This blog and blog series is being written by Adam Singer, who handles social media and forward-facing content for the Consilium Institute. He has read the She-Hulk comics, and will be analyzing the TV series in terms of how it portrays legal issues and court procedure; we will also cover events from the comics, which often explore Jen Walters’ (AKA She-Hulk) legal cases in depth.
Although these media portrayals may not necessarily comport with real-life legal issues, when they do, at some point in the blog series Judge Julie Field (ret.) and Heidi Webb may weigh in directly upon the events portrayed in this show. So… stay tuned!
So far, She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law has done a good job of establishing that Jen Walters (AKA She-Hulk; played by Tatiana Maslany) is–after accidentally acquiring super-powers–given a job as head of the Superhuman Law Division at the law firm of GLK&H. It’s a cool setup for a legal sitcom, and opens the potential for some fascinating plotlines. (For example, Does your insurance cover superhero-battle damage?)
But–as I’m going to explore in this blog, and emphasize by two recent instances from other MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) shows, it is often the case that the Marvel/Disney corporations (and other media conglomerates where business interests often take precedence over creative output) insert lip service to diversity and socially progressive causes, but don’t seriously attempt to represent the experiences and interests of those populations.
Genuine Social Commentary VS Lip Service
As I realize that it’s possible readers of this blogmay not be familiar, or interested in catching up with the literally dozens of previous movies and shows in this series, in order to give context I’m going to discuss two examples of recent corporate/creative conflicts in the dissemination of the Marvel franchise: one which I think is superficial, and one which is clearly the product of a creative team and cast who are genuinely interested in exploring more diverse culture and the experiences of communities that are less prominently featured or explored in mass media.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness –
– “your two moms”
The recent Doctor Strange sequel introduces a character named America Chavez (there’s some dissonant dialogue about the need “to save America”), who–in an awkwardly-inserted flashback–was sucked through an interdimensional portal during a picnic with her two mothers, who fell into a different universe.
This lesbian couple is onscreen for less than a minute, and functionally, they could just as easily be a cookie-cutter male-and-female couple. We don’t even get their names, or how they met, or any other information which justifies mentioning their sexual preferences in the context of the film’s plot or narrative.
Thus, their inclusion isn’t a genuine attempt to be inclusive of gay culture, or how these two women fell in love, but rather it would seem that they’re in the film so that the film’s sympathetic protagonist Doctor Strange can remark that “If your two moms are anything like their daughter, [I’m sure they’ll be just fine]!”, thereby explicitly solidifying that the film’s hero is socially progressive.
I’m all for further inclusivity and diversity, but it seems to me that this line (and the scene as well) are inserted to pander to a broader social agenda. America Chavez wears a pride flag pin on her jacket (in muted colors, perhaps so as not to be too bold); this signaling is at the same time unsubtle to those who notice but brief and understated as well. “America [Chavez] supports the LGBTQIA community!”
It’s awesome when artists and media have messages that come from the heart, but this doesn’t feel authentic to me. Rather, this would seem to be a calculated corporate statement of approval, in a clunky and unfeeling way.
Ms. Marvel – The MCU’s first Muslim superhero
By contrast, the recent Disney+ miniseries Ms. Marvel not only offers real and authentic representation, but does so exceedingly well and in nuanced detail.
Ms. Marvel introduces Kamala Khan: a Muslim girl living in New Jersey who is given superpowers by a mysterious artifact. The internet-buzz around the character during the leadup to its release was divided around whether or not it was a good thing to include this character, or the idea that the character and the miniseries about her are ONLY being made because they’re pandering to wider demographics.
They aren’t just saying “Look, here’s a Muslim superhero!” Instead, the plot of the Ms. Marvel show heavily involves the cultural issues which she faces, as well as her teenage travails of high-school drama. We see the dynamics of Kamala’s Pakistani family and their Muslim community, with many scenes and plotlines taking place in or around their mosque, as well as Jersey City.
In fact, one subplot follows a government agency who put their mosque under surveillance as one possible ‘base’ of this new young superhero. With clear and direct focus, the show explores serious issues which impact targeted communities in America, and Muslims in particular within our endless War on Terror.
And not only do they talk about Pakistani history, but the show actually (minor plot spoiler) detours to Karachi for one episode, exploring the Khan family history in the context of the Partition of India in 1947, and how that historical event shattered their family and peoples separated by that chaotic transition.
