Marvel's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' and 'Slingshot' Prove That Diversity Matters — and We Need to Do Better

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. first aired in 2013 as an effort to bring Marvel (and Phil Coulson) to our smaller screens. It's had mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, and in general, it's appeared to be underappreciated in the Marvel fandom. However, recently its spinoff series Slingshot received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series. This prompted a conversation on the Instagram page of Natalia Cordova-Buckley, who plays the lead character of Slingshot, about how this was the first Marvel digital series centered around the first Marvel Latina superhero to be nominated for an award.

Emmy Nomination for #SLINGSHOT 1st #Marvel digital series centered around 1st female #Latina superhero nominated for outstanding short form comedy or drama series 2017 ✊🏾🇲🇽💪🏽. Very proud to have been a part of a show which centers it's story around the first female Latina superhero. Congrats to ALL the wonderful people who worked very hard on this little project. Grateful to be amongst you all. #AgentsofSHIELD #emmys #latinos #latinosinhollywood

A post shared by Natalia Cordova-Buckley (@yosoycordova) on Jul 13, 2017 at 9:33am PDT

Slingshot's Emmy nomination and Cordova-Buckley's post about it prompts a bigger discussion about the impact Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Slingshot have on the landscape of pop culture. As Cordova-Buckley states, Slingshot is the first digital series centered around a female Latina superhero, and the fact that it got an Emmy nomination is extremely important.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. contributes to bringing diverse superheroes to our screens as well. In fact, Slingshot's protagonist, Elena "YoYo" Rodriguez, got her start on AOS before landing her spin-off show, and she continues to star in a recurring role with a lot of badassery. From the very beginning, AOS gave Asian women the spotlight with its main characters Daisy Johnson and Melinda May.

Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson. (source)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s commitment to representation is highlighted throughout the show. While the show highlighted its Asian female leads early on, AOS continued to add non-white actors in starring roles. Ruth Negga had a long arc as Raina, Henry Simmons as Mack gives the show layers of depth, and in the latest season, Gabriel Luna had an incredible run as Ghost Rider with an opportunity to return. That's only to name a few.

Gabriel Luna as Ghost Rider. (source)

Every piece of media has its flaws—for example, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s LGBTQ representation is not ideal. However, AOS is ahead of the game by casting leads that aren't white and showing that they belong in the spotlight. This spotlight is thriving as well—AOS has had a four-season run, and they're gearing up for a fifth. Their fourth season especially was met with critical acclaim. Network executives often like to argue that diversity doesn't sell, but AOS is one example that it does.

Fiction may not be real, but it's a reflection of reality, and we seek to see ourselves in the characters on our screens. Our identities are such an incredibly personal part of who we are, and seeing characters who share our identities is so validating. (One example of this is the girl who cried when she met Gal Gadot.) For that reason, it's important to have all kinds of people represented in the stories that are told.

As a white person, I'm used to seeing myself represented everywhere. Asians, Latinxs, and people of color don't have that luxury because representation is so sparse on television and in the media. For me, it can be easy to forget how important representation really is. Zendaya, who played Michelle in Marvel's Spider-man: Homecoming, has this to say about diversity:

"Here's what I think... I think that we have become kind of numb to the diversity issue when it comes to film. Like, I didn't even feel that way until it was brought to my attention when you come up to like, an Oscar. It's crazy because you don't even think about it — you're just used to it."

Zendaya herself is one good example of how the Marvel Cinematic Universe is making strides to be more inclusive—along with Laura Harrier, she portrayed a well-developed female character in Spider-man: Homecoming. It's so rare to see not one but two women of color in the same movie, much less characters who are allowed to be love interests (while not a love interest in this film, Michelle has the potential to become one). So, while there could certainly be more improvement, there are still people like Zendaya and Laura Harrier who are making an impact on the film industry—and the Marvel universe in particular.

(source) Zendaya as Michelle in Spider-man: Homecoming. (Spoiler warning for the link!)

We also have Black Widow and Scarlet Witch in the films, and they are valuable—I don't want to discredit that. It is so important to have badass female superheroes. But it's also important to have badass Latina superheroes and badass female Asian superheroes, badass female superheroes of color. We need badass superheroes of all kinds. We need to go further. The girl who cried when she met Gal Gadot proves this. Little girls need heroes to look up to.

In 2016, Elena of Avalor premiered, making Elena the first Latina Disney princess. That is so valuable, and we need that to extend to the superhero realm as well. For the girls who love superhero movies, we need superheroes that look like them, too. And for the girls who grew up and never got that when they were younger—they need that as well. It's never too early or too late for someone to find themselves in a fictional character. Every single person deserves to see someone like them on screen.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe especially, representation is lacking. This is confusing because there are so many Latinx superheroes in the comics that could be adapted into great film characters. Miles Morales, America Chavez, Ava Alaya, Antonio Stark, Anya Corazon, Julio Rictor... just to name a few. There are also Asian superheroes that need to be highlighted, as well as so many other superheroes from different backgrounds (Pakistani American superhero Kamala Khan is one wildly popular example). There is a giant wealth in the comics just waiting to be unleashed. Why aren't we utilizing that?

