Author: najahm

What inspired you to choose the format you did for this project?- What inspired me was the comic and doing something different to see what I can be good at. Doing essay all the time can get boring and at some point you start to realize your not putting enough effort into it. So doing an interview and actually reading what the author said and making up answers as if I was an interviewer was actually pretty interesting.

Who is your audience for this project? What should they know before diving into your work?- My audience is every and anyone, if your into action or superhero’s that’s even better. They should know that this comic is so interesting they will want to read the next edition, that I’m not a real interviewer and some of the answers from the author are true.

What do you want them to learn from your project?- I want them to learn that women can do anything a man can do. That we can rescue people in clothes that aren’t short and show skin. That we can be treated equal and not have to be separated or categorize.

Do you think they’ll be able to learn that? Why? Why not?- Yes I would like to think that they can learn that because of how the book tell’s it’s story. How a “brown girl” from Jersey City can turn into Ms. Marvel and save/ help lives.

What emotional impact were you going for?- I wasn’t going for more of an emotional impact but an outlook on life and how it can change starting with how we allow our minds to think.

What specific panels of Ms. Marvel inspired the type of project you created?- I always been into the marvel and hero background I guess so just reading the comic was different for me especially in a English class reading a comic book would’ve never crossed my mind. So all of it together kind’ve inspired me to try something different.

What did you learn about your own writing/creation process through doing this project?- I learned that I can open my mind to different types of writing and could try anything I wanted to. How interested I was when I was researching this comic and questions made me realize how interested I was and wanted to know more.

What unique perspective did you bring to your close reading of Ms. Marvel that someone else might not have? What is the value of this perspective?- I just allowed myself to be more opened and didn’t judge the book by it’s cover. You never know what to expect and what you might like even if it’s not what your use to.

What did you learn through this project?- I learned that I can get out of my comfort zone of writing essay’s and try something new.

What did you not learn?- I can say that I didn’t learn as more as I would’ve liked such as writing wise and more of a leading women in control.

What would you still like to learn?- I would still like to learn as far as the comic goes more about the emotion that went through all the characters and what they thinking about during the changes.

What, if any, role did class discussions and your peers play in your project?- I guess just everyone’s different outlook and what they had to say made a huge role in my project so I can get a feel of how and what people would think or say.

If you had another week to work on your project, what would you do with it? How would you change it?- Of course I would add so much more information and questions. Really to get to know the characters more and the transition Kamala went through.

What will you take with you from this project into future projects? – I would take that change and doing something different is always the way to go.

Ms. Marvel written by G. Willow Wilson is a Marvel comic that stars Kamala Khan. A 16 year old child of Pakistani immigrants that live in Jersey City. Like any other teen obeys her parents one night that changed her life forever. Leaving her with these amazing powers that she has to learn to control. In this interview will be hearing from the author herself and some of the main characters within the comic.

Najah Inabinett: What made you want to write a comic on a Pakistani teenager?

G. Willow Wilson: “Actually none of it was set in stone. I wanted to create a teenager American Muslim superhero for a while. I thought about making her a Somali-American and setting it in Seattle”.

N.I- What changed your mind?

GWW- “It was kind of local to me and it took a while to land on Jersey City and that particular community and to make her background Pakistani. At the end of it all it was just an abstract idea, it was really about creating a character from scratch”.

N.I- Where did you get your inspiration from?

GWW- Well I was originally born in Jersey City, just a middle class white girl tat converted to Islam when I was twenty. I was always into the old comic and marvel movies. X-men and the avengers, justice league, however there was some women super heroes. They were all that typical women super hero. That had no religious background no meaning to them personally. So I came up with different ideas different characters that will grab anyone’s attention even those who said Marvel and Comics can’t be diverse.

N.I- How do you keep Kamala’s faith from being a distracting part of a superhero story?

GWW- I liked to focus on real life as it is lived by a young American Muslim women. It teaches you how to balance a everyday life to a whole different life and maintaining it.

N.I- When did you start to notice that women and minorities were underrepresented in the superhero comics you loved so much?

