21 thoughts on “Asynchronous Assignment on #Julian4SpiderMan”

1. Even though they are both from different universe, the comparison of the similarities of middle school experiences between Miles Morales and Julian Randal are based on struggle of identifying themselves. In the eight grade, Julian felt that he was always somewhere he did not belong just as Miles. In frustration and madness, they both express their emotions by cursing in situations, as seen as cursing the survival they were given off-screen. America thought them they were invisible and due to this, they would punish themselves because of those who view them as invisible. Both are black and Puerto Rican. Miles and Julian parents are counting on them even though often they pretend that everything is fine to the world. “we wear mostly the same mask, the same face.”
   They feel misappreciated and like outcasts because the world around them is moving fast as they conceive to try to catch on. It seems as if everything is moving and people are going at a pace that the character and author will need to follow to not feel outcasted. Julian believes because he is not fully fluent in Spanish people speaks about him and believe he does not understand it which makes him feel a way.

   1. Hello Brenda, hidden identities are one of the main themes of this essay. The story of Spiderman has always been that of hidden identities. While neither Julian or Mike purposely hide their identities, they do feel unseen or hidden. Throughout their lives, they both had to stay “out of sight” , in order to fit in. Throughout this semester so far, many of the Latinx subjects unintentionally do the same thing. The questions “Who are you?’ and “What are you?” are used interchangeably by their peers who try to deny their Latino heritage, causing them to wonder who or what they truly are themselves. In these instances, hiding behind the proverbial mask and staying out of sight is the path of least resistance. Doing that helps them to avoid the ridicule, and trauma that they would contend with for living in their truth.
      Julian’s inability to speak Spanish also gives the doubters more reason to antagonize him. While it’s great to be a bilingual Latinx, sometimes if the language isn’t spoken in the home or here aren’t visits to the countries of your heritage, it can be difficult to learn to speak or understand Spanish. However, that does not make you last than a Latinx by any means. Your looks, voice, way of dress etc. are inherently unique to all of us. The most important factor is how we identify, and not the way we are identified or classified by others. The greatest sense of self is the pride we feel when we remove the societal masks and take pride in all that makes us whole.

   2. Hi Brenda. I agree with many of the topics you brought up concerning Miles and Julian’s struggles with their identities. They both share this struggle with reaching the expectations of others, while also dealing with issues of invisibility. Julian makes several references as to how he relates back to his personal feelings of invisibility and its correspondence with many of the symbolic references in Spider Man. The “mask” that everyone wears in different ways can represent how everyone in some ways attempts to create their own invisibility, especially those that struggle with their identities. They give off the impression that everything is okay, when in reality, they’re experiencing internal conflict. Spider Man is expected to save the world without ever allowing people to know him personally or his own internal battles. Similar to Spider-Man, Julian is expected to become successful in a school environment without ever being vocal about his own experiences or having a choice in the disagreements he has with others concerning his identity. It’s almost as if everyone around him was creating their own depictions of who he should be, that he fell silent since he couldn’t even decipher who he was. The quote you included that states, “ America taught us we were invisible, and the only way for the invisible to punish those who refuse to see us is to first punish ourselves “, felt imperative to the conversation towards both of their experiences. Miles and Julian seem to both have undergone some type of self punishment during their own times of confusion and stress. Additionally, they seem to both have found ways to acknowledge their identities and make them known for themselves.

      1. Hello Yuddy, hope all is well , I love your connections on this topic. I would have to agree with you on your responses. Julian mentions in the first part of the reading a lot of the mask and the way it fit. That mask in particular didn’t fit well on him, as it was not made for his hair. Julian went on to express that even thou the mask did not fit right spider man is black. Even though it wasn’t made to fit Afro-Lantix , and more so a white person. Spider-Man is used to compare Julian and Miles as a metaphor, as we know this super hero to be saving the world not knowing the real him, just as Julian and Miles would go through, they were expected to go through middle school and not being able to voice their opinions or be heard or seen. Miles / Julian would have to conform to society and their expectations, not being able to express their selves because of fair of differences, just like spider who was unable to let others know his real identity under the mask. This reading also spoke a lot about the mask and that we are all wearing a mask that don’t fit us, I believe this , as sometimes we may not be able to express who we truly are as we are so focused to conforming to society I think we can all relate to this doesn’t matter or race.