America Chavez from Young Avengers by Kieron Gillon and Jamie McKelvie (source)

Daisy Johnson originated from the comics and was integrated into AOS (with a plot twist to rule them all, might I add). In the comics, she was a legendary character who kicked ass and originally became the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. She was also originally white. Her ethnicity was changed in the show, and it made her character all the richer. Another example of this is the character Molly Hernandez from the upcoming Marvel Freeform show Runaways, whose name was originally Molly Hayes. Her ethnicity was also purposefully changed for the show, and we'll get to see her on screen when Runaways premieres November 21, 2017. (Runaways also has a diverse cast!) Malcolm Ducasse from Jessica Jones also had his ethnicity changed for the show, and I think it was an extremely valuable change. Taking established comic characters and translating them to the big screen is one way I think Marvel can embrace diversity. Ideally, I would love to see some of the Latinx or Asian superheroes from the comics adapted to screen, but Daisy Johnson's well-developed role has proven that changing a character's ethnicity can also be a solid route to take.

This brings me back to the Marvel TV universe, where Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Slingshot are making waves. In a world where we seek to see ourselves represented in the fiction we consume, Slingshot and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s casting contributions are desperately important. Their award nominations could easily be seen as a validation of their efforts. Considering the white-washed atmosphere of many awards ceremonies, it's a good sign to see that Slingshot was nominated. However, award or no award, it's important for us to individually be conscious of the importance of representation and to celebrate the shows that uphold it. We also shouldn't stop pushing for even more diversity. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Slingshot are just the beginning; may we only slingshot forward from here.

(Thumbnail source) — Many thanks to Brandon and Kaleb for assisting with the comic information in this article.

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Superhero Representation in Marvel: We Still Have a Long Way to Go

One of the things I'm not quiet about is my absolute love of Marvel superheroes, both the movies and the comics. From Iron Man to the third Spider-man reboot to Marvel's less-appropriate cousin Deadpool, I love it all. However, part of loving something includes being willing to admit its faults, and today I've decided to admit something I've been too privileged to see until now: Marvel has a representation problem.

Before we get into the details, I'll say this: Marvel does have some representation, particularly when it comes to black male characters. Rhodey and Sam Wilson come to mind, especially since they've taken on an even bigger role now that they're New Avengers. However, there's still even a troubling aspect of that: Rhodey and Sam Wilson are still the sidekicks and have never been able to headline their own movie. Not only that, but you might as well forget seeing an Asian person or woman of color on-screen, much less headlining it. Everyone is thin and able-bodied. And aside from the pansexual Deadpool, LGBTQ+ representation in the MCU is nowhere to speak of.

Hey, thanks, Wade.

Instead, we've got about twenty billion different movies about white, heterosexual men. Trust me, I am a huge fan of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Peter Quill. And yes, we do have Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and cinnamon rolls T'Challa and Sam Wilson. However, that doesn't change the fact that Marvel has a representation problem, and all of its stories are skewed unfairly towards white men, despite the fact that Marvel has plenty of diverse heroes from its comics to choose from. (Seriously. The Young Avengers, Khamala Khan... need I go on?)

This problem was ultimately brought to my mind by this video by Upworthy.


It focuses especially on the lack of female representation in all superhero genres, but my brain took it one step further to representation of all types of people we lack. Also, I'm only human, so forgive me if I forget to mention any examples of positive or negative representation--the Marvel universe is so big that I'm bound to miss something.

Another disclaimer: I'm focusing specifically on Marvel for this post because it's where I'm most knowledgeable--and because DC is behind several franchises which make a small dent in the lack of representation. Supergirl and Wonder Woman in particular allow women to lead the helm. We also have people of color on The Flash (Joe, Cisco, and Iris) and LGBTQ+ characters in Arrow, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow (Curtis, Alex Danvers, and Sara Lance, just to name a few). DC is far from perfect, but I wish that Marvel would at least take a small clue from DC allowing people of all types into the spotlight.

As the video says, there are thirty superhero movies coming out soon, and only two of them involve women as the main characters. Yes. THIRTY. And only two out of thirty--that's seven percent--are headlined by women.

Out of thirty, could we not have at least a few more movies headlined by someone other than a white man?

To put this in perspective, Iron Man, which was arguably the film that jump started the MCU as we know it, premiered eight years ago. In eight years, we have only had films about white men. Our first Marvel film with a (white) woman as its main character will be Captain Marvel, which comes out in 2019--two years from now and eleven years after the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Black Panther comes out a little sooner in 2018, and it's headlined by T'Challa, a black man. But that is still ten years after the MCU was born.

