‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Upsets Hindu Group

[VisionGirl]

Friday, November 29th, 2013 at 9:45am PST - by Kevin Melrose



A Hindu group has called on ABC to apologize following an episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that suggested the god Vishnu, like the hero Thor, might be an alien.

In the Nov. 19 episode, which tied into the events of Thor: The Dark World, Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and hacker Skye (Chloe Bennett) have an exchange designed to deliver exposition about the Asgardians, who in the Marvel Universe are ancient aliens who were mistaken for gods when they visited Earth thousands of years ago. "Do you think other deities are aliens, too?" Skye asks. "Vishnu for sure, right?"

Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, thinks those lines are "inappropriate," as they "unnecessarily drag a highly revered Hindu deity in a television episode and then create misinformation about the oldest and third largest religion among a large audience."

In a statement, the organization stressed that Hindus support free speech, "But faith was something sacred and attempts at debasing it hurt the adherents. Television and Hollywood should be more conscious while handling faith related subjects, as television and cinema were very mighty mediums and these could create stereotypes in the minds of some audiences."

Zed is calling on ABC and Marvel to apologize, and, in an effort to correct the "misinformation/misrepresentation," "post information about Lord Vishnu and Hinduism on their respective websites."

http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2013/11/29/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-upsets-hindu-group/

 

[brinkster130]

Ehhh...honestly, I think the line was pretty harmless. I could see getting upset if the joke was made maliciously but it wasn't.

 

[fitz1980]

I'm going with harmless. The ep even just presented it as an offhand joke by some character, not even as an established plot-point.

Plenty of stories have done the whole "ancient religious texts are really the result of aliens, time travelers, ext" having visited humanity centuries ago.

 

[sk]

🙄

They are watching a show that plainly states that the god Thor is an alien.
Why are they upset, and think it's inappropriate when they make the same suggestions about another god?

Especially when it's just made as a joke. It's silly beyond belief imho.

/SK

 

[fitz1980]

🙄

They are watching a show that plainly states that the god Thor is an alien.
Why are they upset, and think it's inappropriate when they make the same suggestions about another god?

Especially when it's just made as a joke. It's silly beyond belief imho.

/SK

Chances are it's partially because worship of Thor isn't mainstream these days if it even exists at all. Some pegan sects might consider him to be a real God, but I've never heard of one making the news. Before the comics only thing I heard of him was as "ancient myths that Christianity saved the Norse from by introducing them to belief in Jesus."

That Hindu guy even jumps right into the logical fallacy of claiming that just because his religion is the 3rd biggest one in the world it's more worthy of privlege than another that's much smaller.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum

But I love your Sig line graphic. B5 even implied that Christianity (and religion in general) was aliens and/or time travel.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

Ugh religious groups. Shut up and go away.

Nothing I hate more then religious groups complaining about TV/movies.

 

[Blaze]

Wow, I'm surprised that out of everything, this is what they choose to attack, not like other shows haven't done the whole religious thing. I wonder how many people said Supernatural was offensive to believers in God.

This, to me, is stupid. It was even a joke on the show. Maybe it's one of those "I'm not Hindu so I can't understand"😕

 

[VisionGirl]

Maybe it's more of a cultural thing. I can bet that if Jesus had replaced Vishnu in that line, we'd be hearing a huge uproar about it.

 

[Lyri]

Wow, I'm surprised that out of everything, this is what they choose to attack, not like other shows haven't done the whole religious thing. I wonder how many people said Supernatural was offensive to believers in God.

I was just thinking about this.

And it's not even just Christianity that has been portrayed in Supernatural - a lot of Hindu Gods and Goddesses have appeared as well, almost all of them in very negative lights. Why is SHIELD the only one that people are getting defensive about and demanding apologies from? Is it just because SHIELD is a show that is in the spotlight so much and is more popular than the likes of Supernatural?

To be honest, it's things like this that is the reason I don't have a religion. It was clear that the line was a joke, there has been worse said in the past by other shows, but people are so defensive these days about every little thing. It's sad.

