Abstract
Two mainstream films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) reflect anxiety about the alien (migrant) “other” through difference and crisis. In this article, we explore how refugees and “shithole” planets form a major plot point in Captain Marvel (2019). At the most extreme, alien exclusion is articulated in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), from the villain’s perspective, as a Malthusian need for extermination of lives to preserve environmental balance. Seemingly innocuous, these narratives are symbolic of a creeping right-wing discourse that dehumanizes outsiders, refugees, and migrants in popular culture. Inspired by the call to consider how film and new media converge, and to bridge the gap between media and migration studies, we assert that the representation of and rhetoric about migrants deserve study in popular culture beyond their mere textual representation. Symbolic convergence theory (SCT) is used to do a close reading of the texts and the fandom communities around them, drawing out discourses and themes that resonate in popular discussion. We find translations of anti-immigrant narratives bleeding into fan communities, mediated through irony and internet culture.
Recommended Citation
Walker, Casey Joe; Ramirez, Anthony; and Soto-Vásquez, Arthur D.
(2021)
"Crossing Over: The Migrant “Other” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,"
Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy: Vol. 8:
Iss.
3, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dialogue/vol8/iss3/3
Included in
American Popular Culture Commons, Community-Based Learning Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Migration Studies Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, Social Justice Commons