Superheroes have always been a big part of American history, superheroes like, "Batman," "Flash," "Green Arrow," "Superman," etc. No one has ever really wondered: Are there superheroes in other countries? Naif Al-Mutawa tells us about "The 99," a group of 99 superheroes each referencing the 99 attributes of Allah mentioned in the Qur'an.
Mutawa begins his talking about the "Justice League of America" crossing over with "The 99. Mutawa tells us to consider this: like the prophets, superheroes don't have parents, like the prophets, superheroes get their messages from above. For example, Bruce Wayne sees a bat fly over his head and takes that as an omen to become "Batman." These are biblical archetypes, the thinking was to create positive resonating storylines, that could be tied to the same things other people were pulling messages out of. "The 99," references the 99 attributes of Allah: wisdom, generosity, mercy, foresight, etc. Those are basic human values no matter what religion you are. "The 99" , starts form 1258 when the Mongols invaded Baghdad and goes to 2010 with 99 superheroes from 99 different countries.
The concept centers on the "Noor Stones," Noor means light in Arabic. There are two rules: the stone chooses you and when they first get the stone they abuse the power and that leads people to take advantage of the stone. He shows us some characters like, Mujiba form Malaysia, Mumita the destroyer, Jabbar from Saudi Arabia, etc. He has made a 26 episode animated series based off "The 99." He is a father of five sons and wants his kids to grow up with good role models. He shows us a picture of a child holding up a Qur'an and wearing a suicide bomber belt, he then shows us a picture of the child wearing a "99" t-shirt. He wants to make children proud in that kind of way and thinks "The 99" can do it. Just today which was like five years ago, he says DC comics showed us the cover design for the upcoming crossover. On April 26, 2010, President Obama made his Cairo speech, he reached out to the Muslim world, the most innovative was "The 99" reach out to the "Justice League."
I enjoyed the TED Talk immensely as a Muslim, I actually have never heard of "The 99." The concept was what I found the most interesting, I mean 99 superheroes from 99 different countries with powers based off of the 99 attributes of Allah is pretty amazing. I have never really thought about other countries or cultures having superheroes, when I hear superhero I always think of Batman or Superman. This has made me realize how much my religion matters to me. I will be looking for "The 99" at any Barnes and Noble retailer. Now I actually want to read the comic book, I never expected I would want to read it after this talk, but I do. This has expanded my knowledge of superheroes and now I want to see superheroes in other countries.
This TED Talk opened my eyes to other cultures. It was refreshing, interesting, and a change from the other TED Talks I have watched. I recommend this to Muslims, people who know about or read "The 99," and people who love comics and superheroes in general.
Mutawa begins his talking about the "Justice League of America" crossing over with "The 99. Mutawa tells us to consider this: like the prophets, superheroes don't have parents, like the prophets, superheroes get their messages from above. For example, Bruce Wayne sees a bat fly over his head and takes that as an omen to become "Batman." These are biblical archetypes, the thinking was to create positive resonating storylines, that could be tied to the same things other people were pulling messages out of. "The 99," references the 99 attributes of Allah: wisdom, generosity, mercy, foresight, etc. Those are basic human values no matter what religion you are. "The 99" , starts form 1258 when the Mongols invaded Baghdad and goes to 2010 with 99 superheroes from 99 different countries.
The concept centers on the "Noor Stones," Noor means light in Arabic. There are two rules: the stone chooses you and when they first get the stone they abuse the power and that leads people to take advantage of the stone. He shows us some characters like, Mujiba form Malaysia, Mumita the destroyer, Jabbar from Saudi Arabia, etc. He has made a 26 episode animated series based off "The 99." He is a father of five sons and wants his kids to grow up with good role models. He shows us a picture of a child holding up a Qur'an and wearing a suicide bomber belt, he then shows us a picture of the child wearing a "99" t-shirt. He wants to make children proud in that kind of way and thinks "The 99" can do it. Just today which was like five years ago, he says DC comics showed us the cover design for the upcoming crossover. On April 26, 2010, President Obama made his Cairo speech, he reached out to the Muslim world, the most innovative was "The 99" reach out to the "Justice League."
I enjoyed the TED Talk immensely as a Muslim, I actually have never heard of "The 99." The concept was what I found the most interesting, I mean 99 superheroes from 99 different countries with powers based off of the 99 attributes of Allah is pretty amazing. I have never really thought about other countries or cultures having superheroes, when I hear superhero I always think of Batman or Superman. This has made me realize how much my religion matters to me. I will be looking for "The 99" at any Barnes and Noble retailer. Now I actually want to read the comic book, I never expected I would want to read it after this talk, but I do. This has expanded my knowledge of superheroes and now I want to see superheroes in other countries.
This TED Talk opened my eyes to other cultures. It was refreshing, interesting, and a change from the other TED Talks I have watched. I recommend this to Muslims, people who know about or read "The 99," and people who love comics and superheroes in general.