      2. Hello Yuddy,
         I really enjoyed reading your interpretation of the reading. I definitely agree with your perspective. It does seem that in both scenarios both Julian and Miles are accepting the expectations that people have created for them and kind of just going along with the flow without taking into consideration what they truly want for themselves just so that they won’t get questioned or criticized. I feel that Miles Morales was a great representation for Julian in some of the ways that you mentioned for example both of them being mixed, both of them feeling like the outcast where they are at. I feel like Julian seeing a super hero that represent so many aspects that he has really helped come to terms with who he truly is. It kinda of showed him to embrace those differences like Miles at the end of the embraces and accepts his powers.

   3. Hi Brenda,
      I agree with your assessments of the essay. Julian, being Dominican and black, was able to see himself and his experiences in the character Miles Morales, as he was black and Puerto Rican. I agree that both never feel as though they belong, and feel outcasted and invisible. Another example is when Julian talks about his experience being the only black child in his middle school class. He was singled out in his history class’s debate to advocate for slavery. This makes him want to give up, as he doesn’t want to participate in this role if that’s what trying hard in school consisted of. He wanted to run away, back home to where he felt safe, he didn’t want to deal with it anymore. In the same way, Miles also tries to give up, and doesn’t do well in class on purpose. I would also like to add another way that both were similar; both experience Afro-Latinx struggles as children, unsure of their position in the world, who and what they are, yet they feel a multitude of responsibilities on their shoulders. For Miles Morales, his responsibility is to his superpower and for Julian, a responsibility to his parents to do well. These responsibilities pressure them although they are only children.

   4. I can relate to this feeling of not belonging as well. As a Afro Latino in New York I also shared kinship with Miles Morales and was grateful for what he stood for, a symbol by which young kids like me could look up to and relate to. So that we don’t simply believe that only white people can be super heroes. It is so easy to feel invisible in this world, especially when said world tries to obscure your existence due to your culture. Sometimes putting on the mask feels better, because its easier. This is how Julian felt with Spiderman. But he also understood that with the mask you can express yourself even more and be sure of who you are.
      I can relate to both Julian and Miles in the idea of being pressured by my family to be better than they were for their sake and the sake of the community. It’s not a good pressure to have when you’re feeling down on yourself. But that’s why the community is there. To remind you of your identity and culture and to give you strength to tackle the rest of the world.

2. All in all, this particular reading can seem a bit confusing and all over the place, but it is until you fully dive into the reading where you can begin to see what the author is truly trying to say. He is displaying and portraying a message targeted at Afro-Latinx people. He challenges the reasoning behind always feeling like outcasts and not necessarily accepted and in a way ties this to Miles Morales. Because of this, we see many similarities that both the author, Julian, and Miles Morales share. He starts by constantly referring to this mask that everyone can wear but in different ways. This mask that he keeps pointing to is a mask that covers a mixed boy underneath. Here is where the author mostly feels a connection with Miles Morales. Both are mixed and never seem to be good enough to qualify for both of their races. Julian’s father is black and his mother is Dominican. Miles Morales’ is also black, but Puerto Rican as well. They also both lived very similar childhood experiences. In school they felt it was better if they stayed quite that way they wouldn’t be questioned as much. They felt like the odd ones out apart from all of their classmates. They portray a beautiful picture of always being fine when deep inside it was the complete opposite. Both were held under high expectations from their parents, meanwhile already felt at a disadvantage. They also both felt in a state of confusion at a time where everything else around them was going by so fast and fluidly. They had no time to stop and figure out more on their identity. This is why he states that Miles Morales was animated to be slower than the rest and as if everything else in the world was happening at a faster pace. The author, Julian, also feels this way towards the topic of depression and self identity. He sees this through the character of Miles Morales and in a way provides him with comfort and displays someone who can truly and finally understand his situation.

