Monday, August 10, 2015

New Lego-Marvel computer game shoehorns propaganda

This is regrettable, but according to this news brief on Paste, a new Lego computer game based on Marvel's products is using a figure based on the Muslim Ms. Marvel:
[...] New screenshots reveal the current Ms. Marvel, AKA Kamala Khan, will be in the game, along with the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and the latest hero to wield Thor’s hammer, Jane Foster.
Sigh. I've said this a few times before, and will again. If it hadn't been for the religious background they've given the Khan character, this wouldn't matter much. But because that's the background they ascribed to their creation, that's why this does not look so appealing. It brings to mind an incident from 6 years ago where a mother discovered some toys she'd bought for her children, like a video game called "Baby Pals", had a hidden message inside saying "Islam is the light". Whether or not any Islamic propaganda finds its way into the Lego computer game proper, I don't think these parents would be happy if they found out Kamala Khan was depicted as an Islam adherent in the comics.

Interesting that this game also follows the PC narrative with Jane Foster taking the real Thor's place, instead of putting a full emphasis on a girl like Sif. That may not be as embarrassing as how the Muslim Ms. Marvel is developed, but it's still theater-of-the-absurd. If these new games and other merchandise are going to follow Marvel's PC panderings to the cause of diversity, then they're not really dedicated to escapist fun at all, just propaganda mishmash.

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