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2 — Wednesday, August 3, 2022
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Everyone loves an everyman.
Sure, we love when superheroes
are geniuses and possess super
strength that can parallel the
monstrosities in our world — but
nothing quite beats those moments
that show us how superheroes, bona
fide gods among men, are just like
us. Like that moment in “Captain
America: Civil War” where Spider-
Man (Tom Holland, “Uncharted”)
says, “I can’t go to Germany!” and
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.,
“Avengers: Endgame”) asks, “Why?”
and Spiderman replies, “I got …
homework!”
Scenes like these remind us
why we should care about the epic
flashes of light and earth-shattering
shows of power that have become
the bread and butter of the Marvel
franchise; superheroes are like us,
which means we can be like them.
Now to the latest Marvel news:
“Ms. Marvel,” the latest entry
within Marvel’s Phase 4 releases, is
the MCU’s highest rated production,
with a 98% Certified Fresh rating on
Rotten Tomatoes.
But what about the series has
made it worthy of breaking critical
records? Marvel’s Phase 4 has been
packed with swings and misses,
perhaps not coincidentally alongside
stories of their VFX producers
quitting amid poor work conditions.
Marvel has released nearly double
the amount of content it did during
Phase 3 in the same amount of time,
and audiences have become privy to
what such a quantity of releases in a
short amount of time can mean for
the quality of production. And yet,
“Ms. Marvel” pulled through as an
original, thoughtfully crafted series.
The strengths of the show are
hard to miss: Its vibrant use of
hand-drawn effects, which director
Adil El Arbi describes as an attempt
to translate “the comic book feel,”
its relatable teenage superhero
and, of course, its South Asian
representation presented by South
Asian creators. It’s a series that
rings with authenticity and subtle
charm, differentiating itself from
the mass of superhuman content
we’ve become accustomed to.
Maybe you think we already
had a good, relatable teenager
story
through
Marvel’s
reboot
of Spider-Man or perhaps Kate
Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld, “Pitch
Perfect 3”) in “Hawkeye.” Kamala
(Iman Vellani, “The Marvels”), or
Ms. Marvel, is different because
even as the fantasy elements of
her powers take off, she is never
whisked away from her life before
powers. Her high school friends,
namely her best friend Bruno
(Matt Lintz, “Pixels”), help her
discover the source of her powers
and are there even when things get
dicey — like during an attack at her
brother’s wedding. Many pivotal
moments occur at locations Kamala
frequented regularly even before
she discovered her powers, like her
mosque and her high school. While
Spider-Man and Kate Bishop leave
their families and normal lives
behind to exhibit their heroism,
Kamala’s
superhero
journey
actually makes her delve deeper
into her family history and personal
relationships because unlike Spider-
Man, her powers are ancestral. She
even flies to Karachi, Pakistan to
meet with her grandmother and
uncover the extent of her powers.
The show depicts Karachi without
the exoticism of other Marvel
productions, like “Doctor Strange”;
instead, Karachi is portrayed as a
second home, different from what
Kamala’s used to but not strange.
Magical elements do come into
play, as this is a Marvel series after
all, but Karachi is a setting like
any other: a powerful showcase of
representation without mockery.
Karachi’s unique representation
is likely a result of the directing
and production work of people
from the South Asian and Muslim
communities, including Pakistani-
American
Sana
Amanat,
the
executive producer and co-creator.
In her TedTalk, Amanat said, “The
big idea behind ‘wMs. Marvel’
was very much about minority
representation, the bigger idea was
about finding your authentic self.”
Read more at michigandaily.com
It’s an indie tale as old as time: A
young guy, feeling lost and confused
about his path in life, unrequitedly
falls in love with an older woman.
She’s effortlessly cool — a walking,
talking enigma with perfect hair
and ambiguous feelings towards our
protagonist. Is she leading him on? Or
does she actually love him? Enough
to leave her cold, rich, detached
husband? You know what happens
next.
“Cha Cha Real Smooth” follows
Andrew (Cooper Raiff, “Shithouse”),
a 22-year-old fresh out of college and
living at home as he navigates the
post-college limbo. While working as
a party starter for local bar mitzvahs,
he meets a young mom named
Domino (Dakota Johnson, “The Lost
Daughter”) and her autistic daughter,
Lola (Vanessa Burghardt, debut).
Written, directed by and starring
25-year-old Raiff, “Cha Cha Real
Smooth” works under the distinct
synchronicity of a writer, director
and actor all in one. It speaks to
his ability to wholly exist within a
scene and objectively direct outside
of it, to project an idea to the screen
and conduct the act of projection
itself.
His
thematic
vision
is
consistent throughout, with closely
knit parallels between characters
experiencing periods of change at
their respective ages of 12, 22 and
32. For Andrew’s younger brother
David (Evan Assante, “Dinosaur
World”), it’s the bar mitzvah phase
of transitioning from a boy to a young
man. For Andrew, it’s finding a job
after college and reckoning with the
heartbreak of not every love being
your one soulmate, but rather, one of
many. For Domino, it’s moving on to
the adult relationship of your life, to
a level of commitment that your 20s
can’t always afford.
From the get-go it’s easy to tell
where Andrew’s trajectory is headed,
as he quickly and inevitably falls in
love with Domino. Predictable as
it may be, their relationship holds
its own, mainly because they’re
both well-written, interesting and
engaging characters. As a protagonist,
Andrew is given the standard lead
treatment:
We
understand
his
motivations and thought processes,
and the heart that he so earnestly
wears on his sleeve. Yet, the same
goes for Domino, as she is able to
voice her opinion and explain the
reasoning behind her actions in a way
the traditional female love interest is
so rarely afforded. Everyone’s favorite
“manic pixie dream girl” is a tired
trope at best, but its features slip into
over-romanticized female characters
so often that the bar is practically six
feet under. The character of Domino
is refreshing solely because she
exists outside of being a means to an
end for Andrew’s character arc. Her
agency ensures that while Andrew’s
infatuation with her may blur his
own perspective, it never skews the
viewer’s.
SERENA IRANI
Daily Arts Writer
This image is from the official trailer for “Ms. Marvel” distributed by Marvel Entertainment.
‘Ms. Marvel’ is Marvel’s highest rated project —
here’s why
‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ has all the moves to be your new
favorite indie darling
Read more at michigandaily.com
SARAH RAHMAN
Daily Arts Writer