...Because Representation Matters
I am, unabashedly, a comic book geek. Each Wednesday, I stop in at my local comic book store and pick up the week’s latest releases, which are usually a combination of the Marvel superheroes and brilliant, quirky, creator-owned titles (like Saga and Monstress). Once roundly (and deservedly) criticized as a medium of “men writing about male characters for male readers”, the industry has been undergoing some really interesting and encouraging changes in recent years.
For example, there’s been an explosion in the number of titles focused on female protagonists. And, more importantly, an increasing number of those titles are being written by female writers and drawn by female artists. Many of those writers and artists are challenging the medium in some dramatic and important ways. We’re seeing storylines that balance physical action with diplomacy. We’re seeing characters depicted in ways that are less exaggerated, more dignified, and, in some cases, openly derisive toward the ridiculous body types and skimpy costumes that historically typified female superheroes.
Along with more and better depictions of female characters, writers and artists are increasingly incorporating heroes of different races, faiths, and sexual orientations into the stories that they’re telling. My favorite example of this trend is Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American Muslim who was introduced in November 2013 as the latest incarnation of Ms. Marvel. Since the character’s introduction, she’s had to come to terms with her superpowers (and limitations), while fighting alongside the superheroes (like Captain Marvel and Wolverine) that she respects and admires.
One of my favorite images from the first issue shows Ms. Marvel talking with Captain America, and I was immediately on board. I loved the fact that there was an image of Marvel’s first Muslim superhero, ready to fight alongside Captain America. I love the text and the subtext, and the possibilities for cooperation and inclusion that the image represents. Sana Amanat, Marvel Comics’ Director of Content and Character Development, created Kamala Khan, and put it this way:
“We have a responsibility to tell stories that are empowering and send messages, and that’s exactly what superhero stories do,” says Amanat. “And now the fact that we’re changing them a little bit by having a Muslim character take on a very important legacy, by having an African-American pick up the Captain America shield…those are really strong messages of what the American dream actually means.”[1]
(For the record, Sana Amanat is my favorite Marvel superhero...)
I’ve heard and read some rather cynical points of view on this topic. There are some who point to increasingly diverse readership, and pressure being placed on comic publishers and film studios to diversify their slates of superheroes, and suggest that this is all a cash grab. Perhaps there’s some truth to that. But I choose to think of it this way – the demand from audiences for heroes that reflect the diversity that exists in society is finally being acknowledged. That’s a new thing. And I believe it will create a virtuous cycle. If, by satisfying the demand for representation, studios and publishers increase their revenues, then they have further motivation to portray diversity in their characters and their stories (which should, in turn, create even more revenue).
The other day, I saw a wonderful post in Facebook that showed DC Comics’ newest Green Lantern character. She's a female Green Lantern, and the comments on the post were from a father who said that his 6 year-old daughter saw the picture and said “I can be Green Lantern”. That’s amazing.
I can’t explain to you why it fills me with such joy to see people diversity represented in media and popular culture. I know, though, that it has something to do with the idea of a child seeing someone who looks like him or her, and imagining new possibilities. I think it has to do with a kid seeing a person like him or her being accepted, and celebrated, and included. It has to do with the fact that there are kids growing up today who will see collaboration between people of different genders, ethnicities, religions, sexualities, and abilities as something to be admired and emulated.
These days, I’m in the midst of my company’s annual succession planning activities. I’m proud to say that we’re starting to see women appearing as successors in some of our core competencies (like Engineering and Service), where they’ve not been featured in the past. And here, too, representation matters. What does it mean for someone who’s planning her career to see women succeeding in senior leadership and executive roles? What if we all looked at the organization chart and saw ourselves represented at every level? Would it change our expectations, open our minds to new opportunities? When it happens, will it allow us each to say “I can be what I want to be at this company”? That will be truly fantastic.
[1] Towers, Andrea, “Marvel’s Sana Amanat Talks Ms. Marvel’s Legacy”, www.entertainmentweekly.com, February 2, 2016