   1. Hi Yarony, I like your response. I agree with your statement, about how the mask that he is discussing is a mask that mixed boys wear. They maybe feel like they have to choose one ethnicity to identify with when they can embrace both. In the essay the author Julian makes comparisons between him and Miles Morales, the black Spider-Man. He touches base about how they both felt out of place growing up. In the text I like section when Julian says, “the moment Miles Morales becomes spider man is more than the end to hero’s journey. It is more than representation….Spider man in a hoodie and Jordan’s, spider man in the city where my parents fell in love, spider man in the place where none of us died— where one universe split from another and yet we wear mostly the same mask, mostly the same face….Representation matters, but this is more than that. It is one thing to have spent too much of life begging to be seen, relying on cowardly love and finding it beneath my own tounge when I described myself as half Latinx. It is another thing entirely to finally imagine myself, mid leap, all the noise of a city below me and expect, finally, to live.”. To finally see a character that looks like you is a great feeling because we grew up with majority white super hero’s. As Julian said, it is more than representation for him. He feels like he can relate to Miles and personal problems he has has in his life.

   2. Yarony,
      I loved your analysis of what Miles meant when he explained that his mask can be worn for different reasons/ in different ways. For him it offers him an escape from this circumstances. He feels as though he and his peers have to struggle to be seen and heard, so the mask lets him be a hero regardless of what the reality is in his position in society. Being mixed comes with road bumps caused by both those in your own culture, and those in position of white power. Although there is an emphasis on his desire to be seen, the mask allows him to also not be seen. To be able to blend in with everyone else is also a privilege. I think that the character shows kids and other POC what they would look like in a positive, empowering light.

   3. Hi Yarony,
      I thought your response to the post was very thoughtful, however there is one point I would like to counter. I don’t believe that Randall’s message was that Miles felt the tension between both of his identities, or that he felt like he wasn’t enough for either. In fact, Randall explicitly states that Miles doesn’t ever seem to have to prove or explain his Hispanic identity, which was the least believable part of the character. I do think that there were many similarities to the the way they were feeling. The fact that Randall was able to make comparisons between his life and Mile’s experiences so easily is proof of the fact that they had representation in mind when designing his character and thinking about his experiences. But I think reflecting those experiences and actively sharing them is not the same. Furthermore, I believe Miles not having to explain his heritage or being put in situations where people undermine his identity was supposed to be a symbol of hope for Afro-Latinx people watching. He is being treated like his identity is normal, which is what all Afro-Latinx people wish for.

3. There are lots of similarities between the middle school experiences of Julian Randall and Miles Morales. I think the biggest similarity is in the ability or attempt to discover and understand their own respective identities. Being that they are both Black and Puerto Rican Julian can relate to Miles in this aspect. They both are unsure of exactly where they fit in and where they belong. He says that in both Miles’ universe and his, everyone is counting on them, but only they know this. He mentions that like Miles, in the 8th grade he was always somewhere he did not belong. He tells the story of how he tries to scale the fence at recess at school so he can go home to where he feels more seen and loved but instead he falls every time because he does not have the strength to leave silence. This is a metaphor of him trying to “escape” back to what he knows and to an environment where he is comfortable, rather than being somewhere where everyone questions his identity and is always asking him what he is. He says, “I am Spider-Man, but I’m not yet. I am me, but not quite.” This is his way of saying he knew who he was but everyone else was trying to question his identity or call him something different because he was Black and Puerto Rican and everyone called him half-breed. He knew in order for him to truly be comfortable with himself and confident in himself he would have to believe in who he is and not worry about what others’ perception of him was, especially people who didn’t even understand where he comes from.

