Disney's Ms. Marvel Episode 1 Impressions

It's been a while since I talked about Muslim representation in the big and little screen. Ramy was the last show I watched and I ended up feeling conflicted about where it landed in my headspace. On one hand, it's cool to see a main character who is Muslim and struggling to be more religious and practicing  (something I can always relate to). On the other, watching some dude committing explicit acts and also deal with some suggestive and unnerving situations kind of goes against your own religion's teachings-even if it's "only acting."  I have made peace with Ramy since then and am glad to note that I do not have ill will toward Ms. Marvel. In fact, I somewhat enjoyed the first episode. It reminded me of a teen Nickelodeon show mixed with the tone set in most MCU movies. While it's only been one episode, I wanted to muse about what I thought was good and what wasn't. I also wanted to overreact a bit since, well, it's what I like to so.

I definitely loved the digital effects and editing. Scene transitions and animations were top notch and reminded me of Scott Pilgrim vs The World (though Scott Pilgrim is more consistent and tactful with its implementation). Colors seem to also pop a bit more too probably do to the well throughout costume designs. It was a great move to incorporate a lot of the dialogue or story with movement from scene to scene. The text message scene was pretty cool but also helped with keeping the pacing of the first episode pretty brisk. It was a great move to incorporate a lot of the exposition with movement from scene to scene. Some text message scene are dumb and static, but this one was cool to watch.

Iman Vellani does a great job at portraying the awkward teen trope we know and love from countless Disney Junior and Nickelodeon shows. Kamala Khan really reminds me of iCarly for some reason. Can't really put my finger on it but it might just be the way she gets excited for stuff. I did feel like some lines were delivered with contrived excitement or her jokes/lines fell a bit flat. But definitely nothing major. 

The first episode did leave a little bit to be desired. I felt like too many things happened in this movie. For an origin story, it seems like love interests, parent issues, and superpowers were all discussed and moved forward without giving us much time to digest it. And while I am a full grown adult and don't really understand the young'uns these days, the dialogue was rather cheesy. Also is a 16 year old supposed to be that obsessed with superheroes that she only cares about that and that alone? I think part of that threw me off, because it felt like she was 12. Also, I didn't think many of the emotional moments really were justified since we were barely introduced to these characters. 

One moment that didn't hit hard for me was when her parents oblige to take her to "Avengercon" (but on their rules). Kamala had none of it and mentioned how embarrassing it would be to be seen by them. I felt like that moment was supposed to be pivotal and show that Uncle Ben moment Peter Parker had, but it felt like her mom should have taken a slipper and threaten her to be grounded...I don't know, that's how my parents would have done it growing up. 

This isn't a knock on the show nor am I trying to be that comic book guy, but I didn't really understand why they had to change Ms. Marvel's powers and how she got them. My guess is that it needs to fit in with the MCU. Maybe the bracelet is from The Eternals, though I haven't watched it. And maybe the reason they replaced the Terrigen Mist  (something something Inhumans) was because it doesn't fit into the MCU plans? Anyways, this Ms. Marvel is more like Green Lantern than Mr. Fantastic like in the comics. 

The last thing I wanted to mull over is what I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It's almost immediately established that Kamala is Pakistani and Muslim. She's instructed to say Bismillah (In the name of Allah) before she inevitably fails her drivers test. There is Qu'ran(ic?) calligraphy scattered across her home. Then there is her brother Aamir. He is quickly portrayed to be the golden child but also too religious for Kamala's parents. There is a scene where Aamir is make Dua (supplication) before eating breakfast and Kamala's father says that he'll starve since he's talking too long. It's a small jab but it's weird because I aspire to be at that level of faith. It's actually pretty relatable..to me...to have parents wishing their kids were religious but not too much that they become an imam of a mosque or something. But I can only wonder if Aamir will the edge of the islamic compass to Kamala. He will embody too much Islam which I find problematic. Time will obviously tell but Kamala seems to be poised to be finding the "correct" balance while Aamir is displaying too much piety for some to think it's "right" way of living. 

This happened with Ramy as well. Ramy has a friend, Ahmed, who is more religious than the main compass, so to speak. He follows more of the rules of Islam while Ramy struggles. He is portrayed as a nerdy whacky character but also too religious. And being too religious isn't a struggle, it's more larger than life. Like it wouldn't be interesting to carry as a character. That's why I loved the one scene he has with Ramy in the bathroom where he tells him to grow up and get his head together. 

There is an argument that these characters are not portrayed as "extreme." But they both are made out to be supporting characters, only to be a mirror or symbol to the main characters struggles and thought process. Most things I've read online is about how many Muslim women relate to Kamala Khan. How the main character of the show finally humanizes them. But for me it makes me wonder if the person I am trying to become is a supporting character only? I don't think Kamala's main objective in the show is to become like her brother. Her goal is to try to reconcile her powers with her family and her friends. She'll make mistakes and her brother will probably be there for her. They'll share moments of sibling love and such, but the care from her brother will come from that. I feel like the religiosity of her brother is what separates them and not what brings them back. 

I might be thinking too hard here since it's only been one episode, but it does make me feel like I'll never see a main character I can relate to. It's like how I am supposed to relate more to Ron Weasley instead of Harry Potter. 

Despite my ramblings and inner monologue, I do think Ms. Marvel is off to a solid start. It will most likely go into an MCU format so that she can appear in a Fantastic Four movie or something. I might give a season 1 review in a couple months and see how it fares then.