Research Mentor(s)
Hughes, Hemani
Description
This poster provides an overview at the initial press coverage of the Marvel comic book Ms. Marvel #1 which features an Islamic superheroine located in New Jersey. The comic was released in 2013 and was upheld a progressive move in comics. The author interrogates the rhetoric used by various media sources to establish the comic as a form of commodity activism and how this media coverage achieves this effect through the use of assimilationist and neoliberal rhetoric. The author finds that popular media coverage of the comic establishes the social problem of Islamophobia and lack of diverse representation in comics, provides a product solution in the form of Ms. Marvel #1, then allows consumers to participate in a constructed socially aware identity on social media through the “IamMsMarvel” hashtag. This paper adds to existing literature on commodity activism, and how it can be constructed without an explicit branding of such by the company creating the commodity.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
14-5-2015 10:00 AM
End Date
14-5-2015 2:00 PM
Department
Communication Studies
Genre/Form
student projects; posters
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Muslim women in literature; Women superheroes; Islam in mass media; Comic books, strips, etc.--History and criticism
Type
Image
Keywords
Comics, Islam, Media, Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Commodity Activism
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this documentation for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
"Could this comic book really end Islamophobia?": Initial press coverage of Ms. Marvel #1 as commodity activism
This poster provides an overview at the initial press coverage of the Marvel comic book Ms. Marvel #1 which features an Islamic superheroine located in New Jersey. The comic was released in 2013 and was upheld a progressive move in comics. The author interrogates the rhetoric used by various media sources to establish the comic as a form of commodity activism and how this media coverage achieves this effect through the use of assimilationist and neoliberal rhetoric. The author finds that popular media coverage of the comic establishes the social problem of Islamophobia and lack of diverse representation in comics, provides a product solution in the form of Ms. Marvel #1, then allows consumers to participate in a constructed socially aware identity on social media through the “IamMsMarvel” hashtag. This paper adds to existing literature on commodity activism, and how it can be constructed without an explicit branding of such by the company creating the commodity.