It is not news that Superman’s narrative represents an immigrant narrative. Kal-El arrived to a foreign land in a futuristic-space-traveling pod as an alien baby. He was raised by two regular humans and learned to do things all ‘normal’ humans do. Kal-El became Clark Kent, but without a doubt, he’s different. The only thing that separates Kent from the rest of the humanity is his x-ray vision, heat-vision, freeze-breath, super strength, super hearing, and other super abilities. But what of Kara Zor-El?
Though Kara Zor-El came to Earth the same way her cousin did, she didn’t arrive as a baby, but a 13-year-old foreigner who had to navigate a new world on her own. Kara Zor-El assumed the name Kara Danvers as she accepted her new reality. Kara’s story may reflect the immigrant struggle more than Superman’s ever will. This is not to take away Superman’s connection, or disconnection, to his home planet, but what Kara experienced is nothing short of trauma.
Before we talk about why migration can be traumatic, let’s talk about why people migrate. Many people migrate to improve their socioeconomic status, to find new opportunities, or flee their homeland due to extreme circumstances such as violence and war. My father left Thailand for the United States on the day I turned seven. He sought a better home where he didn’t have to deny his two daughters lunch at KFC because it was a luxury. Nearly six years later, my sister and I followed. I was 13, just like Kara.
I am like Kara in many ways. My name starts with a ‘K.’ I am an immigrant. I am a woman. And I am angry. We will get to the angry part, but let’s talk about the ways Kara is unlike me and many other immigrants.
Kara didn’t have to learn a new language. I am not sure how many languages Kryptonians actually speak, but fortunately for Kara, English is one of them. She was able to communicate with everyone around her with an accent of an American English speaker. Many other immigrants struggle with learning english and speaking it. After nine years in Florida, I still get the occasional “Me love you long time” and “Ching chong ding dong” both drunkenly and soberly slurred at me. It is not only her English that allowed Kara to fit in.
Kara didn’t look different from other humans. In the real world (not in the DC comics universe) we have something humans made up called ‘race.’ Race divides individuals into categories based on their skin color, geographical location, spoken language, and other factors. Kara, although not of ‘human race,’ physically resembles the white human ‘race.’ Now go back to pretending Supergirl isn’t fictional, looking white offers Kara privileges immigrants of color do not have. I am automatically branded as an outsider by my appearance. Before people ask me my name, they ask me where I’m from. “Here,” I sometimes would say to avoid further questioning. “No, but where are you FROM?” they always insist.
These micro-aggressions have become a part of immigrants’ everyday lives. They are ghosts of the trauma that continue to haunts us from the day we left our home. According the Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health, losses experienced during migration process, in addition to high stress level and cultural and geographical change, can negatively impact one’s mental health. Migrating is particularly difficult for youths because they are still forming a sense of identity and developing physically and mentally. There are also issues of gender identity, gender expression, gender roles, and sexual orientation that differ across the world that they must come to terms with in a new country.
So, yes, I understand why Supergirl is angry. She is angry that she’s never going to live a “normal” life. She is upset that she may never find someone who knows everything about her. She tried hiding who she was, and it made her feel alone, but “being myself doesn’t make me feel more normal. And it never will. Because my normal life ended the second my parents put me on that ship.” We are taught to hide what’s strange about us, and what’s deemed socially unacceptable. We hide behind the guise of assimilation and we hope that we will be welcomed.
Supergirl is A story of immigrants, but it is not a story of ALL immigrants. We can do better, and we should, so no one else has to feel angry and alone.
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