GWW–  It never crossed my mine, you know as a kid you accept whatever is given, and it’s tough to know what you don’t know. ” I remember in college reading an article on women being taken seriously they will expose themselves”. That was a way of getting attention. Only a couple years later that was something everyone was doing and talking about like it was a trend. When you go to comic conventions there’s like this split down the middle of men and women. The men look at us women as if we don’t belong or where’s our short skirt and tube tops. As if any women of any color can’t do the whole life saving fully clothed and still be taken seriously.

N.I- The night you snuck out and went to that party, the night your life changed. How did it feel meeting some of Marvel popular superheroes?

Kamala Khan- It felt like a dream, at some point it was almost unreal. To look up and see Captain America, Iron Man and Captain Marvel you would think they’ll look different in person. They look exactly how they do in movies and comics, perfect, strong and brave.

N.I- What was the transformation like from a regular teenage girl to Ms.Marvel?

K.K- Crazy part about it is I didn’t feel anything. I was just trapped in like a dark bubble and broke out a whole new person. I even thought I just had passed out and all the emotions you can think of was hitting me all at once.

N.I- Do you regret that night? or leaving the house?

K.K- Honestly I don’t, it was not only life changing but it was something I needed. I learned so much moving forward from that night. Even though it upset my parents I gained a new duty to the world. Who wouldn’t want to wake up every morning knowing they can save someone’s life. That they can change into a whole new person with powers. I would do all over again.

N.I– Did you ever think how this will impact your family and friends?

K.K- Of course I knew that this change will not only be hard for me but the people I love. My family is very religious and I was scared that they wouldn’t except my change or even look at me the same girl they raised. As far as my friends I feel they would be excited for me  having a friend with powers and all but also as worried as my family would be that I will be in serious danger.

Peer Review Questions

1. What questions should I add for the parents?
2. Do I need more for Kamala?
3. Should I add or subtract from the beginning?
4. Should I add her friends as well?
5. What other topics should I add?

What I learn on monday that impacted me was how you read comics and how inspiration can come from anything. There’s so many ways to start a comic, rather it’s the words that come first then the picture or vise versa. It can be a bit difficult writing led along drawing a comic. It did change how I wanna do different formats. Made me want to try something different like interviews or a behind the scenes of the comic and characters. It’s unique and different to me because I never tried it before and it’s me being a fictional reporter interviewing these characters from Ms. Marvel. Im excited to start this format, see what I can do and get out of my usual essay writing. Ms. Marvel taught me a different writing style and brought me back to my childhood days.

    Marijuana has many names, weed, pot, cannabis, Mary Jane, bud and ganja. Of course there’s more but those are the few slang terms we use now and days. Just like there’s multiple ways to smoke and take marijuana. The main chemical in marijuana, responsible for most of the intoxicating effects that people seek, is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The chemical is found in resin produced by the leaves and buds primarily of the female cannabis plant.

   Question is How can this drug impact a average college students life? For most students marijuana is a very known and common drug that is used. Some use for a stress relief, an escape. On the other hand some smoke for the effect it gives you. They like the feeling of it and being around friends because it makes life seem a little better. According to drugabuse.gov “When marijuana is smoked, THC and other chemicals in the plant pass from the lungs into the bloodstream, which rapidly carries them throughout the body and to the brain.” Think about the stress you get from college. Besides the money and loans or financial aid, there’s stress from the classes. The amount of work and exams that has to be done is a lot on a person. If your working so much just to stay in college and survive thats just adding more stress on your back.

So I understand why some kids do what they do if it helps them relax. Does this drug have some negative effects, yes it does it is a drug we are talking about here. Research has shown that marijuana’s negative effects is on attention, memory, and learning can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off, depending on the person. This however doesn’t stop anyone from smoking this drug or course.

In the play ‘Intersections’ I can understand why smoking or even drinking is brought up. Everyone is going through a situation at some point where they feel like smoking is what they need at the moment. So, can marijuana impact a college students life? Depends on the person and how they abuse the drug is my answer. It only impacts your life if you let it get the best of you.

