Revisionary superheroes and speculative romance: disidentificatory tactics of South Asian representation and fandom in Western popular culture
| dc.contributor.author | Shaji Marar, Lakshmisree | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Joo, Hee-Jung Serenity (English, Theatre, Film and Media) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | MacKendrick, Kenneth G. (Religion) | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Keating, Erin | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-03-27T18:32:43Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-03-27T18:32:43Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-03-27 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2025-03-27T07:23:25Z | en_US |
| dc.degree.discipline | English, Theatre, Film and Media | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Arts (M.A.) | |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis analyzes how creators deploy nuanced and inherently political tactics to represent and maintain a presence for South Asian subjectivities in Western popular culture. I borrow the term “tactics” from Micheal de Certeau’s theorization of the idea as “styles of social exchange, technical invention, and moral resistance” (106) that are capable of insinuating into sociopolitical hegemonic systems that support and sustain imperialism and neoliberalism. In order to “trick the order” (de Certeau 106), the authors/creators (and, in some cases, the fictional characters and the fandoms) go through tactical disidentificatory processes which can be understood as “a partial disavowal of [a] cultural form that works to restructure [the power structure] from within” (28) as José Esteban Muñoz describes. The disidentificatory politics of popular culture, its subgenres (superhero comics and historical romance), and the tactical inclusion of South Asian representation by the creators of the works are the primary areas of analysis. Chapter One studies Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ms. Marvel, the story of a Pakistani-American teenage superhero. The second chapter continues the discussion by analyzing the Disney+ adaptation of the comic. The chapters on Ms. Marvel argue that the characterization of the superhero proposes a revisionary understanding of the term superhero, unlike the one currently deriving from white, patriarchal societal values. Chapter Three analyses Netflix’s show Bridgerton’s second season and its story of two British-Indian sisters living in a mixed-race upper class in Regency-era Britain. This chapter advocates for the speculative tendencies of the romance show and establishes the disidentification as practiced by Brown characters and the fandoms. Ultimately, this thesis contends that disidentificatory tactics used in Western popular culture lend theoretical scaffolding for praxis, which is vital for our analysis of art in a neoliberal society still dominated by structures of whiteness. | |
| dc.description.note | May 2025 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/38959 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.subject | South Asian representation | |
| dc.subject | Western popular culture | |
| dc.subject | Disidentification | |
| dc.subject | Fandom | |
| dc.subject | Tactics | |
| dc.subject | Superhero comics | |
| dc.subject | Speculative romance genre | |
| dc.title | Revisionary superheroes and speculative romance: disidentificatory tactics of South Asian representation and fandom in Western popular culture | |
| local.subject.manitoba | no |