 

[OFAWB]

People should lighten up.

Religion holds a privileged position in most places on this planet, and most certainly within the United States. Temples, synagogues, mosques, and churches do not pay property taxes; religious people are often seen as more trustworthy and moral; and ancient religious rules are all-too-often consulted during the writing of secular laws.

I could complain that most vampire mythology uses Christian imagery and concepts (crosses, holy water, churches) as representatives of 'good' and agents against evil, but I don't because it's fiction.

Again: People should lighten up. Few things annoy me more than those who claim they're "all for free speech", and then go on to demonstrate that they're really NOT in support of free speech.

 

[Robb Stark]

"We're all for free speech BUT..."

You're free to make harmless, light-hearted comments about other people's practices and beliefs, but ours? No way man. No way.

🙄

 

[Kean]

For me, as a white woman, brought up in the Catholic Church in the Western Hemisphere, this is a completely harmless, throw away line. However, reading Rajan Zed's statement, I think his concerns are founded more on racial and cultural concerns rather than anything else. I can completely understand how a religious group whose members are largely made up of POC, would not want their relgion, and the Gods they worship, misrepresented, least of all have the very loaded descriptor "alien" attached to them.

 

[Lyri]

For me, as a white woman, brought up in the Catholic Church in the Western Hemisphere, this is a completely harmless, throw away line. However, reading Rajan Zed's statement, I think his concerns are founded more on racial and cultural concerns rather than anything else. I can completely understand how a religious group whose members are largely made up of POC, would not want their relgion, and the Gods they worship, misrepresented, least of all have the very loaded descriptor "alien" attached to them.

I completely understand that point of view and why they don't want their religious practices debased like this. But at the same time, I can't understand why they haven't had the same kind of reaction to shows like Supernatural, that depicts their deities as murdering, vengeful, violent beings.

 

[Kean]

I completely understand that point of view and why they don't want their religious practices debased like this. But at the same time, I can't understand why they haven't had the same kind of reaction to shows like Supernatural, that depicts their deities as murdering, vengeful, violent beings.

They may not be aware of SPN. Even though SHIELD has been lackluster, it is a primetime show, on a major network, linked to the biggest movie franchise in the world at the minute, with an enormous profile and a hell of a lot more eyeballs and media focus on it.

 

[Blaze]

For me, as a white woman, brought up in the Catholic Church in the Western Hemisphere, this is a completely harmless, throw away line. However, reading Rajan Zed's statement, I think his concerns are founded more on racial and cultural concerns rather than anything else. I can completely understand how a religious group whose members are largely made up of POC, would not want their relgion, and the Gods they worship, misrepresented, least of all have the very loaded descriptor "alien" attached to them.

I completely agree, although it'd be hard to watch any show without getting offended with that kind of mentality. I think the reason they were concerned is completely understandable, but in this case the show did it in a completely benign way, so I'm a bit confused as to why they chose this particular show, like others have already stated.

 

[Kean]

I completely agree, although it'd be hard to watch any show without getting offended with that kind of mentality. I think the reason they were concerned is completely understandable, but in this case the show did it in a completely benign way, so I'm a bit confused as to why they chose this particular show, like others have already stated.

I think every group, in a rather self-centered way, hone in to references to them only. I'm not totally convinced the person quoted in the article has actually seen the episode, or even the scene in question but more so has an appreciation of the reach the show has. But I also agree that there are way more troubling representations on TV, like what SPN did.

 

[brinkster130]

Interesting tidbit...a quick google search showed this is the same guy/group that has demanded apologies from Selena Gomez, Sunday Times, Paramount and Viacom in recently. They seems to be pretty aware of how Hinduism is represented (joking or not) in Hollywood, and make it known when they are offended by it.

 

[Robb Stark]

While this is a minor example of it, this case illustrates perfectly why so many people are being increasingly turned off religion in this day and age.

In a truly global world, where everyday I interact with people who have a wide range of unique beliefs, I really don't care what you choose to believe in or what faith appeals to you. That's your business. But it becomes mine when those beliefs infringe on my, or anyone else's, right to free speech, or any other rights.

