Ms Marvel’s attempt to depict the subcontinent's socio-political history is ground-breaking

Let me start by confessing that I have lately been wary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If killing off one of my favorite pop culture characters (Ironman) wasn’t enough, then the increasingly monochromatic narrative around the hegemony of America, and how it constantly needs to be saved is tiresome. The entire, saving the world, is equal to saving America plotline was getting excruciatingly lackluster and reductive.

Therefore, I would come to terms with the fact that the new stream of Marvel shows and movies wasn’t for me. However, the idea of MCU’s first Muslim, South Asian female superhero, was interesting, and even more fascinating was the passionate discourse on Shahrukh Khan. The scene in which there’s a discussion on whether Baazigar or Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is the better SRK film, kept on popping up everywhere, pretty much compelling me to give the show a try, even with the reservations I had. After all, if there’s one thing that doesn’t get trite, then it is the love our subcontinent holds for man.

However, as I said, I was apprehensive, and not without reason, after all, every other show with South Asian characters, like Never Have I Ever, or Bridgerton Season 2, has adamantly been centered around the same hackneyed elements of spicy food, overbearing brown parents, flashy clothes, and wedding dances. The detachment from the subcontinent’s socio-political history, or its modern landscape, makes the representation seem more shallow, and less inclusive. It also in many ways fails to strike a relatability, or connect with the audience that it is trying to illustrate, making the depiction borderline tokenistic.

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On the other hand, unlike the ones that came before it, Ms Marvel is organic and groundbreaking in its representation. The show could have easily focused only on the banaler and rather platitudinous details of the subcontinent, but instead of doing so, it decided to push the envelope and look at the more complex aspects as well. From exploring the Partition, and all that it has left behind in its wake, to delving into the discourses of hijab and identity, as well as the racism that comes along with being not only an immigrant but rather a Muslim immigrant, Ms Marvel, attempts to begin a conversation that most of us from the subcontinent can empathise with.

In doing so, the show not only becomes more engaging but also makes the trauma suffered by both the countries more accessible to the world, and the newer generations who may or may not be oblivious to this history. Art can not change the world, but it can change your perception of how you look at it. One show will not erase the decades of sorrow and suffering, but it will with its reach, if not anything else, spread awareness as to what happened, and what can happen, therefore enabling the subcontinent’s bloodshed, confused identities, and ancestral bruises to feel acknowledged.

When the show flashbacks to Karachi, there’s no romanticisation of its brown-ness, it’s retained in its natural hues and tones. From AR Rahman’s Tere Bina, to Abida Parveen’s Tu Jhoom, to Bon Jovi’s Livin On A Prayer, the Iman Vellani starrer, soulfully sings to everyone, as it champions multiculturalism subtly. Shahrukh Khan’s name pops up in more conversations than one, and not in an exotic manner, but in a rather customary style – pretty much like how you or I, would talk about him. Alas, the fact that Fawad Khan is also a part of the show in a small way, is just the cherry on the cake, because frankly, there is no greater point of mutual affection between India and Pakistan, than the Zindagi Gulzar Hai star, who is loved and cherished in equal measure by both the nations.

It doesn’t try to capitalise or dramatize the Khan family’s race and ethnicity but does both, showing them as a normal Muslim family living in the States, as well as one that has a deep heritage that can’t be brushed off. It balances finely between generational trauma and the simple things that Indians and Pakistanis love, like Shahrukh Khan, Bhangra, Fawad Khan, and good-old celebration, in this case of Eid. For once, Muslims in an American show, aren’t terrorists, but normal people who just like thousands around the world, have faith and practice of their own.

Ms Marvel is one show that endearingly represents the South Asian subcontinent, a feeling that translates very well, in the little details and the research that has been put in. While it may be far from perfect, the truth is that at times, the effort is worth far more than the result, and in this case, the effort was not to grab some woke points, but rather to tell a more inclusive and comprehensive story. It gives us a kind moment, to rejoice in being seen, celebrated and alas, represented, setting a decent precedent for anything that is to come.

Takshi Mehta is a freelance journalist and writer. She firmly believes that we are what we stand up for, and thus you’ll always find her wielding a pen.

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