MISE-EN-SCÈNE ANALYSIS OF ORIENTALIST STEREOTYPES IN VISUAL SUPERHERO NARRATIVES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MS. MARVEL AND CAPTAIN MARVEL

Abstract

This research examines the construction of the East and the West in the visual and ideological representation of female superheroes in Ms. Marvel (2022) and Captain Marvel (2019). The mise-en-scene (Gibbs, 2002) and historical/cultural analysis are used to approach the question of how visual form and narrative ideology demonstrate the Orientalist power structures within a theoretical framework of Edward Said's theory of Orientalism. The Comparative study finds that even though Ms. Marvel presents a Pakistani-American heroine as an example of inclusivity, the character is nonetheless mediated by Western constructs that endorse diversity within controlled parameters. On the contrary, the character of Captain Marvel exists as a symbol of Western rationality, technological development, and individualism. The results indicate a reproduction of Orientalist binaries in Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the East is mystified and emotional and the West is a center of science and rationality as the universal ideals.