4. The term “Afro-Latinx” helped Randall understand the different intersectional aspects of his identity, because growing up he felt like he had to be either Black or Dominican not both . In college Randall learns of the phrase “Afro-Latinx”, because someone asked him if he was. Like I said before this Randall’s identity confused him, and he wouldn’t be able to respond to “What are you?” in a way that didn’t make him feel like a half-breed. He connects this back to Miles Morales, since he knows Miles has gone through the exact same experience, because they are both Afro-Latinx. Both Randall and Miles have a Black father and a hispanic mother (Randall’s mom is Dominican and Miles’ mom is Puerto Rican), making their experiences regarding race and ethnicity similar. Despite the fact that we never see Miles on-screen face this dilemma that Randall had, Randall still connects with Miles and admires the fact that he didn’t feel the need to prove himself to anyone. Miles also allows Randall to embrace the “dangerous and shameful” (page 69) side of his identity, through his Spider-Man shenanigans. Randall describes a scene from the film where Miles is shooting his webs to leap onto the next building he is being pulled towards, Randall then closes his eyes. In unison Randall and Miles shout “Can’t stop now!”, and this is what it means to be Afro-Latinx; taking risks and having faith that everything will turn out just fine. Regardless of the dangers faced by Miles as Spider-Man he continues to shoots his webs, because he has faith just like Randall.

5. Option 2:
   One of the most obvious similarities between both Miles morales and Julian Randall’s middle school experiences is that both felt that needs to wear a mask because they felt invisible. At home, they like they were listened to, while in school they didn’t. They both felt the need to be quiet at school because when they communicated, they had to code-switch.
   They had to accommodate the beliefs of the white teachers and students. They didn’t feel appreciated because their identity kept getting questioned.

6. When Julian Randall was in middle school, he was made an outcast by his classmates. He went to a predominantly white school, and his experiences made him feel as if he was invisible. Him being both Black and Latine in a white space ostracized him from his peers, and further contributed to him struggling with his identity. He relates himself to Spiderman by using the symbolism of the mask; a mask hides your identity and can invisibilize you, it hides your outward expression, not even giving the opportunity for your internal feelings to be considered which is what Julian and Miles both experienced in their youth. He says, “I learn to code-switch, not always when I want to but as some strange compromise between fight and flight. This camouflage becomes my voice– This mask becomes my face.” Being Black in a predominantly white space not only led to him being outcasted by his white peers, but also forced him to change certain things about himself. He had to put on the mask of the “white Spiderman” that they knew and push down his own identity, the “Black Spiderman” which is him in this universe,.

7. Option 2:

   I think the sporting of the mask is symbolic of a lot of things here that the author is trying to expose in regards to Julian Randal and Miles Morales. This was definitely an act that they had to constantly put on a performance — especially at school because they did not feel like their authentic self . They were seen as outcasts, but in a sense, they were not seen at all. It was only when they wore the mask of the “white Spiderman” only then they felt like they could fit into a space that pretty much did not value their blackness nor culture as a matter of fact.
   To me, the reading is a bit complex, but all in all, it essentially points to the fact that cultures outside of the white race, in this instance, Afro-Latinx are not openly accepted making it even more difficult for people of this race to accept who they are and show their authentic self to many different social and ethnic circles.

   1. Hi Kenny, I like your response and I agree with what you said. I agree with putting on an act and trying to fit in when they wore the mask of the “white Spiderman”. I think it is important that we notice that in the reading because it sometimes happen in real-life as well. Not being accepted for who you are and the complexion of your skin can be difficult because it puts you in a position where you would have to put a mask on and perform an act for you to fit in. And the feeling of being an outcast and not being by others also puts the author to be hiding himself because he is not truly accepted for who he is.

