ForwardSyria posted a story this month about how Kuwaiti-published comic book The 99 is in the final talks with a major U.S. television station to develop and produce a cartoon show that could premiere as early as this fall. Not many people probably know about this comic (including myself), so in preparation for the cartoon’s debut, let’s familiarize ourselves with the comic book and its characters. Also, a question that I hope to have answered by the end of this post is what kind of effect The 99 will have on American audiences, particularly in this fear-mongering, paranoid time and place America is in right now.
The 99, created by Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa (also the founder and C.E.O. of Teshkeel Comics, the comics company who publishes The 99) revolves around ordinary teens and adults from around the globe who find one of the 99 Noor Stones, which empowers the stone-holders in different ways. Each problem in the issues can be solved by two or three of the stone-holders coming together to use their powers. The comic book began its run in the Middle East in 2006, with a subsequent U.S. run in 2007. As a matter of fact, many of the artists and writers on the book are from D.C. and Marvel. Also, D.C. did a crossover miniseries with the Justice League and The 99.
What The 99 can do for American audiences is a) teach children (and adults, for that matter) about the Middle East and the actual religion of Islam, not the fearmongering version being spread through the infotainment news, and b) lessen the amount of people who think that people who are from the Middle East or are Muslim are somehow different than the rest of us.
Take for instance shows like Ni Hao, Kai-Lan and Dora the Explorer. Before these children’s shows, animated Chinese or Mexican characters were few and far between. Also, since there was a gap in the market for Asian and Mexican/Latino characters, children would either have to learn about the cultures on their own (like me circa the mid ’90s) or feed into the stereotypes taught by other shows. By not having much representation in the media, it was subliminally taught that Chinese/Asian and Mexian/Latino people had life experiences that other people couldn’t relate to. But now, by having characters like Kai-Lan and Dora, children (and their caretakers) can learn that just because you come from a different culture doesn’t mean there is nothing about you or your life that other people can relate to.
Similarly, The 99 could do the same for Middle Eastern and/or Muslim people. Right now, there isn’t any Muslim or Middle Eastern cartoon character on television right now. If The 99 actually made it to American television, it could help counteract a lot of the unneeded hatred toward all Middle Easterners and/or Muslims. It could show audiences that just because a person might be Middle Eastern and/or Muslim doesn’t mean that there is nothing about them other people can relate to.
I, for one, hope The 99 makes it to television, and I’ll hope the show can do much more for America than merely entertain.
