Why Ms. Marvel (the series) will get it right
We are going to talk about the huge gap between Hollywood movies and how they depict certain regions, people and cultures and why they are not aware that this is making the natives scratch their heads in dismay and throwing things at their TV — soft cushy things obviously.
To begin, I assume we all know about the orange filter.
No?
We are talking about this:
You can google in detail about the added orange flavor to some of the movies or specific locale scenes therein. (Use keyword: ‘Extraction orange filter’)
There is absolutely nothing dutch about it.
To reiterate, the problem is not the storyline which could be one way or the other but showing the wrong or skewed physical and cultural background makes Hollywood look dumb for all its high tech SFX — especially when those movies win an Oscar as well.
The movie Mosul on Netflix worked well with International audiences but was turned off after 15 minutes by most Iraqis — Why? The plot was terrible, the dialogue was so un Iraqi and it felt like they rushed the movie. Some of the actors were Iraqi but not known to anyone in Iraq. What happened in Mosul is a story, if done right could have secured an Oscar nomination.
It becomes even more of a nuisance when actors from one country are hired to play the roles depicting another. For example, most of the time, only Indian actors are hired to play Afghans, Bengals and Pakistanis alike.
Now Indians and the rest are the same color in most cases, however, on screen it is very obvious to see who comes from where. The accent, the eyes, the moves all are tell tale of the mismatch.
Given the politically charged nature of such movies, it becomes even more clearer why an Indian actor would be hired to play a Pakistani in a particular role because a Pakistani would probably not want to play the role with negative connotations. Even if not, there are plenty of actors hailing from each of these countries living in North America who can be easily hired for the said roles. At least give it a taste of originality when they move, talk or blink.
More than colors and perceptions, it is a fact that all movies depicting anything in the larger middle east (read Syria, Libya and so on) are shot in Jordan or Doha and showing anything in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan is shot in India.
All of Extraction (reference the orange picture above) depicting Bangladesh was shot in Ahmedabad, India and Zero Dark Thirty was shot in Chandigarh, India. Scenes from Homeland season something (dealing with Pakistan) were shot in Cape town, South Africa.
It also seems that there is a huge influence of foreign support staff when it comes to a movie or TV series. You can almost feel which way the series is leaning depending on who is guiding the otherwise ignorant guy in the driving seat.
Take the series Nikita, for example, is all about how friendly an ally Pakistan is — Take the series Homeland, it is all about how Pakistan is the deadliest snake in the allied backyard.
In recent history, this has been changing slowly with the breakthrough coming from Kumail Nanjiani who confirmed to the industry that he could retain his Pakistani identity and yet play any role Hollywood would throw at him. His movie finally showed a normal American Pakistani family — yes, they still hired a prominent Indian actor to play his father but that was his personal choice based on talent and a life long wish.
How Ms. Marvel will be tested and come through perfectly
First of, the lead actor is Iman Vellani who actually comes from a North American Pakistani immigrant middle class family. Someone who is exactly ‘Kamala Khan’.
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The second best thing is that Obaid-Chinoy is a critical part of the team. This already gives credence to what we are going to see eventually. For those who do not know, she is a two time Oscar winner for her documentaries and is a Pakistani based in Canada. She really has her finger on the pulse of Pakistan’s modern culture.
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What remains to be seen is the drama within the family and the locales if they are ever moved out of New York and how correctly they will be depicted. In today’s connected world, everyone is watching and seeing the closest to reality makes them feel content that their highs are highlighted and their lows are reflected in a manner not to degrade but to show the underlying challenges.
These components will make the people from these countries feel less isolated and more genuinely represented.
