APEX Express – January 19, 2023

KPFA - APEX Express

In the summer of 2022, the Marvel Comics Universe (MCU) together with Disney plus, dropped Ms. Marvel, a six episode exclusive series starring a Pakistani-American teenage girl, Kamala Khan. The show received widespread praise for its ground-breaking depiction of a South Asian American Muslim super-shero. The series grew in popularity quite quickly for being quirky, lighthearted, witty in showcasing its protagonist Kamala’s nerdy love of the Avengers, to exploring and re-storying much more serious aspects of South Asian history and reality, such as the Partition of India and current day Islamophobia.

The series follows Kamala as she navigates her journey as a super-shero, while also struggling with her family’s intense and unresolved past against the backdrop of the Partition of India and Pakistan. Her character has been lauded as a landmark cinematic milestone in representation for both South Asian American and Muslim American communities. On this APEX Express edition, producer Preeti Gamzeh explores the specifics and the larger context behind the series through a robust discussion with three South Asian American Muslim feminists: Sabiha Basrai, Taz Ahmed, and Haleema Bharoocha.

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