I’m not a big fan of the Marvel comic book character movies. I’ve seen a few and could take them or leave them. But when a movie about a new character, named “Ms. Marvel,” whose super power appears to be that she’s Muslim, the primary interest that arose was in the casting controversy.
Marvel is under fire for some of their rumored casting choices for Ms. Marvel, resulting in #FixMsMarvel trending online. One of the upcoming MCU projects on Disney+, the show will debut Iman Vellani as the titular character, Kamala Khan. But while fans are excited for her portraying the part, it’s not like that for some of her co-stars.
What’s curious is that the cast hasn’t been officially announced, and the movie itself appears to be quite a distance away, leaving one to wonder about why there’s controversy at its inception rather than awaiting the movie and, after seeing it, deciding whether it’s a good movie or not. But no, this has nothing to do with the quality of the film. Rather, this has to do with anticipated identities of the actors.
A dedicated fan-page for Ms. Marvel on Twitter with the handle Ms. Marvel News collated some of the rumored casting choices for the project that are deemed problematic. That includes Andrew Brodeur, who supposedly has multiple gender discrimination charges against him. The account also cited Matt Lintz rumored to play Bruno Carelli being a Trump supporter. Finally, the hiring of Yasmeen Fletcher and Zenobia Shroff being hired to play Muslim characters when they’re not in real life. Given this potential casting news, #FixMsMarvel started trending, asking Marvel Studios to reconsider these choices.
A Trump supporter? Non-Muslims playing Muslims? While obviously too problematic for the movies, the most severe outrage is directed at 23-year-old Andrew Brodeur.
Andrew Brodeur, who based on his social media activity will likely be involved in the show, has had multiple Title IX allegations filed against him. https://t.co/v5Xa9AflWz
— Ms. Marvel News (@MsMarvelNews) December 7, 2020
Whether it’s true is unknown. What the accusations were is unknown. The outcome, if any, is unknown. And even if there were accusations and he was found responsible, it would be the result of a system so deficient of due process as to be utterly unreliable, except to those who believe without regard to facts, evidence or defense. That, apparently, describes the sort of people who are fans of Ms. Marvel.
Not only is there nothing beyond rumors of any Title IX taint, but in the vapid minds of social media fans, Brodeur is already a “sex offender.” And the idiocy swiftly devolves from there.
At this point, it’s nothing more than rumor that Brodeur has anything to do with this movie, and yet in the minds of Ms. Marvel fans, he’s a “literal sexual predator” primed to harm several teenage girls. As for this 23-year-old actor, his career potential is essentially non-existent. After all, if the internet says he’s a sex offender, who would be so insane as to cast him in a role?
One of the primary articles of faith of those demanding that male students be prosecuted without due process for campus allegations is that it’s only about protecting “survivors.” It’s not a criminal prosecution. There’s no real harm to the male students. There’s no lasting consequence. They neither need nor deserve due process, to be given the opportunity to challenge false accusations, since this is no big deal.
It is a big deal. It’s always been a big deal, as male students see their futures destroyed by dubious claims of post hoc regret, mutually drunken liaisons and outright lies. They’re expelled. They lose the substantial amount of tuition paid, or debt carried for degrees they’re denied. But they can move on, the “survivor” rights groups complain.
What’s happening with Brodeur may be entirely fictional, from his being cast to his being the subject of Title IX accusations to his being found responsible to the allegations being accurate to his presenting any potential threat to anyone. And yet, social media is replete with cries that he’s not merely guilty, but a sexual predator. And because of this, the #FixMsMarvel hashtag exists to demand his cancellation.
It’s important to note that none of these casting choices has been officially announced by Marvel Studios at this point, so it’s best to take them with a grain of salt. All that being said, Kevin Feige and his team typically don’t confirm casting or any news concerning their upcoming projects without a designated event for it. Given this, it’s possible that the aforementioned actors are indeed involved with Ms. Marvel prompting the Twitter account and all the other fans who share the same sentiments about the matter to speak out.
Perhaps Andrew Brodeur isn’t being cast for a role in the Ms. Marvel movie at all. Perhaps this is all a big mistake. What difference will it make when the next role comes around and the taint of being a “sexual predator” because fans determined to unearth the awfulness, real or imagined, of any potential actor have already branded him problematic?
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