PARENTING TRENDS
Children’s Series
The 99 Takes the World by Storm
Finds Resistance
in the US
By Laura Dawn Lewis
LOS ANGELES, CA., OCTOBER 7, 2011: What has Forbes Magazine cited as one of the “Top 20 Trends Sweeping the Globe”? It is extremely entertaining, devoted to making the world a better place, teaches children how to use their own special gifts, self-respect, self-empowerment and the Golden Rule; it has 198 eyes, 198 arms and 198 legs, lives in 99 countries, is multicultural, embraces differences, makes heroes of the physically handicap whilst affording equal hero status to girls and boys; plus has its own theme park.
The answer? An amazingly different, yet delightfully refreshing take on superheroes compiled first as a graphic novel series and now as a cartoon series called The Ninety-nine (99). The creator behind the international phenomena is Dr. Naïf Al-Mutawa; the 40-year old American raised Clinical Psychologist of Kuwaiti decent, husband and father of five.
THE NEXT BIG THING
The idea for The 99 came to Al-Mutawa eight years ago whilst sitting in the back of a taxicab with his sister in London. Like parents the world over, he was looking for positive role models for his five children that embraced his values and taught tolerance. The fact that extremists seemed to be defining what it means to be Arab and/or Muslim is something he found particularly disturbing. Himself quite worldly, he wanted his children to embrace multiculturalism and conduct themselves in a manner that would respect others and be a force for good.
Researching sociological changes throughout history he realized that lasting change originated within the arts and culture rather than through political means. The Renaissance remains the most well known example of this. He also realized that words regardless from whence they originated, can be used for good and for bad. The question was, how to bring to the forefront the good and by doing so neuter the influence of those using words for bad. Al-Mutawa chose to focus on the universal attributes humanity embraces. Within the Qur’an, these are referred to as The 99 Attributes of God and include love, power, compassion, holy, peace, guardian, protector and others. 
It occurred to Al-Mutawa that each of these attributes empower an individual and that many can be used to either protect and promote humanism or turned upside down and used for destructive purposes. Each person has the choice on how to use their gifts. Using a graphic novel format each character is blessed with one of these ninety-nine attributes. How he or she chooses to use this special power and work with two others and their special power forms the foundation for each adventure. Thus the premise of The 99 was born.
SUPERHEROES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
What gives each member of The 99 his or her power is a gemstone each wears. This unique gemstone empowers its wearer with one of The 99 Attributes. Al-Mutawa takes the concept into a realm hereto not seen in the comic book superhero genre. Rather than simply have a set series of core characters like The Fantastic Five or Batman and Robin, The 99 come from all over the world. They are all races, all ages, men and women, boys and girls and even one hero who saves the world from his wheel chair.
Storylines travel from country-to-country, introducing children to other cultures, places and customs through the trials and tribulations of three different heroes working together to find their unique gifts and overcome a common issue. This addition of internationalism, geography and local culture creates a series that teaches and entertains on multiple levels.
THERE ARE A FEW HURDLES YET TO JUMP
At first the series encountered some resistance in the Islamic world, but that resistance subsided as the series gained fans. With its 72 different sects, Islam like all faiths, is hardly a homogenous. The values presented are universal and found not only in Islam, but Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. With such common themes and virtues, The 99 quickly gained fans throughout the world in all faiths.
Thus far The 99 series has exceeded Al-Mutawa’s wildest dreams except in one place: the United States. Anti-Muslim proponents in the United States, the majority originating from far right religious and political groups, accuse the program of indoctrinating American children in Sharia Law. There is no evidence to support this assertion. These groups also point to the fact that one of the ninety-nine heroes happens to wear a hijab, the Islamic scarf over her hair; it is the customary cultural dress for the country she represents.
In an interview with Maya Berry on Viewpoint with James Zogby (October 6th, 2011, LINKTv) Dr. Al-Mutawa addresses the issue of religion in the series.
“We never talk about religion,” he explains. “As far as I’m concerned, people of good heart share equal values irrespective of their religion and that is what this (The 99) is about.”
MULTICULTURAL STORIES, MULTICULTURAL WRITERS
"The Superman story, the subtext is the Moses story, finding the child in the basket. The Batman subtext is about vengeance," Berkowitz explains. "This one (The 99), it's not about the fight of the weak or who has what power. It's about everyone finding a gift, a skill or talent that they have and then developing it."
When asked about fears that the comics and cartoons will be used to radicalize Muslims throughout the world, Berkowitz wryly replies that ‘The 99 won't "radicalize" anybody, "unless your definition of radicalism means to tolerate other people."’
THE TRADITION OF INNOVATION
This isn’t the first time children’s programming focusing on tolerance, self-empowerment and learning has induced a rage within American society’s xenophobic segments. When Sesame Street introduced the first African American couple to its cast of characters in 1970, the ‘professional bigots’ of the time complained loudly. Superman, Batman and most of the comic superheroes we’ve come to know and love were often attacked for their violent or atheistic messages promoted in their story lines and at times over the faith of their creators who were predominantly Jewish. Even sweet little Dora the Explorer has her enemies because she’s Latina and SpongeBob SquarePants is consistently accused by certain segments of society of being ‘gay’.
WHERE TO FIND THE 99
Discovery Channel in partnership with Hasbro (HUB) purchased the US media distribution rights to the program in 2010. It has yet to be added to their line-up despite its increasing popularity throughout the rest of the world. Opposition from far right special interest groups appear to be the primary reason it has yet to be scheduled. In Asia the Cartoon Network airs the show and it will be appearing within the season in Australia and Ireland as well.
For American audiences interested in learning more about the series, October 13th, 2011 PBS will be premiering a documentary about Dr. Al-Mutawa and his heroes called Wham! Bam! Islam! The animated feature The 99: Unbound, which is composed of the first four episodes of season one, premiered to rave reviews at the New York Film Festival October 2, 2011. The first theme park created around its characters opened in Kuwait in 2009 with a second park in the planning stage.
The creators of the comic strip have made the first issue of The 99: Origins available for free. Click Here to download your copy. You’ll need Adobe reader to view it on your computer.
The official website of The 99 is www.the99.org
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Laura Dawn Lewis is the publisher and founder of Couples Company and the author of 2012 Event, Editorial & Promotional Calendar, The Storybook Advent Calendar: 24 Stories for Christmas and the Laid Off Now What Series.
