The below post contains no spoilers for the Legends of Tomorrow Season 7 Finale.
As Legends of Tomorrow closes its seventh season, it serves as a fantastic example for how Hollywood can represent Muslim, Southwest Asian characters with dignity and respect; a lesson many other franchises would be do well to take note on. Devoid of stereotypes and proud of their Iranian culture, Zari (Tala Ashe) and Behrad Tarazi (Shayan Sobhian) stand as examples of fair and realistic representation of Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) characters in an industry filled with problematic stereotypes, and the writers behind them deserve accolades for their trailblazing representation in the superhero genre.
When Legends of Tomorrow started, it was with a mostly white cast. This meant the team was exploring the world through a very limited, euro-centric lens. Then came Zari, an Iranian-American hacktivist that the group met on their travels that quickly became an integral part of the team, in Season 3. Though her story starts painfully —having been the only member of her family that survived persecution for being practicing Muslims— we eventually get a version of Zari that grew up with the Legends through the show’s time travel antics. She even eventually reunites with her brother, Behrad. Together, these two are bringing audiences exposure to Iranian heritage and Muslim traditions like Ramadan.
It’s no secret that Southwest Asian —a more appropriate term for what many call Middle Eastern, which has roots in colonialism— and North African cultures have been steeped in negativity, racism or orientalist takes since we’ve been a part of Hollywood. Author Jack Shaheen wrote about this in his book, Reel Bad Arabs, where he analyzes over a thousand films featuring Arab characters that were made between 1896 and 2000. In those films, an overwhelming 935 of them portrayed these characters negatively, while only 12 were positive and 53 neutral. While Shaheen’s book directly references Arabs (people who speak Arabic), this problematic stereotyping of people from Southwest Asia includes those from countries that don’t speak Arabic, like Iranian-American siblings Zari and Behrad.
The characters’ representation is a rare example of how to avoid the stereotypes that still plague the industry 20 years after Shaheen’s book was published. They aren’t othered, forced to put on accents or have any affiliation with terrorism. In fact, producers went out of their way to make sure this was true. Despite Zari’s comic-book counterpart being named Isis, they opted out of using this name for her in the television series due to the terrorist organization of the same name making waves in the news cycle at the time of her introduction. “...Given the fact that we are doing a Muslim superhero, it was just like opening up a can of worms. It’s just not worth it,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim said at the Television Critics Association’s press tour, according to EW. This decision makes clear the creators’ awareness of how important every detail of fair representation is when you’re talking about Southwest Asian, Muslim characters.
“Someone’s race, religion, or sexual orientation is not the only aspect of their character,” Guggenheim goes on. This is a courtesy many filmmakers and executives are still failing to give Southwest Asian people across the industry. According to the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition, a nonprofit that is doing work to promote better representation for Southwest Asian characters in film and TV, 78% of these television characters are still portrayed as trained terrorists or tyrants. This is why it’s critical to give credit where credit is due, because characters like Zari or Behrad do not come across our screens often enough.
The past couple years have promised a more hopeful future, though. Thanks to characters like Zari and Behrad’s inclusion in shows like Legends of Tomorrow, networks have come to realize that there is an audience for inclusive, diverse storytelling. Now we’ve even got Muslim-created shows like Hulu’s Ramy and Peacock’s We Are Lady Parts that are breaking down barriers and helping audiences understand what it’s like to be Muslim, instead of the stereotypes we’ve been seeing for decades. But those shows are so centered around the Southwest Asian or Muslim experience that many audiences might be missing out because it’s simply not a topic on their radar. That’s where Legends of Tomorrow is changing the game. The inclusion of Southwest Asian and Muslim characters in an industry dominated by whiteness, that rarely gives its audiences chances to see those characters lead their own stories, is providing that audience opportunities to realize just how beautiful the world can be when you bring in different perspectives, experiences and traditions some didn’t know existed.