What people of faith, and this cuts across every religion, need to start understanding is that they don't have the right or the moral highground to infringe on other people in the name of whatever god they believe in. In the words of the immortal Sallador Saan:

"...everywhere I go people tell me about the 'true gods', they all think they found the right one."

Believe in whatever you want. Just don't tell me what I can and can't say.

---------- Post added at 03:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:32 PM ----------

Interesting tidbit...a quick google search showed this is the same guy/group that has demanded apologies from Selena Gomez, Sunday Times, Paramount and Viacom in recently. They seems to be pretty aware of how Hinduism is represented (joking or not) in Hollywood, and make it known when they are offended by it.

I was wondering this as well. There are a whole group of professional complainers out there, people who love to offended, and can't wait to tell the world about it. He sounds like a guy hounding for publicity to boost his own standing, if anything.

 

[Kean]

While this is a minor example of it, this case illustrates perfectly why so many people are being increasingly turned off religion in this day and age.

In a truly global world, where everyday I interact with people who have a wide range of unique beliefs, I really don't care what you choose to believe in or what faith appeals to you. That's your business. But it becomes mine when those beliefs infringe on my, or anyone else's, right to free speech, or any other rights.

What people of faith, and this cuts across every religion, need to start understanding is that they don't have the right or the moral highground to infringe on other people in the name of whatever god they believe in. In the words of the immortal Sallador Saan:

"...everywhere I go people tell me about the 'true gods', they all think they found the right one."

Believe in whatever you want. Just don't tell me what I can and can't say.

---------- Post added at 03:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:32 PM ----------



I was wondering this as well. There are a whole group of professional complainers out there, people who love to offended, and can't wait to tell the world about it. He sounds like a guy hounding for publicity to boost his own standing, if anything.

*Plays devil's advocate*

Or he and his organisation are truly trying to counteract intolerance of every kind, no matter how benign or troubling the incident? I just did a Google news search and I got hits for him welcoming the first female Church of Ireland Bishop (today) and condemning Norway's Statoil for its discrimination of Roma people.

Personally, I find this line utterly undeserving of the attention it's getting. It's less than nothing, but this discussion has gotten me thinking on how intolerance is counteracted. Do you check people at every single misstep until they stop getting it wrong, or do you focus on the "big things?"

 

[Robb Stark]

*Plays devil's advocate*

Or he and his organisation are truly trying to counteract intolerance of every kind, no matter how benign or troubling the incident? I just did a Google news search and I got hits for him welcoming the first female Church of Ireland Bishop (today) and condemning Norway's Statoil for its discrimination of Roma people.

Personally, I find this line utterly undeserving of the attention it's getting. It's less than nothing, but this discussion has gotten me thinking on how intolerance is counteracted. Do you check people at every single misstep until they stop getting it wrong, or do you focus on the "big things?"

I understand combating intolerance, but this case in point isn't even that. It's nitpicking to such an extent that I have to really wonder if this guy is being straight up or not. And if he is, then he seems more than a little unrealistic. There's nothing wrong with promoting religious tolerance and respect. I think that's great. But essentially demanding the entire world to appreciate your beliefs in the same way you do is not only ridiculous, but, in it's own way, intolerant as well. I'm not saying it's cool to rip on people's beliefs, it isn't at all, but throwaway lines like this garnering this level of attention just make me roll my eyes.

Countering missteps like this, even you can even call them that, don't make me want to "stop getting it wrong". They make me angry. I have things that I very strongly believe in (none are religious), but I understand and respect the fact that they're unique to me, and that they don't carry weight with other people. I also respect the fact that other people are free to disagree with what I believe in any way they choose.

I know I'm making a way bigger deal out of this than it deserves, but it's just so representative to me of one of the fundamental problems of cross-sectional faith today. You can think they're wrong, but to believe you have the right to tell people what they can and can't say because of a religion you believe absolutely reeks of arrogance to me.