoms</a> (1978) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078243/">The 36th Chamber of Shaolin</a> (1978) are classics, and the films of Bruce Lee brought kung fu to the world’s attention.</p>
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<p>Lee’s intense and realistic fighting style, as shown in films like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067824/">The Big Boss</a> (1971) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070034/">Enter the Dragon</a> (1973), sparked an international obsession with the art of kung fu — even as international fans often had to deal with poor-quality dubbing and bootleg videos.</p>
<p>After Lee’s untimely death in 1973, the genre morphed from showcasing ferocious physicality into a more acrobatic, comedy-infused approach, such as in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080179/">Drunken Master</a> (1978) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079472/">The Magnificent Butcher</a> (1979) starring, respectively, Jackie Chan and his China Drama Academy “brother”, Sammo Hung.</p>
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<p>Hong Kong cinema entered its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Hong_Kong#1980s_%E2%80%93_early_1990s:_the_boom_years">Golden Age</a> in the 1980 and ‘90s. At this time, contemporary kung fu classics like Chan’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089374/">Police Story</a> (1985) complimented popular historical films such as Jet Li’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108281/">Tai Chi Master</a> (1993) and Donnie Yen’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108148/">Iron Monkey</a> (1993).</p>
<h2>The second boom</h2>
<p>In the late 1990s, around the time of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handover_of_Hong_Kong">Hong Kong’s handover to China</a>, many of the industry’s leading figures made the move to Hollywood. </p>
<p>With films like Chan’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120812/">Rush Hour</a> (1998) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184894/">Shanghai Noon</a> (2000), and Li’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165929/">Romeo Must Die</a> (2000) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0267804/">The One</a> (2001), English-speaking fans could finally see kung fu films on a big screen without the need for subtitles.</p>
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<p>Celebrated martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping also lent his talents to international productions, allowing kung fu to find its way into hits like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/">The Matrix</a> (1999) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266697">Kill Bill</a> (2003).</p>
<p>In 2000, the Chinese blockbuster <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/">Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon</a> showed modern international audiences now had an appetite for the elaborate swordplay and gravity-defying wirework of wuxia films, and many stars returned to China to capitalised on the trend. </p>
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<p>Jet Li’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/">Hero</a> (2002) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446059">Fearless</a> (2006), as well as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385004/">House of Flying Daggers</a> (2004) and the first film to feature both Jackie Chan and Jet Li, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865556/">Forbidden Kingdom</a> (2008), all helped to redefine the martial arts film: bringing star power and global audiences to an industry that had, until then, largely received only local attention. </p>
<p>These Chinese-made films focused on producing elegant wuxia action dramas. In Hong Kong, kung fu was still going strong, largely thanks to Stephen Chow’s hugely popular comedies <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286112">Shaolin Soccer</a> (2001) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373074/">Kung Fu Hustle</a> (2004), and Donnie Yen’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1220719/">Ip Man</a> (2008).</p>
<h2>Shang-Chi: the first Asian superhero</h2>
<p>In many ways, the character of Shang-Chi may be seen as the cultural successor to Bruce Lee. Created during the height of the global obsession with Lee’s films, the character of Shang-Chi first appeared in Marvel comics in December 1973 – just months after the death of the legendary actor. </p>
<p>Marvel’s “other kung fu hero”, Iron Fist from the 2017 Netflix <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322310/">series of the same name</a>, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/watching/iron-fist-review-roundup-controversy.html">controversial</a>. The star, Finn Jones, lacked martial arts experience, and the show was criticised for its <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2017/03/17/iron-fist-marvel-could-have-avoided-a-white-saviour-and-made-the-netflix-series-better-6514756/">“white saviour” narrative</a>. </p>
<p>In light of this, the producers of Shang-Chi were keen to bring together a predominantly Asian and Asian-American cast and crew who could do justice to the first Asian superhero to headline a Marvel feature film. </p>
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<p>This has paid off: Shang-Chi is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/06/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings-makes-up-for-the-flaws-of-mulan">being praised</a> as both a classic Marvel superhero film, and an exceptional kung fu film in its own right.</p>
<p>Under fight director Andy Cheng and stunt coordinator Brad Allan, the film draws upon <a href="https://screenrant.com/shang-chi-martial-arts-styles/">a range of different styles</a>, including wing chun, Shaolin kung fu, bajiquan and hung ga stances, and the iron rings from which the film gets its title. </p>
<p>Hollywood has come a long way from declaring Lee “<a href="https://time.com/5953090/kung-fu-cw-asian-representation/">too authentic</a>” to take the lead role in the original 1970s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068093/">Kung Fu</a> television series. Shang-Chi is likely to inspire a whole new generation of kung fu cinema fans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joyleen Christensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The history of martial arts films is almost as long as the history of cinema. Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings excitingly pushes the genre forward.