8. I have chosen option 1.
   In his essay, Randall argues that Spider-Man should be conceptualized as black. He cites several reasons for this, including the fact that Spider-Man is often portrayed as an outsider, and that his costume is black. Additionally, Randall notes that the character of Spider-Man has often been used to comment on social issues that are particularly relevant to the black experience, such as racism and police brutality. Randall’s argument is compelling, and it is clear that he has put a great deal of thought into why Spider-Man should be black. His reasoning is sound, and he makes a persuasive case for why this change would be beneficial. Additionally, Randall’s proposed origin story for a black Spider-Man is intriguing and would add an interesting new dimension to the character. Overall, Randall makes a strong case for why Spider-Man should be black. His argument is well-reasoned and supported, and his proposed origin story is fascinating. This change would add an important new layer to the character, and it would be interesting to see how Spider-Man would be portrayed if he were black.

9. Miles Morales and Julian Randall share a major similarity in their middle school experience by trying to discover and understand their own identity. Being Black and Puerto Rican, Julian relates to Miles and compares his family to Miles’ family. Julian went to a predominately white middle school and had trouble fitting in because he did not know his purpose. He states, “I learn to code-switch, not always when I want to but as some strange compromise between fight and flight. This camouflage becomes my voice – this mask becomes my face”. The one purpose Julian does feel is the sense of duty to his parents, stating “My parents are counting on me. Like Miles, they believe I am the best of all of them. Like Miles, all I want to do is escape back to what I know”. While reading this section of the passage, I could relate to my experiences in childhood and early adulthood. Like Julian, I also went to a predominantly white middle school, but also an elementary school, and high school as well. Figuring out my identity when I knew I did not fit in directly based on my looks was very hard for me, as I tried to match others in personality and what they liked instead of doing what I liked. It wasn’t until the near end of high school that I started being the person I wanted to be. I always wanted this sense of freedom and being tested out in the real world and not the comfort of my parent’s home. Like Miles and Julian’s parents, my parents believe I am the best of all of them. What made me change was the pandemic, learning how to be alone and be comfortable alone, then finally going to college and living on my own. I too was hiding behind a mask until I got the freedom I wanted, then my mask finally came off.

10. Hi Yarony,
    I thought your response to the post was very thoughtful, however there is one point I would like to counter. I don’t believe that Randall’s message was that Miles felt the tension between both of his identities, or that he felt like he wasn’t enough for either. In fact, Randall explicitly states that Miles doesn’t ever seem to have to prove or explain his Hispanic identity, which was the least believable part of the character. I do think that there were many similarities to the the way they were feeling. The fact that Randall was able to make comparisons between his life and Mile’s experiences so easily is proof of the fact that they had representation in mind when designing his character and thinking about his experiences. But I think reflecting those experiences and actively sharing them is not the same. Furthermore, I believe Miles not having to explain his heritage or being put in situations where people undermine his identity was supposed to be a symbol of hope for Afro-Latinx people watching. He is being treated like his identity is normal, which is what all Afro-Latinx people wish for.

11. Randall really struggled with his identity, always hearing from his parents that he was half Black and half Dominican. So much so that he states on page 64, “I’ve learned to assume Half is my name.” Being two halves implied to him that he was not whole in a sense. And he carried that throughout his life in every setting. At home and at school.
    It starts in the home how you view yourself and what categories you put yourself in. Just as we learned that in Brazil there were many people who learned they were Black as young adults.
    When you have to show up to a space and not feel “Black enough” or “Dominican enough” it diminishes who you are. Randall getting to see Miles Morales representing Afro-Latinx on a global scale was a solidification for him and many other Afro-Latinx individuals like him that they are not “other” and they can be the sum of all of their cultures simultaneously and not one or the other. When Randall was introduced to the term Afro-Latinx he knew that it was all encompassing. To see Miles Morales mirror his appearance and language and family was confirmation that he was not the only one who shared multiple cultures. Randall says it best on pg 65 – “maybe the important thing to remember is that there are as many ways to be Latinx as there are Latinx people, that this is what it can mean when it is said that “anyone can wear the mask.”’

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