Ms. Marvel Highlights the Partition of India in Disney+ Series
Ms. Marvel is a miniseries featuring Kamala Khan as the Marvel comics character, Ms. Marvel. Kamala is a 16-year-old Pakistan-American from New Jersey. While struggling to adapt to high school and her family’s expectations, she comes across a powerful heirloom that gives her powers. When she learns more about her family history, Kamala realizes that dark forces could ruin everything and that her job is to prevent evil from controlling the world. The series stars Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, and more!
Here’s the scoop on Ms. Marvel and the depiction of the partition of India!
South Asian History Done Right
During the climax of Ms. Marvel, the audience could tap into a part of history that provides immense importance to many South Asian people today. Due to the show’s authentic portrayal of the partition, Ms. Marvel flawlessly engaged the audience with the emotional trauma that many South Asian families dealt with.
Even though the partition of India already happened, this Marvel series allows the audience a glimpse into a historic event not often mentioned in the school curriculum. Marvel Studios is walking in the right direction with the major increase in diversity within the MCU and the careful attention to underrepresented cultural details.
Background of India
The partition lingers in the background of South Asian families, but the grand change took place not too long ago. The imperialist, British Raj, controlled the Indian subcontinent. When India gained independence in 1947, the geographical landscape began to drastically change and religion was separated. Muslims started to feel unsafe and as a result, fled to Pakistan where they could be the majority. Hindus also migrated but instead went to India. This partition not only led to families becoming displaced but many were killed.
Kamala Khan’s Origin Story
At the start of Ms. Marvel’s production, extensive research took place to ensure the series correctly portrayed one of the biggest mass migrations in history. Kamala’s origin story stems from the partition and quickly becomes the heart of her character and the series as a whole. Through the historic moments, Kamala begins to discover more about herself and the power she holds. Compared to the clueless high school girl in the beginning, she finally starts to understand her background.
Filming Partition Scenes
Since the partition of India hasn’t been represented in films or tv shows, it was a challenge to ensure authenticity. Many of the scenes in the series were filmed in Thailand and Atlanta due to the government tension in Pakistan. Even though the scenes were mostly filmed outside of Pakistan, the film crew managed to gather hundreds of extras to mirror the chaos of the mass migration. When the few episodes of the partition aired, viewers responded greatly to witnessing such an important part of history onscreen.
The Take Away From the Show
People of color watching Ms. Marvel should find comfort in knowing that you’re not alone and that you should embrace your background and identity.
Watch Ms. Marvel on Disney+ now!
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