Joyleen Christensen, Senior lecturer, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/167323
2021-09-10T09:59:37Z
2021-09-10T09:59:37Z
How 9/11 changed cinema
<p>One of the most common responses to the events of September 11 2001, both among witnesses on the scene and more distant commentators, was that the destruction of the World Trade Center was like something only seen in the movies. This famously prompted veteran director <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/oct/18/news2">Robert Altman</a> to declare that 9/11 was an instance of life imitating art: “The movies set the pattern, and these people have copied the movies.”</p>
<p>If the terrorist attacks had appeared like a movie, then the immediate response of Hollywood was that films released in the aftermath of the event should not be too much like 9/11. Representations of the World Trade Center became taboo. The original teaser <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lko8OP9_AjQ">trailer for Spider-Man</a> (2001) showing the Twin Towers was withdrawn, while the climactic final scene of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4NJHqoojOU">Men in Black II</a> (2002) had to be reshot. For various other releases, the Twin Towers were erased in post-production.</p>
<p>Later on, the towers would be digitally restored for the 2006 US docudrama disaster film, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469641/">World Trade Center</a>, directed by Oliver Stone. The film reconstructs events from the point of view of policemen getting caught in the North Tower when the South Tower collapses. Like Paul Greengrass’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475276/">United 93</a>, released the same year, Stone’s film celebrates resilience in the face of terrorism while giving viewers access to events previously unseen. </p>
<p>Other cinematic forms offered more oblique evocations of the terrorist attacks. Steven Spielberg’s 2005 adaptation of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407304/">War of the Worlds</a> transplants H.G. Wells’s late-Victorian story to post-9/11 New Jersey and Boston. The tagline of the film, “they’re already here”, echoes fears of sleeper cells, suggesting that the enemy is already in the US – undetectable and waiting to be activated. After the alien tripods have emerged from below the ground to wreak havoc on innocent bystanders, the protagonist’s daughter asks her ash-covered father: “Is it the terrorists?”</p>
<p>Imagery reminiscent of 9/11 also abounds in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/">The Dark Knight</a> (2008), the second instalment of Christopher Nolan’s celebrated Batman trilogy. Casting Joker as a terrorist, the film sheds an ambivalent light on Batman’s pursuit of counter-terrorist justice.</p>
<p>The Dark Knight played a crucial part in the boom of superhero films that continues to dominate mainstream cinema. It’s perhaps no coincidence that this ongoing boom roughly coincides with the so-called “war on terror”, and particularly the ill-fated invasion of Iraq.</p>
<h2>Moral ambiguity</h2>
<p>In a time of increasingly complex geopolitical entanglements and moral failings, these films articulate a yearning for unsullied heroism, effective leadership and appropriate responses to crises.</p>
<p>The invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 initially found widespread support in the US. In October 2001, a <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/5083/overwhelming-support-war-continues.aspx">poll</a> found that 88% of those in the US backed a military response to the terrorist attacks. Yet as the wars continued, support declined significantly. The realist dramas of Kathryn Bigelow, in both <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887912/">The Hurt Locker</a> (2008) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790885/">Zero Dark Thirty</a> (2012), reflect the moral ambiguity of the US position in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Films like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2057392/">Eye in the Sky</a> (2015), meanwhile, capture the impersonal nature of long-range drone warfare. On TV, the hugely popular series <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1796960/">Homeland</a> (2011-2020) tracks the entanglements of Americans and Iraqis in the sphere of counter-terrorism and radicalisation.</p>
<p>Many of these narratives centre on the figure of the white Western woman, perhaps as a way to “soften” the US image abroad. This movement away from blockbuster thrillers to more personal dramas is in line with Obama’s stated shift towards a form of “humane warfare”, a move some have called “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/31/how-the-us-created-a-world-of-endless-war">the humanisation of interminable conflict</a>”.</p>
<h2>The terrorist and the hero</h2>
<p>The figure of the terrorist has also evolved in post-9/11 cinema. In the 1980s and 1990s, terrorists that were coded as Muslim or Arabic in films like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111503/">True Lies</a> existed alongside the Germanic villains of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095016/">Die Hard</a> or the IRA man found in films like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Own">The Devil’s Own</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104036/">The Crying Game</a>. Yet after 9/11, terrorism is mainly equated with jihadism in Hollywood films, where terrorists are often denied any deep characterisation and contrasted with US heroes. </p>
<p>Clint Eastwood’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2179136/">American Sniper</a> (2014) is a prime example of this. Telling the story of Chris Kyle, one of the most lethal snipers in US military history, the film split critics, with the left-wing press describing it as <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2014/12/movie-review-american-sniper.html">Republican propaganda</a>, while the right-leaning <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/">National Review</a> praising the movie for capturing “<a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/american-sniper-has-created-cultural-moment-heres-why-david-french/">the true nature of the enemy</a>” – the Iraqis that the central character calls “savages”. </p>
