Response Paper #4 Prompt #4

Response Paper #4 Prompt #4

Ms. Marvel is a comic book; I can understand why there would be pushback when it comes to teaching a comic in the classroom. Yet, there are so many good reasons to use this comic in particular. While I understand that this is not the traditional sort of book taught in a class, it is still extremely useful. As a start this book is a comic, which will interest a lot of students. Many students enjoy comics, it’s something new, and there are a lot of pictures. Students tend to enjoy pictures. This will be something new and fresh that will immediately catch the interest of students. Not only is it a comic, but it’s a superhero comic, and we all know that superheroes are “all the rage” currently. But, beyond the fact that this is a comic book there are so many lessons to be earned, and discussions to be had, about the context.

We can start with the fact that this is a female superhero, which is something we seem to not see as often as their male counterparts. The fact that this is a female superhero could immediately interest the girls in the class. There is also the fact that this isn’t a normal stereotypical female superhero. She is not white, and she is Muslim. It is interesting how the character was created and all the thought put into her as a person. She has a very relatable personality and life in general. With strict parents, sneaking out, needing her mom when she is upset, a lot of teens will relate.

Not only is Ms. Marvel “Kamala” relatable, but the other characters are also well designed and intricate. If the students can’t relate to the main character maybe they can relate to another character. Or maybe they recognize someone they know in another character. The characters were made to be relatable, from the irritating popular girl, to the lazy brother.

It would also be interesting to debate with your students how the pictures and words add up and create the story. Why is Kamala’s wrist cut on the cover? Why do the characters look different in the close VS the far pictures? Why do you think they created this character the way they did? How would you react to getting these powers? So many interesting discussions could come from this small comic book.

The journey she goes through with trying to figure out her identity is also extremely interesting. Kamala gets superpowers and the first thing she does is decide to be someone else. High School is when students are really trying to “find themselves” and figure out who they are and want to be. So this discussion on identity is extremely important. Kamala has to figure  out how to be a Muslim teenager as well as a superhero. Obviously students won’t have this problem, but life is a balancing act and some kids need assistance. Kamala also questions her cultures norms like so many students do. Yet, she does this respectfully  she asks questions such as “Didn’t you tell us there was no partition at the prophet’s mosque in Medina? That men and women went through the same door and sat in the same room? (Wilson, Alphona 47-48)” This was her pushing against her culture saying that women and men can’t have equal rights.

The book, even though it is a comic, has just as much to offer students as any other novel.

 

 

Resources

Wilson, G. Willow, and Adrian Alphona. Ms. Marvel: No Normal. New York, NY: Marvel

Worldwide, 2014. Print.