That isn't okay.

Such diversity, much wow.--(source)

Like I said, Asian people and women of color have it even worse--they're virtually nowhere to be found in the MCU. (Doctor Strange did feature an Asian character, but that's a whole other controversial bag of cats.) Also, our only Latino character, Luis, showed up in Ant-Man, and even then, it ended up being a caricatured portrayal.

The lack of representation does extend to the TV shows as well, and they only do marginally better. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to be the only Marvel entity to combat the lack of Asian characters (because even though Daredevil has Asian characters, they are pretty much all the villains). Chloe Bennet and Ming-Na Wen are completely rocking it on AOS.

Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson--(source)

For women of color, the Defenders shows has Claire Temple and AOS had Raina. But the former isn't as much of a main character as I wish she was, and the latter met an untimely end.

There are of course exceptions to the rule, especially with the Netflix shows, which are allowed to be a little more gritty and a little more progressive. Jessica Jones was a female-dominated show with POC characters and LGBTQ characters with powerful things to say about rape culture, feminism, and trauma. But it was still mostly about white women, and it fell into the pattern of denying its LGBTQ characters a happy ending. We also have Luke Cage's show, which was extremely powerful. However, it's embarrassing that Luke Cage was the first Marvel production to be led by a person of color when the Marvel universe has been in production since 2008. 

When you look at it without thinking about it too much, Marvel's got the representation down. They have female characters and POC characters in most of their movies. I'm not implying that they don't. Because yes, the characters we do have are good, and I'm glad we have them. I don't want to discredit what Marvel is and has been doing because a lot of it has been good so far. But we can't stop there. As Angelica Schuyler says in Hamilton, "I will never be satisfied." I will never be satisfied until there are POC and/or women headlining just as many films as white men. I will never be satisfied until every Marvel film has a population of people of color, people of all body types, people with disabilities, people who are LGBTQ, and people from all walks of life. I will never be satisfied until Marvel is truly diverse.

Until then, we still have a long way to go.

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Why Representation Matters: Sentimentality Inspired by Advertising

Today I'd like to talk about something some of you are probably tired of hearing about: representation. You're reading this on a website dedicated to women in fandom. Therefore, you're probably aware that we're still fighting for good and equal representation in media (and, as I demonstrate next, in advertising). I am a white woman who fits under the heteronormative umbrella that wears oversized glasses, and my asymmetrical haircut and affection for odd knickknacks and clothing probably puts me underneath some sort of banner. I'm aware that I'm perpetuating my own perspective at this point, but I do not feel qualified to speak for anyone else's experience.

 source (Also a very good post!)

I am not a fan of the material consumerism that plagues our society. Yes, I like buying new things but not on Black Friday... some part of it just feels wrong. But this year one of the myriads of Black Friday ads got me excited. Most surprisingly, it was an ad from Walmart. The brief scene that made me jump up and down excitedly wasn't a kitchen gadget or a celebrity appearance. It was a pre-teen girl that was darn stoked to be carrying a PS4 bundled with Uncharted 4 out of the store with her mother. My own mother thought that my reaction was a bit extreme for a 24-year-old but smiled nonetheless. Little instances like that of stereotype-free representation matter in advertising. Here's a short video to explain why we have this problem in the first place:

Nerd culture has been traditionally guy territory. Admittedly, in many ways, things have gotten a lot better since the dawn of the internet. But there is one seemingly gendered final frontier: gaming.

I have a HUGE confession to make. There's a stereotype that girls only like games or get into gaming because they want to attract male attention. Well, I was first interested because of a boy; I fell into the rabbit hole headfirst. In this case, instead of a wonderland with talking animals, I got really excited about having magic powers and fighting monsters. This lead to eventual enchantment with fighting zombies among other things. It isn't that I find the stereotype completely inaccurate, but the idea that the interest in itself is inauthentic is what stings a little. Honestly, why does it really matter? You probably can't count on both hands and feet the number of things a friend or a romantic interest has introduced you to that has stuck around far longer than they did.

I first started liking Converse because somebody in a band wore them. (Shout out to most members of Good Charlotte!) Does that mean I have any less right to wear a pair of canvas and rubber shoes? Absolutely not! If someone called me out on it, any reasonable person would laugh. So why is it okay to dissect a woman or girl's interest in gaming?

source

I don't know the answer to that question. To me, it's similar to asking why a guy can't be interested in sewing, knitting, baking, or generally anything considered handicraft. One thing I've learned in my time working with the public is that people (even as preschoolers) are very different, and that is how they're made. Who are we to do anything but encourage each other to find things that make us happy? That is why the little girl in the Black Friday ad gave me the warm fuzzies: another young girl may feel a little less alone. Just as much as a young guy may feel encouraged by someone like them in a makeup ad.

Make a difference. Choose kindness over criticism.
How will you make change within this narrative?

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