Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa was the speaker at the lecture series that I attended, and he created a superhero group based on Islamic concepts, which were called The 99. The 99 is a group of 99 superheroes, both boys and girls, each with diversity and different characteristics that set them apart from each other.
What I took away from his lecture was he created and used The 99 to battle the status quo, particularly the negative stereotypes of muslims in the world. Dr. Al-Mutawa noticed that media conveys certain views and plays to the accepted stereotypes. Take the Cosby Show for example. The show was meant for a the dad to be a limo driver and the mom to be a stay at home mom, instead of what the show actually is, which is a lawyer and doctor. This was considered unrealistic expectations for a black family, but it really challenged the status quo of what the expectations are and what they should or shouldn't be. In addition, the show also added a child who was in college to show success.
Another interesting thing to note in a different show is one in which they purposely had two bad black Presidents, one which was like Nixon. They then had two black Presidents who were good, and coincidentally Obama later came into office. It is not to say this was the only reason, but Dr. Al-Mutawa believes it had an impact, which is why he created The 99. He wanted to portray islam and muslims in a positive light, much like the latter two Presidents of that show did for black people. I found it very interesting and was glad I got to listen to Dr. Al-Mutawa speak.
What I took away from his lecture was he created and used The 99 to battle the status quo, particularly the negative stereotypes of muslims in the world. Dr. Al-Mutawa noticed that media conveys certain views and plays to the accepted stereotypes. Take the Cosby Show for example. The show was meant for a the dad to be a limo driver and the mom to be a stay at home mom, instead of what the show actually is, which is a lawyer and doctor. This was considered unrealistic expectations for a black family, but it really challenged the status quo of what the expectations are and what they should or shouldn't be. In addition, the show also added a child who was in college to show success.
Another interesting thing to note in a different show is one in which they purposely had two bad black Presidents, one which was like Nixon. They then had two black Presidents who were good, and coincidentally Obama later came into office. It is not to say this was the only reason, but Dr. Al-Mutawa believes it had an impact, which is why he created The 99. He wanted to portray islam and muslims in a positive light, much like the latter two Presidents of that show did for black people. I found it very interesting and was glad I got to listen to Dr. Al-Mutawa speak.
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