Which nameless MENA character was better?
MENA background characters in superhero media:
Who did it better, Disney Plus or Netflix?
Surprising no one, it wasn't Disney; even the bog standard MENA stereotype is the most/only instance Disney has shown MENA in the MCU since Iron Man 1, thirteen years ago.
Let's compare the nameless MENA point by point. Disney first:
Falcon and Winter Soldier (2021) Marvel Studios on Disney Plus,
minus points for:
Racist yellow filter
Meaningless dialogue that add nothing to the MENA characters
Praising American military
= minus 3 points to FATWS/Disney (I could list more but let's stick with the main issues)
Next up, Netflix:
Jupiter's Legacy (2021) Millarworld on Netflix,
points added for:
No racist yellow filter used
Meaningful discussion is had
Character is shown in additional background scenes of the episode
= plus 3 points to Jupiter's Legacy/Netflix
As far as crumbs go toward any MENA rep, Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy won this round.
Read on as I explain why.
~*~
Looking for and spotting any MENA, SWANA, or Muslim characters in superhero media feels a bit like that Leo DiCaprio meme where he's pointing at the TV; in that when I do spot any MENA characters on the screen it's very much a sit up in my chair and pay attention moment.
That's how rare they are.
Now, sadly, often those moments are total cringe.
For a cringe example, see recent Disney Plus show Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021). Character Sam Wilson (Falcon) is shown in his first scenes as being on a mission in Tunisia (which is a Muslim majority country in North Africa) with the US Air Force.
Side note: I have so many complaints about how this is all set up to start with, attaching comics characters to the US military way too often and for no good reason. Having Sam's bird Redwing as A DRONE of all things! For a really well put together explanation on the MCU/US military love affair, I recommend watching this video on YouTube: Military ads in Marvel movies.
Let's not forget Marvel comics also tried to set up a recruitment campaign with defense contractor Northrop Grumman not that long ago. Shady, shady, shady dealings there, Marvel and Disney.
Anyway, while Sam and the US Air Force are in this Muslim majority country doing what they please, Sam is shown fixing his DRONE when two nameless Muslim characters walk by.
These two walk-ons basically curtsey to the US military, thanking them for existing.
Yuck.
It should go without saying that this is really gross, and in no way provides any decent or accurate representation of MENA.
Please also note that Marvel Studios didn't miss the opportunity to make the shots of 'Tunisia' (which is actually filmed in Prague, Europe) a ghastly yellow filter effect:
Disney has a badtrack record for yellow filter, and also used it recently for the Morocco scenes in Black Widow movie (2021). Disney, would you please stop using yellow filter!
Now, those nameless walk-on characters were honestly a moment that is far more common to see in superhero media, or American media in general:
nameless MENA bit parts, nothing more than 2D characters existing only to praise the Americans onscreen.
In other words, really problematic, and not something I get any joy from seeing. MENA seem to exist in western media purely to act as props/sacrifices to the US military, or to America in general in these weak storylines from US writers.
It's the same in nearly every American action movie, if MENA aren't the bad guys.
To reiterate: Yuck.
Can't we see something new? It's 2021.
So, imagine my surprise when I spotted a MENA character on one episode of Netflix show Jupiter's Legacy (2021), and not only did he have lines but he actually shared a touching scene with one of the main characters.
GASP.
In episode 6 of Jupiter's Legacy, where the main heroes are in their flashback era and on the boat from Morocco to the magical/fictional island, there's a scene where Fitz goes to the boat's engine room to assist in a mechanical issue.
After a nameless white character/antagonist leaves, Fitz shares some dialogue with a Muslim sailor.
They talk about racism, about Fitz living in America and the racism there.
This is set in 1929, or close to it.
This is the Muslim sailor conversing with him:
It's a really touching scene, not least because finally here is a MENA character in a superhero piece of media that is shown to be a decent person and a supporting character, but he's also shown as smiling, kind, and he's shown as relatable.
This is so incredibly rare in western media.
(He doesn't die in this series either, which is always a plus when it comes to MENA characters.)
One drawback is he's virtually nameless, as nobody uses his name onscreen. IMDB lists him under Ahmed, but it would've been nice to hear someone say it.
For comparion, Disney Plus had its nameless walk-on Dad listed as 'Cafe Patron, episode 1' (though that's a guess on my part, because no photo of the actor or character is shown, nor for the daughter).
IMDB name listing or not, if nobody is using their names in the scenes I count them as nameless characters because audiences will use descriptors such as 'the sailor', or 'that bloke in the street'. They won't be trawling the extras listings in IMDB.
Both studios need to do better with naming their extras, especially if the character is simply there to make the cast 'more diverse'. (I literally just wrote about this problem with the upcoming Eternals movie.)
Give them a name, dammit! It takes less than a second. I've seen other TV shows and movies do it just fine for bit part characters, so there's no excuse.
Anyway, back to Ahmed the sailor: there's no pictures or video clips I can find of this scene taking place (SIGH), so that means we've had to make do with a photo I took of my own TV, showing Ahmed smiling during the scene.
The character of Ahmed Moustafa is played by Nabil Rajo, a MENA actor.
This is the sort of MENA representation we're desperately craving, not just in superhero media but across all media.
Just some decent, relatable characters, played by MENA actors.
This was a brief supporting role, too, and I'm still really excited about his part because of how rare it is.
Yes, I would've loved to have seen him given a bigger part in the show.
Of course, I'm ticked off that Netflix didn't renew this show, because there was a small chance that this same MENA character could've been given superpowers along with the rest of the boat crew; from blowback off of the island.
(There was a brief hint of the crew being hit with the same magical wave as the main heroes; watch the Captain's face to see it sparkle.)
And I really want a MENA superhero!
Now, overall, the show Jupiter's Legacy is far from perfect.
I haven't read the comics so I can't compare the show to its source material. I do think the show had potential (that therapy scene of Sheldon's was very good, for example, and wipes the floor with Disney's recent attempt at showing a superhero in therapy: Bucky during Falcon and Winter Soldier).
I'm also very aware (oh, boy, am I aware) that Jupiter's Legacy has its problems with racism, namely focusing on the white characters too much and graphically killing off a lot of PoC characters, especially the women.
I don't actually think it's any worse than the MCU/Marvel Studios in that regard (anyone else notice that the only Black Widows to die in the Black Widow movie are WoC?), and the MCU has had thirteen years to get its shit together to avoid bad tropes like that. (Let's not hold our breath, hm.)
Back when it started, MCU phase one was the likes of Iron Man 1 and its terrible representation of MENA as terrorists, MENA dying graphically and then conveniently forgotten about, never to be shown again.
(Yinsen's cameo in Iron Man 3 doesn't count as it adds nothing to the character he didn't already tell us about in IM1, and he's already long dead by that point.)
And as far as MENA go, there have literally been no other MENA in the entire MCU until those two nameless walk-ons in Falcon and Winter Soldier, which I've already explained is problematic and shallow.
So if Jupiter's Legacy season one was showing a MENA character as decent and relatable with possible superpowers, imagine what season two could've accomplished had it continued in that vein.
I want to see more.
(And before anyone tries to tell me about Disney's Ms Marvel show coming up, I'll tell you to go Google "Fix Ms Marvel" and see why MENA fans are already concerned about the show due to its problematic casting and creative decisions/US military attachment.)
~*~
Have you spotted any MENA characters in superhero media lately? Tell me!
Visit me on twitter, or on tumblr.
Further reading:
Muslim and MENA rep: Where are the good guys part 1, part 2
Fix Ms Marvel updates on Twitter
#HireHijabis hashtag on Twitter.
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