I recommend checking out this show, and applaud it as a recent example of actual diversity within mainstream media (superhero-focused or otherwise).
Back to She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law
Speaking not as a woman: it seems to me that the early episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law are overstating “Here are things which lots of women deal with, and now we’re seeing how She-Hulk deals with them!”
There’s an old adage in storytelling, that you should “show don’t tell” things: let the actions of characters, and how they respond to situations, tell you how they feel–rather than bluntly stating “Jen was mad because that guy cut her off in traffic”, or having someone say aloud “That guy Dennis is such a jerk!”, after that character’s preceding actions have already made this clear to an audience who is engaged with the show. This kind of over-signaling reveals a distrust in the intellect of its audience. Instead of allowing watchers to come to their own conclusions, the show is telling us what they (the creators) want us to feel.
And in this case: the show takes great pains to show us Things That Women Deal With. The distinction being, that they could allow the story to be its own thing and let the underlying social messages be felt by the audience engaging genuinely with the material.
In Episode 3 (as Jen’s lawyer-slash-Hulk story is becoming publicly known), we get a montage of social media messages angrily saying “What, we need female superheroes now??!”. This is more telling-not-showing, and appears to be a manifestation of Disney-Marvel feeling obligated to snipe at their critics directly.
And even more so, there is one callously offensive phone-scrolling tweet (in this montage of hurtful online comments) that invokes the #metoo movement, apparently attributing the ascension of female superheroes to being “a #metoo thing”.
This little barrage seems in very poor taste.
The #metoo Band-Wagon
If this was an utterly ignorant joke, it would be unfortunate enough–but as an attempt to garner female audience support, it seems weak. Both of these comments stand in contrast to the lip service given to ‘progressive female issues’ (like the earlier example given, of Dr. Strange’s clunky plot-irrelevant line about “your two moms”) and the telling of nuanced or personal stories about diverse culture or personal experiences (like Ms. Marvel’s artful exploration of the Khan family and their religious & cultural communities).
However, the implied causality between She-Hulk’s existence and the #metoo movement is disturbing. Perhaps the show-creators’ intention is for us to dismiss this as “some crank on the internet”, but nevertheless, the implication is that female superheroes are only a thing as some kind of compensation or wish-fulfillment by women who have felt disempowered.
Trivializing Gender-Based Assaults
The final sequence of Episode 3 enacts a potentially triggering situation, when Jen is assaulted by a group of armed men while walking home alone after dark.
But this frightening situation is immediately and literally shrugged off by her ‘hulking out’, and beating up these creeps like they’re action figures. Because she’s an Empowered [literally] Woman, and she doesn’t have to succumb to men who don’t respect her.
Overall, this scene is played for laughs, and in the moment–because Tatiana Maslany is indeed a girlboss and easily overcomes their surprise assault–an audience engaged with her journey can feel a vicarious thrill in seeing her respond to catcallers and (now) physical assailants with confident power.
But it’s done somewhat crudely, and–in the banter-laden fight scene which follows–certainly disrespects the actual trauma of people (women and others of any gender) who’ve been the victim of a physical assault. If we were being shown a woman without superpowers being physically assaulted by four armed men on an empty street after dark, our rancor would be incensed.
The episode ends with what could be a poignant moment, of She-Hulk on her knees in the street, gathering up her scattered papers in the wake of the assault. It is an emotional downbeat, but feels disconnected from the preceding sequence of obligatory super-fighting.
Closing Argument
The MCU is the work of many hands, many creators and actors and overworked CGI technicians and other specialists who make the magic look seamless when it does. Not everyone involved is pushing a social agenda, or even actively supports the underpinnings of the long plot-arcs laid out by the Marvel masterminds.
It is wonderful to see media which more accurately depicts communities who have historically been ignored or typecast (i.e., Muslim characters being terrorists and cab drivers) in ways which perpetuate insulting stereotypes. But ironically, the calculated insistence upon trying to make social-impact statements often makes the resulting product ring hollow.
Our continuing series about She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law will cover legal plotlines in depth, and certainly can do so from the comic source materials (for example, a refugee case that Jen handles for a character who’s seeking political asylum from a supervillain in another country).
Hopefully, the show will get into more depth with its promising premise. Social commentary and progressive values are all well and good, but the unique opportunities to explore its legal-sitcom format are being missed in favor of these heavy-handed social statements.