Autor:
Współtwórca:
Mobley, Agnieszka - red. nauk. ; Fondo, Blossom N. - red. nauk. ; Filipczak, Iwona - red. nauk.
Tytuł:
Tytuł publikacji grupowej:
Temat i słowa kluczowe:
hybridity ; identity politics ; postcolonial theory ; superhero comics ; Third Space
Abstract:
In October 2014 the first issue of a new "Ms. Marvel" comic book series starring Muslim Pakistani American teenager Kamala Khan was published and was met with both critical acclaim and commercial success. In the ongoing series, Muslim Pakistani American teenager Kamala Khan struggles to come to terms with the expectations of her Pakistani parents and her desire to fit into mainstream American society. ; After mysteriously acquiring shapeshifting abilities, Kamala steps into the superhero role of "Ms. Marvel" which serves - as I argue - as a Third Space that enables Kamala to create a new identity incorporating and re-interpreting both elements derived from her Pakistani and from her US background illustrating "that the meaning and symbols of culture have no primordial unity or fixity [... and] can be appropriated, translated, rehistoricized, and read anew". ; Under the guise of "Ms. Marvel", Kamala protects the inhabitants of her hometown Jersey City, NJ, from gentrification, cyberbullying or the exploitation of vulnerable teenagers, among others. I suggest that Kamala`s costume, her superpowers of flexibility and adaptability and her attitude towards her role as a superhero reflect Homi K. Bhabha`s conception of hybridity as an empowering condition and I propose that Kamala`s adoption of the ?Ms. Marvel? identity transcends mere mimicry. ; At the center of my analysis is the liminal character of Kamala Khan as a nerdy female Muslim teenager of color living in the US that resists easy categorization: she is a fanfiction writing enthusiastic admirer of the "Avengers" superhero team and bonds with her brother`s (also Muslim) girlfriend over Frank Herbert`s sci-fi classic "Dune"; she takes a skeptical view towards the conservative imam of her mosque, but she is also a devout Muslim with a life philosophy rooted in her religion; she is willing to risk her life to help even those of her peers who have previously bullied her in xenophobic ways. ; Relating Kamala`s secret superhero identity to Bhabha`s concept of Third Space allows me to discuss the empowering quality that the transformation into "Ms. Marvel" develops for the protagonist, which I identify as Kamala`s ability to embrace ostensibly contradictory parts of her life and combine them into armour, both in the literal and in the metaphorical sense. In this chapter, I will offer an interpretation of the character of Kamala Khan and her secret "Ms. Marvel" identity as a Third Space examining in how far Homi K. Bhabha`s concept of cultural hybridity can open up new interpretative dimensions for this American superhero comic.
Wydawca:
Zielona Góra: Oficyna Wydawnicza Uniwersytetu Zielonogórskiego
Data wydania:
Typ zasobu:
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Źródło:
Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Zielonogórskiego: Seria Scripta Humana, tom 15