With its new Marvel superheroine, Native American, deaf and amputee, Disney accused of “wokism”

The series “Echo”, broadcast on the Disney and Hulu platforms from Tuesday, features Maya Lopez, a new Marvel superhero with an atypical profile.

Maya Lopez is Native American, deaf and has a leg amputated: the new Marvel superhero is banking on her unusual profile to relaunch a Disney franchise in decline. Series Echo, which debuts Tuesday, January 9 on streaming platforms Disney+ and Hulu, follows the adventures of Maya Lopez, an ex-criminal from New York who rediscovers her Native American roots in her hometown of Oklahoma. A pitch that comes at a delicate time both for the Marvel universe and for its owner, Disney.

Eroded audience

The general public is showing a certain weariness towards the superhero franchise, whose audience figures are eroding, while the big-eared firm has become the target of the American right, particularly during the presidential campaign. Like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a contender for the White House, Republicans are accusing him of “wokism” because of his homosexual or non-binary characters, as in Buzz Lightning Or Elementary.

Disney has also just lost its title as the studio with the highest turnover in Hollywood, overtaken last year by Universal. A first since 2016. In November, Disney boss Bob Iger seemed to suggest to his creative teams that they should make a change. Rather than favoring symbols and “positive messages”he hammered home his desire to “return to our roots, that is, remember that we must entertain first”.

Tendency

With its numerous dialogues in sign language, subtitled, and its development in collaboration with the Chacta people, Echo claims its inclusiveness. The creators particularly wanted to ensure the authenticity of a sports gathering scene, located in pre-Columbian America. “I am so proud to be able (…) to make the voices of indigenous people heard”said the star of the series, Alaqua Cox, during a recent press conference.

The series marks the advent of a trend within the Marvel universe. If the superhero franchise based on comic books Americans debuted in cinema in 2008 with Iron ManIt was necessary to wait Black Panther, the 18th film, to show the adventures of a non-white protagonist. Since then, the universe has considerably diversified its characters, while at the same time, box office revenues have declined.

But there’s no indication the two phenomena are linked, according to Bethany Lacina, who has studied the franchise’s audience demographics. “Non-white people are more likely to watch Marvel movies than white people. Particularly African-Americans and Latinos”, explains this assistant professor at the University of Rochester. The greatest inclusiveness of Disney castings “brings their films closer to what their audience has always been about”she notes, especially as young Americans are increasingly diverse.

Business diversification

For the academic, Bob Iger’s recent speech perhaps reflects a “frustration” that Disney’s diversity efforts on screen have not attracted a flood of spectators from new horizons. But the inclusiveness advocated by Marvel has not caused any “backfire” from white spectators, she believes. They also rushed to Black Panthera film with a predominantly African-American cast, nominated for an Oscar and still praised by the boss of Disney for its “positive impact on the world“.

According to Nick Carnes, co-author of a book on the Marvel universe, the diversification of the franchise’s superheroes stems both from a commercial strategy and from the history of the comics from which the films are inspired. “If we look at historical heroes, the oldest figures who spark nostalgia for entire generations, we see that they are disproportionately white and male.”observes this professor from Duke University.

From this perspective, Disney’s project consists of “take people who love the story of Iron Man or Spider-Man and exposing them to different characters” to expand its audience. More than cultural divisions fracturing the United States, the success or failure ofEcho will depend on the quality of his stories, he believes. “At the end of the day, we are all human beings”recalled Chaske Spencer, a Native American actor who plays one of the supporting roles in the series. “It’s all about emotion, (…) what we can all feel.”