<p>But filmmakers from around the world have also sought to capture the ongoing ramifications of the event and the subsequent “war on terror”. Indian-American director Mira Nair’s film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2032557/">The Reluctant Fundamentalist</a> (2012), based on Mohsin Hamid’s Booker-nominated novel of the same title, takes on the racial and ethnic stereotyping found in films like American Sniper. Riz Ahmed plays Changez, a young Pakistani in the US who goes from ruthless corporate climber to disillusioned and excluded immigrant throughout the film. </p>
<h2>Freedom and victory?</h2>
<p>The attack on the World Trade Center is one of the most significant events of the 21st century. So much so that it is used as a generational marker, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-vs-gen-z-divided-by-911-different-money-habits-2019-4?r=US&IR=T">distinguishing millennials from Generation Z</a> in terms of whether or not one remembers the event directly. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s appropriate, then, that even the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with its predominantly youthful viewership, has allegorically hinted at the failures of the “war on terror”. Its most recent television spin-off, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9140554/">Loki</a> (2021), appears to question the validity of some of the language that surrounded 9/11 and what started out as “Operation Enduring Freedom”. On the afternoon of 9/11, George W. Bush stated that “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/11/september11.usa19">freedom itself was attacked this morning</a>” – Loki challenges the very notion of liberation, saying “the first and most oppressive lie ever uttered was the song of freedom”.</p>
<p>And now as the world witnesses <a href="https://theconversation.com/afghanistan-the-warlords-who-will-decide-whether-civil-war-is-likely-167380">the takeover of Afghanistan</a> by the Taliban within days of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/out-of-afghanistan-joe-biden-and-the-future-of-americas-foreign-policy-166914">US and British troop withdrawal</a>, it remains to be seen how Hollywood will treat not only 9/11, but its ongoing ramifications – which even the Hollywood dream machine may struggle to spin into a spectacle of freedom and victory.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In a time of increasingly complex geopolitical entanglements and moral failings, these films articulate a yearning for unsullied heroism, effective leadership and appropriate responses to crises.
Maria Flood, Lecturer in Film Studies, University of Liverpool
Michael C. Frank, Professor of English Literature, University of Zurich
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/163797
2021-07-06T20:10:37Z
2021-07-06T20:10:37Z
Marvel’s Black Widow has been handed to a small independent Aussie director. And she’s the perfect fit
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409579/original/file-20210705-97052-1ihmcez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C3000%2C1989&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jay Maidment © Marvel Studios 2021</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cate Shortland is not your standard gun-for-hire director. Known for her dramas, verging on art-house, the Australian director’s oeuvre is just three feature films and some television work in 20 years. </p>
<p>And while the features are quality work, accepted to Cannes and Sundance with impressive reviews, they didn’t exactly set the box office on fire.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381429/">Somersault</a> (2004), <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1996310/">Lore</a> (2012) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3335606/">Berlin Syndrome</a> (2017) are modestly-budgeted, intense personal dramas, centred on young female characters who are having some sort of dysfunctional relationship with a male counterpart. There are few (if any) special effects. These are character-driven stories in natural, realistic settings.</p>
<p>So it is interesting Shortland was chosen as the director of the newest Marvel film, Black Widow, which opens this week in cinemas.</p>
<p>Black Widow is so far removed from Shortland’s previous story and aesthetic style I can’t imagine any Marvel movie fan having Shortland as their first choice as director — assuming they would know her name at all.</p>
<p>But if you look closely at her previous films and the Marvel cinematic universe, there are some startling similarities, especially regarding female protagonists. </p>
<p>Indeed, Shortland’s forensic examination of the struggles that shape women’s pain and strength makes her the perfect choice to direct this film.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-didnt-have-a-superhero-that-looked-like-me-marvels-new-female-culturally-diverse-and-queer-protagonists-mirror-our-times-160917">'I didn't have a superhero that looked like me': Marvel's new female, culturally diverse and queer protagonists mirror our times</a>
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<h2>Dreamy coming-of-age stories</h2>
<p>Somersault, written and directed by Shortland, is the coming-of-age story of a teen who runs away from home to the snow-covered fields of Jindabyne. The film looks at the main character’s awakening sexuality, and how it influences those around her. </p>
<p>It’s a complex, yet nuanced work, with highly stylised cinematography that creates a ponderous pace.</p>
