Representation in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Representation in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

    As more Marvel video games are released, there is a common trend underrepresentation. However, a game that stands out in the Marvel library with 186 video games when it comes to representation is Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It is a spinoff game based on the original Marvel's Spider-Man, revolving around a teenager living in New York City being responsible for saving Harlem from being destroyed. The game brings exposure and accurate representation to different races, ethnicities, communities, ages, and sexuality. 

Hailey Cooper, a Deaf character in the game

    Miles Morales, the protagonist of the game, is of Hispanic and African American descent. Although his father is not present in the game, Hispanic representation is portrayed through Miles and his mother, Rio Morales. Unrelated to the plot, small aspects of Hispanic and Puerto Rican culture is shown throughout the game. For example, while on a call with his mother, Miles speaks Spanish without a very fluent accent. Many kids who grew up in bilingual households and struggle to communicate fluently can relate to Miles' similar ways of communication. Additionally, culture in Miles' family is displayed positively through foods on Christmas Eve. There was a variety of accurate Latin foods such as empanadas, arroz con gandules, and pasteles. Miles inviting his friends, Phin (African American) and Ganke (Asian), to the dinner reinforces that traditional latin foods are meant for everyone to enjoy.

Flan, platanos, and more traditional food being enjoyed by Miles and his loved ones

A few instances of Miles and Rio speaking Spanish

    In addition to the positive Hispanic representation, the story also contains positive Deaf representation. Hailey Cooper plays as Miles' potential love interest in the story. Being Deaf, Hailey is always seen communicating through ASL with Miles. Similarly, Hailey being Deaf isn't related to the plot, it simply makes the community wider. The game also encourages people to learn ASL through Ganke and Miles. Miles learned ASL in school, but it is also shown that you can learn from the community around you. The interactions between Hailey and others emphasize that they are one whole community, no matter the differences.

Miles communicating with Hailey Cooper through ASL

    As the story revolves around a seventeen year old and his friends, the game gives teenagers a positive reputation. All teenagers shown in the game always show kindness, respect, and gratitude. Even the teenage antagonist, Phin Mason, is a kind-hearted friend behind her mask. Her intention for being a villain is to keep New York safe, and to make sure people don't die the same way her brother did. Another example of kindheartedness is Ganke, Miles' closest friend. He spent his entire winter break assisting Miles on his missions from his home, not caring about earning any credit. He additionally is always making sure Rio is safe while Miles was fighting danger. The most important person that positively represented teenagers, however, is Miles himself. Known as the "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man", he always puts his community first instead of himself. Even outside of being Spider-Man, he is always seen giving a positive attitude and helping others along the streets.

Miles helping a stranger lift a couch in the opening of the game

    Along with teenagers, the game provides a lot of details in giving the community in New York a good reputation. Not only do they show a great diversity of people, but everyone in the neighborhood are seen being good-hearted, contrasting what many people say about the population in New York City. The biggest example of this is F.E.A.S.T, a homeless shelter where Miles volunteers. Although F.E.A.S.T was already shown in the original Marvel's Spider-Man, there are many parts of the spin-off that show everyone helping out to make sure the homeless have a comfortable place to stay. The owner, Gloria, additionally has a girlfriend, bringing exposure to LGBTQ+ and widening the community. The game also has a mission dedicated to showcasing a mural saying "Black Lives Matter", bringing awareness to the movement. Overall, these small details of representation add on to the overall representation of a diverse, compassionate New York community.

the "Uptown Pride" mission in the game unlocks a suit made by "Friendly Neighborhood Allies" and shows Miles standing in front of a Black Lives Matter mural

The World of Sci-Fi (Genre Research)

 The World of Sci-Fi 

Sci-fi films, short for science fiction films, are highly known for their special and mysterious plots and effects. It is a very broad genre, consisting of many sub genres such as space opera, cyberpunk, apocalyptic, horror fiction, etc. Although the target audience is young and middle-aged men, any person interested in science, technology, brand new worlds, futuristic settings, or simply an escape from reality can easily become a fan of sci-fi.  