Letting Muslim, Southwest Asian characters be fully authentic to themselves without giving in to western tropes or stereotypes is rare, especially for comic books. To be frank, the world of superheroes is predominantly filled with white superheroes and saturated with westernized, orientalist takes on characters of other races and religions.
These prevailing stereotypes are why it’s critical to see Iranian-American characters like Zari celebrate Ramadan in “I, Ava.” Or speaking Farsi with her family in “Slay Anything.” These moments, however small, help audiences unlearn the biases they’ve been unknowingly taught while watching films like Wonder Woman or the other countless racist portrayals of people from Southwest Asia. The key to this success? Having diverse writing rooms and ensuring that your production listens to people from the regions they’re trying to represent. For example, the hiring of Ashe and Sobhian, both of Iranian descent, to play Iranian-American characters, means they get to bring their personal experiences to these characters, which is invaluable for an industry whose stories are mostly written by people who don’t know those experiences.
Television shows aren’t written by one person. A series may be created or thought up by an individual, but the stories you see crafted season to season are the result of many minds coming together in one room. When all the writers or executives on a show are white you get what we’ve been given the past several decades: Euro-centric narratives that feature characters of color that are based off these writers’ perception of how those people behave, instead of authentic narratives that go beyond what people think they know.
With the way that Zari and Behrad’s stories have played out, it’s clear that Legends of Tomorrow has given it a different approach. They’ve hired many people of color from varying backgrounds onto their writing staff, including Southwest Asian writer Paiman Kalayeh (who is also co-chair of the WGAW Middle Eastern Writers Committee). The result is a cast of characters from various backgrounds that are being given the authenticity and respect that many franchises and writers rooms are missing. If more shows can take what the Legends of Tomorrow team has done and keep the momentum going, they’ll trailblaze a path for more cultured storytelling that’ll allow this world of fictional heroes to become as rich as the world we live in.
Legends of Tomorrow has not yet been renewed for Season 8, possibly because of the CW's potential sale.
Continue reading...
As Legends of Tomorrow closes its seventh season, it serves as a fantastic example for how Hollywood can represent Muslim, Southwest Asian characters with dignity and respect; a lesson many other franchises would be do well to take note on. Devoid of stereotypes and proud of their Iranian culture, Zari (Tala Ashe) and Behrad Tarazi (Shayan Sobhian) stand as examples of fair and realistic representation of Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) characters in an industry filled with problematic stereotypes, and the writers behind them deserve accolades for their trailblazing representation in the superhero genre.
When Legends of Tomorrow started, it was with a mostly white cast. This meant the team was exploring the world through a very limited, euro-centric lens. Then came Zari, an Iranian-American hacktivist that the group met on their travels that quickly became an integral part of the team, in Season 3. Though her story starts painfully —having been the only member of her family that survived persecution for being practicing Muslims— we eventually get a version of Zari that grew up with the Legends through the show’s time travel antics. She even eventually reunites with her brother, Behrad. Together, these two are bringing audiences exposure to Iranian heritage and Muslim traditions like Ramadan.
It’s no secret that Southwest Asian —a more appropriate term for what many call Middle Eastern, which has roots in colonialism— and North African cultures have been steeped in negativity, racism or orientalist takes since we’ve been a part of Hollywood. Author Jack Shaheen wrote about this in his book, Reel Bad Arabs, where he analyzes over a thousand films featuring Arab characters that were made between 1896 and 2000. In those films, an overwhelming 935 of them portrayed these characters negatively, while only 12 were positive and 53 neutral. While Shaheen’s book directly references Arabs (people who speak Arabic), this problematic stereotyping of people from Southwest Asia includes those from countries that don’t speak Arabic, like Iranian-American siblings Zari and Behrad.
