By: Joshua Nakhavanit

Ms. Marvel is a Disney Plus show depicting a young teenaged Pakistani girl living in New Jersey. She likes to make Avengers videos on YouTube and hang out with friends. She soon discovers that she has powers and is presented with many mental challenges and life changes. It’s a show for entertainment and it helps to depict south Asians and Muslims in a much better light than the terrorists that many media companies show.

The show accurately portrays Kamala’s life and her culture. It includes her daily routines and common Muslim practices. Every Muslim character says “Salam” before greeting each other. There’s even Islamic calligraphy on the walls of Kamala’s home and many day-to-day objects lying about. One of her Muslim girlfriends wears a veil.

Marvel’s new creative and diverse characters in their current and upcoming shows will give affirmation to younger Asian or Muslim children watching. Seeing someone from your culture makes you feel special.

Kamala’s relatable life as a teenager is portrayed beautifully, adding every teenager’s experience of parties, parents, and fun or stressful school life. The actor who plays Kamala relates to this, saying, “I would, like, have to ask my parents weeks in advance if I wanted to go to a party. Like, I had to get it in their brain, and then we’d have to compromise on what time I’m going to have to be picked up.”

The feeling of growing up with immigrant parents is a universal experience, involving struggles with identity and strict parents.