Showing posts with label Travina Springer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travina Springer. Show all posts

Tuesday, 29 November 2022

Ms Marvel: Destined

 "Excuse me, Miss Agent... next time, remove your shoes."

Where to begin here? Perhaps with the reveal that Kamran's grandma Najma is the leader of a group of ageless djinn, seen in flashback in 1942, and that Kamala's missing grandma is one of them. Perhaps we begin at the end with that train to Karachi- is Kamala's missing grandmother returning?

Perhaps we begin with the tension between Kamala's secret and her parents who are, in the main, supportive. Or Nakia, a close friend, who is upset to find that Kamala has been hiding big things from her. Or with Bruno, who is soon off to Caltech and away from his friends.There's a lot going on.

But it's also lovely to see Muslim people presented as normal, the culture of the subcontinent, a Muslim wedding followed by a Bon Jovi covers band and Bollywood dancing. And to see the imam's (and Nakia's) response to Damage Control, comedy official baddies representing Islamophobia.

And let's be clear: I'm an atheist. No religion, or its beliefs, should be free from criticism. But there is a point- a point which the likes of Richard Dawkins and his ilk have repeatedly breached- at which that kind of thinking- thinking that I share- can cross a line and assist in the demonising of a minority group which has uncomfortable echoes from the 1930s.

I love this series. It reminds me of early '60s Spider-Man, but with samosas.

Thursday, 24 November 2022

Ms Marvel: Crushed

 "No Snapchatting in the Masjid!"

This is, of course, another perfecr episode. Witty, full of humour and character, and once again subtly introducing both Islamic life and South Asian culture to an American audience. We get a potted history of Partition and get a nicely effective look at what it's like inside a Mosque and the different cliques that frequent it.

We also learn a little more about Kamala's mysterious and controversial great grandmother, about whom rumours abound. She gets her second outing as a superhero.And we meet the baddies- Damage Control, from an old limited series or two back in my era.

And we meet the almost comically seductive Kamran... and his mother.

This is utterly magnificent telly.