Instructor Spotlight: Reya Kumar

Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to teach this course

I decided to teach this course because I've been watching Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies (and now tv shows) since middle school, and I always want to overanalyze and discuss them—which my family and friends don't always enjoy as much as I do. I think that the way the MCU portrays social and political issues is crucially important considering how widely watched their media is, and that there is much to be gained from intellectual discussion about these movies that are often considered shallow or "just action."

You discuss race and colonialism in the MCU in your course. How do these topics show up in the MCU? What is the significance of discussing these topics in what are deemed “just” superhero movies?

Systemic racism and colonialism are discussed both explicitly and implicitly  in the MCU, because they have played such a large role in American history and the world we live in today. We discussed race in our last class, where we looked at Black Panther, and the story of Isaiah Bradley in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We had a great discussion about how systemic racism is portrayed in the MCU. One interesting takeaway was how Marvel often pushes a specific narrative around this issue—that while systemic racism is a real and present issue, it can only be combated by working with oppressors (T'Challa working with UN/the West, Sam Wilson becoming Captain America) rather than against them (the defeat of Killmonger and of Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Though many consider these "just superhero movies," many characters and storylines touch on deeply important issues, and it is important to understand these narratives.

Marvel has taken on a wider range of projects and has focused on diversifying their character representation over the last five years, to varying degrees of public opinion. How well do you think the MCU has succeeded in diversifying its content, and what’s one area you would like to see them do better?

I think Marvel has done a fairly good job of diversifying the characters that headline its content: I recently watched Echo, in which antihero Maya Lopez is both deaf and Choctaw, the first disabled and indigenous representation headlining a Marvel project. This show has joined many newer diverse titles, such as Ms.Marvel, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In fact, we read a heart-warming article in class last week written by a Taiwanese-American journalist about what it felt like to see Chinese/ Asian-American culture on screen, and to see a superhero that looked like them for the first time. It is, however, unfortunate that this increase in diversity has coincided alongside an increase in quantity and decrease in quality from Marvel Studios.

Many of the more recent, diverse offerings are found as Disney+ tv shows, which many Marvel fans have given up on, overwhelmed with the constant stream of content and dissatisfied with many projects that fell short of expectations. Even the recent projects that have been good (at least in my opinion) have suffered from general Marvel malaise—that means that few people are seeing this newfound diversity. They have also, unfortunately, opened themselves up to criticism of the diversity itself—though the recent duds have far more to do with poor ideas and execution at the top than the fact that they feature diverse characters.

Why do you think the MCU resonates with so many Americans? What does the popularity of this franchise say about our culture?

I think the MCU resonates with so many people because of its characters and their arcs, despite many people seeing the franchise as shallow. But there are many superhero and action movies and franchises, and none have inspired quite the level of sustained interest—fandom if you will—as the MCU. This is because, through multiple connected movies, you can really see characters and their relationships grow and change. For example, the character development between the Tony Stark who snarked his way through Iron Man, leaving destruction in his wake, to the Tony Stark who both has a child and sacrifices himself in Avengers Endgame. It's easy to get attached to these characters and want to follow their journey's overtime. Honestly, I don't know if I have an answer to what it says about our culture that the MCU is so popular...hopefully we can discuss that and find an answer over the course of the semester!

What do you hope that students will take away from your course?

I hope students will learn to look at media with a more critical lens, especially when it comes to important political and social issues. Even "fun" movies say something about the world, and I think there's a lot to be learned when you look a bit deeper into how different aspects of society are portrayed in our most popular pieces of media. I also hope my students gain new perspectives from their peers' experiences and thought processes. This class is largely discussion based—there is no lecture. Instead of teaching myself, I hope to build a framework for us to learn from each other. I want my students to look at this class and think "that was fun!" Lighter class activities like the one we did this week—inventing our own superhero—will hopefully achieve that!

Reya Kumar (she/her) is a senior from the Bay Area (Los Gatos!) majoring in Political Science, History, and Psychology. She is involved in the Tufts Daily, where she is Deputy Opinion Editor; Tufts History Society, which she is co-president of; and Tufts Historical Review. Reya is currently writing a Senior Honors Thesis in History on Indian Women in the Second World War.