My research idea: Exploration of the introduction of minority characters into the Marvel Universe with a spotlight on the X-Men. Another layer of this idea looks into story lines that deal with the conflict characters face in regards to identity, being part of a group that is heavily discriminated against yet doing what is necessary to serve and protect humanity. I am interested in stories that depict the turmoil faced by characters whom are encouraged to do what they can to work towards peace and harmony with humans but live in a reality filled with hatred projected on them by humans. By looking at these things, I suppose I am theorizing such storytelling as a mode of social activism and justice within the Marvel Universe.
An example of this is not centered around the X-Men but Captain America. A graphic novel was produced in 2003 that shed light on the experimentation done on black soldiers during World War II that is reminiscent of the Tuskegee experiments done around the same time. This story showed the true origins of Captain America, and told the tale of the black soldier who survived experimentation and thus was technically the first Captain America.
While I have little depth of knowledge about the many X-Men story lines--it's too expensive to keep track--from what I do know and have read, I get the sense that Marvel has been a bit more active in creating diverse and complex characters and stories. Though the ways in which this has come to pass are not flawless--looking closely at female and minority character depictions might reveal heavy flaws indeed--it seems Marvel was active about being inclusive of the vast variety of people that read comic books. There is a lot there with intersectionalities of race, gender, and class. Things were never perfect for the characters depicted or their situations and goals/ideals. Complexities abound about the ideals and the difficulties in staying true to them; not to mention the internal contradictions do-gooders were often too late to realize until negative repercussions surfaced.
In addition to all of this, I could stand to do a comparison with DC comics regarding these same things despite my bias. I realize the flack I'll get in saying that I find DC to be historically status-quo race, class and gender wise, and thus unappealing character and story-wise. My bias also stems from being a Marvel fan since childhood when I would steal my older brother's comics and watch X-Men and Spider-Man on Saturday mornings. Did I mention I did my then relaxed hair like Wolverine for the premiere of the first X-Men movie? Suppose it goes to show how clouded my thinking is in favor of Marvel.
More ideas to come...
Hello Aloe-Jade – well, of course I’ll not be nasty! I was a teacher for too long not to realise how precious and nerve-wracking research proposals are.
ReplyDeleteBut having been a teacher for so long, and a student both before and during that period, I’m all-too aware that I’m just not enough of an expert to advise you here. It used to drive me mad when my own students would receive very precise and detailed advice from folks who, whether they knew what they were talking about or not, pontificated when they didn't know anything about the context of it. This wasn’t because I didn’t appreciate my students getting help. In fact, I always thought that was a brilliant business. But the problem was that most - actually, all - of the 'advisers' knew nothing of the syllabus that the work was being framed in response to. They knew little of work limits, mark schemes, standards, resources, particular models of ethics and so on. Because of that, their advice was usually useless, and often extremely destructive, because the student would, for example, be fired off to undertake grand projects from which they just weren’t going to earn the rewards they needed, and which were inefficient in terms of the effort that was involved in relation to the returns they might expect.
By which I don’t mean, I don’t want to arrogantly assume that my advice is of any use in practical terms. For example, I may have missed this data, but your site doesn’t say what discipline you’d be producing this work within. Of course, research in English and sociology, Media/Cultural Studies and History, or whatever, is incredibly different. No-one could advise you on a general basis when such a matter is always an absolutely specific one. And I couldn't advise about any of them, because I've no experience of American academia. York Uni, Leicester Uni School Of Education and the Open University in Britain are my old institutions. I'm out of league even there, because I've not been in a class for a dozen years now studying.
Mixed up with that absolutely vital information is the question of the resources open to you, of the time and funding and access to supervision and support, your specific interests, your particular academic skills and qualifications, the ethical and practical constraints of the research, and so on. For me to feedback on your admittedly really interesting set of proposals would be terrible arrogance on my part. Terrible, unforgivable arrogance, actually. The road to hell really is paved with good intentions, and I’d be paving it myself if I played expert here. I’m not qualified.
I think that only the folks who have professional experience – as students or tutors – in the course/tradition you’d be following for your post-grad work could advise you. Of course, if there’s specific questions about sources and whatever, I hope this is a blog where visitors would chip in with ideas. But again, even there, the demands of your course are the starting point about what questions you can and should ask.
Good luck with your proposal and your research. We need all the good research we can get in this area, we really do. And please feel free to ask specific questions of all the blogs you go to, including this one. But this is a job for the professionals. And I’m not even one of them where England is concerned since my early retirement. I really am sorry I can’t help more. But I’d rather seem unhelpful with the best of intent rather than appear to be really helpful and behave unethically.
The very best of good fortune
Colin Smith
TooBusyThinkingAboutMyComics
Hi Mr. Smith,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your words of support. I have a lot to think about. At the moment, I'm not sure I will pursue this project until much, much later on my own or with collaborators.
Having said that however, I figured your knowledge of the comic world (especially Marvel and DC) is worth picking your brain over, expert or no. From a comics enthusiast point of view, do you have any thoughts? After all, academics can at times be dangerously out of touch with people and things in the real world to the point that doing such a project completely within the walls of the Ivory Towers might result in a close-minded and lame project.
Your educational background is very interesting as well as your blog. I'm still open to any insights that might be had about this idea (it wont be fully developed for quite some time).
I appreciate the time and effort put into your reply and look forward to any added insights your might have on such a project (wink wink nudge nudge).
Until next time, Be well!
Aloe-Jade