The characters’ representation is a rare example of how to avoid the stereotypes that still plague the industry 20 years after Shaheen’s book was published. They aren’t othered, forced to put on accents or have any affiliation with terrorism. In fact, producers went out of their way to make sure this was true. Despite Zari’s comic-book counterpart being named Isis, they opted out of using this name for her in the television series due to the terrorist organization of the same name making waves in the news cycle at the time of her introduction. “...Given the fact that we are doing a Muslim superhero, it was just like opening up a can of worms. It’s just not worth it,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim said at the Television Critics Association’s press tour, according to EW. This decision makes clear the creators’ awareness of how important every detail of fair representation is when you’re talking about Southwest Asian, Muslim characters.
“Someone’s race, religion, or sexual orientation is not the only aspect of their character,” Guggenheim goes on. This is a courtesy many filmmakers and executives are still failing to give Southwest Asian people across the industry. According to the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition, a nonprofit that is doing work to promote better representation for Southwest Asian characters in film and TV, 78% of these television characters are still portrayed as trained terrorists or tyrants. This is why it’s critical to give credit where credit is due, because characters like Zari or Behrad do not come across our screens often enough.
The past couple years have promised a more hopeful future, though. Thanks to characters like Zari and Behrad’s inclusion in shows like Legends of Tomorrow, networks have come to realize that there is an audience for inclusive, diverse storytelling. Now we’ve even got Muslim-created shows like Hulu’s Ramy and Peacock’s We Are Lady Parts that are breaking down barriers and helping audiences understand what it’s like to be Muslim, instead of the stereotypes we’ve been seeing for decades. But those shows are so centered around the Southwest Asian or Muslim experience that many audiences might be missing out because it’s simply not a topic on their radar. That’s where Legends of Tomorrow is changing the game. The inclusion of Southwest Asian and Muslim characters in an industry dominated by whiteness, that rarely gives its audiences chances to see those characters lead their own stories, is providing that audience opportunities to realize just how beautiful the world can be when you bring in different perspectives, experiences and traditions some didn’t know existed.
Letting Muslim, Southwest Asian characters be fully authentic to themselves without giving in to western tropes or stereotypes is rare, especially for comic books. To be frank, the world of superheroes is predominantly filled with white superheroes and saturated with westernized, orientalist takes on characters of other races and religions.
These prevailing stereotypes are why it’s critical to see Iranian-American characters like Zari celebrate Ramadan in “I, Ava.” Or speaking Farsi with her family in “Slay Anything.” These moments, however small, help audiences unlearn the biases they’ve been unknowingly taught while watching films like Wonder Woman or the other countless racist portrayals of people from Southwest Asia. The key to this success? Having diverse writing rooms and ensuring that your production listens to people from the regions they’re trying to represent. For example, the hiring of Ashe and Sobhian, both of Iranian descent, to play Iranian-American characters, means they get to bring their personal experiences to these characters, which is invaluable for an industry whose stories are mostly written by people who don’t know those experiences.
Television shows aren’t written by one person. A series may be created or thought up by an individual, but the stories you see crafted season to season are the result of many minds coming together in one room. When all the writers or executives on a show are white you get what we’ve been given the past several decades: Euro-centric narratives that feature characters of color that are based off these writers’ perception of how those people behave, instead of authentic narratives that go beyond what people think they know.
With the way that Zari and Behrad’s stories have played out, it’s clear that Legends of Tomorrow has given it a different approach. They’ve hired many people of color from varying backgrounds onto their writing staff, including Southwest Asian writer Paiman Kalayeh (who is also co-chair of the WGAW Middle Eastern Writers Committee). The result is a cast of characters from various backgrounds that are being given the authenticity and respect that many franchises and writers rooms are missing. If more shows can take what the Legends of Tomorrow team has done and keep the momentum going, they’ll trailblaze a path for more cultured storytelling that’ll allow this world of fictional heroes to become as rich as the world we live in.
Legends of Tomorrow has not yet been renewed for Season 8, possibly because of the CW's potential sale.
Continue reading...