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<p>Shortland’s aesthetic style is very European. Her films have a dream-like quality, enhanced by muted colours and subdued, ambient lighting. </p>
<p>With this in mind, it was not surprising that Shortland’s next two films were produced in Germany.</p>
<p>Lore, co-written by Shortland with Robin Mukherjee and based on a story by novelist Rachel Seiffert, is set just after the second world war, where five German children are sent to find safety in their grandmother’s house in fear of the approaching Soviet forces.</p>
<p>Shortland weaves a gentle tale of sibling care against external threats, underlying this story with a relationship between the main character, Lore, and a young Jewish boy, a concentration camp survivor.</p>
<p>Berlin Syndrome, written by Shaun Grant and based on Melanie Joosten’s book, is the story of a young Australian traveller who meets a local man while in Berlin. She is soon held hostage in his apartment and forced to become his “girlfriend”.</p>
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<p>In each of these films, the lead characters are fragile, vulnerable women, isolated in unfamiliar territory. As the story unfolds, they find strength through their struggle against adverse situations and hostile characters.</p>
<p>These are introspective, character-focused stories with sexual undertones.</p>
<h2>Complex women; complex CGI</h2>
<p>There is no realism in Black Widow; no soft lighting with slow paced, character- driven, inner perspectives. It is plot-driven, with little time for nuance: hyperbolic action produced in massive green screen studios, with computer generated imagery creating a substantial portion of the film. </p>
<p>And yet, Scarlet Johansson’s titular character shares many of the same qualities as Shortland’s other leads. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409633/original/file-20210705-27-1gdvyeq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Production still: Florence Pugh and Johannsen talk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409633/original/file-20210705-27-1gdvyeq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409633/original/file-20210705-27-1gdvyeq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409633/original/file-20210705-27-1gdvyeq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409633/original/file-20210705-27-1gdvyeq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409633/original/file-20210705-27-1gdvyeq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409633/original/file-20210705-27-1gdvyeq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409633/original/file-20210705-27-1gdvyeq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Between the explosions, Shortland is able to tell a gentle story of a woman’s coming of age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jay Maidment © Marvel Studios 2021</span></span>
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<p>The Marvel Universe is <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-didnt-have-a-superhero-that-looked-like-me-marvels-new-female-culturally-diverse-and-queer-protagonists-mirror-our-times-160917">ever-increasing</a>, with new films and television series exploring the origin stories of minor characters. In this film, we discover Black Widow had to claim her strength after a childhood of hardship and abuse. And, like Shortland’s other female characters, men in her life try to control and dominate her.</p>
<p>Johansson has portrayed Black Widow in six previous Marvel films. In <a href="https://deadline.com/2018/11/spider-women-captain-marvel-and-harley-quinn-females-fly-in-the-face-of-old-hollywood-perceptions-1202485612/">2018 she said</a>:</p>
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<p>I think there is definitely an opportunity to explore the Widow as a woman who has come into her own and is making independent and active choices for herself, probably for once in her life. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>With the Marvel franchise looking for more diversity in its creative teams <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jul/02/i-enjoy-how-sexy-she-is-as-long-as-shes-in-control-black-widows-cate-shortland-on-scarlett-johansson">70 female directors</a> were interviewed for this film. </p>
<p>Shortland told Variety she couldn’t see herself directing a film so reliant on CGI effects and highly choreographed fight scenes. Initially, she <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/cate-shortland-black-widow-scarlett-johansson-1235008158/">turned it down</a>. </p>
<p>But Johansson was so impressed by Shortland’s previous films she <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/black-widow-australian-director-cate-shortland-is-scarlett-johanssons-favourite-filmmaker/news-story/336041ca5e9fbd35d939ddab924f0736">pushed</a> hard for her to direct, and worked hard at convincing Shortland to take the job. </p>
<p>The connection Shortland felt with Johannsson, as well as Johansson’s explanation of the Black Widow character as a parallel to Shortland’s own films, eventually <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/cate-shortland-black-widow-scarlett-johansson-1235008158/">persuaded her</a> to take the helm.</p>
<p>Women finding strength in the face of trauma drives the narrative of every Shortland film. In Black Widow, Shortland imbues the quieter moments with character complexity and her signature visual style. Her artful storytelling is as much a part of the film as the explosions and superhero brawls.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163797/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daryl Sparkes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Cate Shortland is behind low-budget, art-house films, which focus on women’s coming of age stories. Now, she brings her signature cinematic style to the Marvel Universe.
Daryl Sparkes, Senior Lecturer (Media Studies and Production), University of Southern Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.