Peer review questions

1. Do I have enough research or I need to add more?
2. Do you think I answered the question?
3. Does this information relate to the play?
4. Should I explain it more?

After reading the Intersections, the kinds of research that the playwrights had to do was an everyday life of a college student. Such as sacrifice , family, value and success. My own research I will put in family consequences and impact on society. Sources I will examine is student articles, plays that relate to the story and just interview college students. The situations the playwrights faced throughout the play is was grabbed me. Alex story was the most intriguing, how his family was all about sacrifice and cared for him. At the end when a shot was fired made the play even more intense. Using different forms of research will help me better understand the deep analysis of the play to find the true meaning behind the story. Research to me means information. To find things you have questions about and gain information. Research should be guided and motivated by the will of knowing. To expand your knowledge of things you want to know. Everyday even when you don’t realize it you have a least one question about something.

The poem I will be analyzing is Women of the World Poetry Slam spoken by serious Mahmoud. This poem is very emotional and has deep meaning for on both sides. During her performance you can see how much emotion she puts in her words. From her body movements, her hand gesture to the expressions on her face. serious kept eye contact with the audience, she wanted to look in their eyes and confidence and pain. How serious she was and where she was coming from. I chose to write this as a essay because I can give you more details and really go deeper into what the poem meant.

How we hear and see about our world is not like the books and television peaceful in reality it’s black and white. Emi said “I only recognized my country in photographs and tour books in sepia not in living color not in the state of surrender”. What she meant by this was how she can’t even recognize her own country anymore. The pictures doesn’t show all the pain America has brought to people. The changes that has been made to other countries and the wars we had.

She talks about cops coming in taking undocumented families away from there home. “Only stars I see are the cops rolling in to take my neighborhood my family undocumented”. Now that we have a new President this has been a big issue. Our new President wants to send undocumented families back to there country because he believes they do not belong here. That they should be paying taxes and do everything any other U.S citizen has to do but they don’t. So instead of trying to help them and get them documented he rather build a wall and send them back to their trouble countries. Even though I can not relate to this situation I know people that can, friends even. I can only imagine how it feels when police come barging in to your home taking away your family.

You know when in certain situation where you need the President to stand up and make a change for the better but he can’t because his hands are tied. Emi mention she asked the President where are your chains because she thought his hands were tied. “You know when they sent those kids back when they wouldn’t take the refugees when they closed the borders but not Guantanamo”. If you didn’t know Guantanamo is a detention camp is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. No wonder she asked why they didn’t close right? Seeing pictures of what they do to people there and how it looks makes you feel ashamed inside. That your apart of this tragedy and it’s only getting worst. She ends her poem with words she had for the President, “He stared at me as if he thought I was afraid, doesn’t he know that back home the women take care of the bodies”. Emi was referring to in her country when the men were injured from war the women was the one to take care of them. Women were like the house wife’s, they’ll stay home clean and cook and do what ever the men wanted them to do.

I chose my format as an essay because this is my best way I can try to get a point across. To add ad much evidence to reach out to the readers. I understood everything in this poem and watched it so many times to know the words. Anyone who watches the news and knows our United States history can understand this poem and can relate to any part of it. Everything she said has meaning and truth to it. Moving forward from this poem I can say it brought me back to realization.

A poem to me is free writing. To write how you feel, what you see and you wanna say. It can be in any format and freestyle of writing that you want because at the end of the day it is a poem. No one can say “oh you did that wrong”, if someone doesn’t like it or understand it thats okay because you just wanted to say what you wanted to say and feel. How you read a poem with expression lets people understand you and see another side they don’t usually see on a day to day. The poem I connected with was improve Mahmoud poem. The way she talking and saying this poem was like she was just trying to talk to someone, wanted them to listen and feel where she was coming from.

1. Did I make my point throughout the paragraphs?
2. Is there anything I should add or take away?
3. Are the quotes I added relevant to my point?
4. How can I improve?
5. Does any of this makes sense?