Conventions 

Sci-fi movies use a variety of content-based conventions to be categorized as science fiction films. For example, most consist of an unfamiliar setting, igniting the audience’s curiosity. Common trends in science fiction are also innovative technology and relatable characters, to keep a close connection. They also provide an escape from reality – distracting people from the real world that they live in. Sci-fi films typically also contain common messages, such as reflecting or criticizing the real world and spreading awareness for an environmental issue, such as global warming.  

Ex: The Hunger Games is a futuristic dystopian film that criticizes a capitalist society, separated by the rich and the poor 

Furthermore, these films contain a variety of production techniques to set the mood for a scene, and also make it seem more natural, fitting the futuristic or scientific setting. However, as sci-fi is so broad, different techniques are used within different films for a better understanding. For example, lighting in this genre varies depending on the context of the film. Nevertheless, there are still common aspects for production that are used in many sci-fi films, such as using heavy CGI to showcase new worlds or action sequences. Having a higher shutter speed and raising the exposure is also used to add intensity. Cool tones are also commonly used, as these films typically deal with negative subjects and need a more unsettling atmosphere. 

Ex: Blade Runner 2049 uses a variety of lighting and colors to establish what is happening in the scene; cool tones are specifically used in this film to show solitude 

To market sci-fi films, they typically provide a “What if?” question to create curiosity for the plot. Marketing teams also rely on visual posters or trailers to get viewer attention. As mentioned before, they emphasize the sci-fi genre to market the movie to attract their target audience. Although typically being aimed for young and middle-aged men, sci-fi films use marketing to attract any fans of science or the unknown. For posters, they typically show interesting or appealing backgrounds that establish the setting for the film. Commonly, gray and blue colors are used for posters to keep the unsettling tone. They can also use it to separate themselves from other sci-fi films. Is it based on technology? Climate change? Dystopia? 

Ex: This Interstellar poster clearly establishes the space-theme and attracts fans of astronomy 

  

 

Sci-Fi Films 

 

The Day After Tomorrow is a sci-fi film released in 2004 that focuses on climate change and its impact on humanity. It uses a “What if” scenario, provoking viewers with a curiosity of what would happen if the huge impact of climate change took place within a week. This film is known as science fiction due to its use of high-level weather technology and contains a message of humanity and global warming awareness. The film is about a paleoclimatologist named Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) trying to show the world through his research that a new ice age could form due to the trend in climate change. However, US Vice President Becker (Kenneth Welsh) refuses to make changes. A giant tropical storm is then created in the Northern Hemisphere, splitting into three massive storms moving across the upper part of Earth. Meanwhile, Jack’s son, Sam Hall (Jake Gyllenhaal), and his friends are in New York City for an academic decathlon, taking place right before knee-deep water floods the city and creates freezing temperatures. This worries Jack and leads him to traveling to New York in attempts to save his son, unfortunately resulting in the death of his two colleagues. The storms then start to dissolve, and Jack reunites with Sam. Becker then apologizes and creates laws to help with climate change, and ice sheets are now spread across the Northern Hemisphere. The film provides a lesson of not only the impacts of climate change, but also how scientists and politicians should listen to each other for the benefit of the Earth. It reflects the real world, by providing the impact of rising temperatures that will take place in the future. The cool tones provide an unsettling and cold feeling, creating paranoia for viewers to show that this can happen at any moment. 

Prospect is another film categorized as a sci-fi film for its unusual setting and space theme. It was released in 2018, remaking a similar short film also named Prospect. The protagonist in the film, Cee (Sophie Thatcher), is seen writing in an unfamiliar language on a spaceship with her father, Damon (Jay Duplass). They travel to a new, strange planet to assist mercenaries working on a rich dig site. Cee and Damon encounter two men, who Damon later tries to steal from. There is a fight, resulting in the death of Damon and one of the two men. Cee makes an agreement with his killer, Ezra (Pedro Pascal), to figure out a way to leave the planet. The two travel around the planet looking for medical supplies and convince the mercenaries to leave with them on their ship. Another fight ensues, and Cee and Ezra must leave on their own with the mercenaries’ ship. The film makes the audience feel escaped from reality, being on a completely different planet with different types of dangers. Although the movie does not have futuristic features, it still displays an alternate dimension that audiences can feel immersed in and contains aspects of space exploration that further categorizes it as a science fiction film. 

 

Other films mentioned and extra sci-fi films: