Lessons From the X-Men
The story of the X-Men is a story that we should be paying more attention to. With the release of X-Men: The Last Stand, completing the recent X-Men Trilogy, the mutant misfits are once again in popular conscience. What are we to take from the X-Men other than a wide variety of super-powers that we can only wish we had. The story of the X-Men is a mirror image of how real society treats individuals who do not fit into the norm. It’s the story of a group of people (herein known as mutants) fighting for acceptance in a society that neglects them. Sound familiar?
Who the X-Men are made to represent is open to interpretation, and there is a blending of characteristics from real groups that goes into the plight of the mutants.
First off, the mutants attend their own segregated school. Much like real-life segregated schooling pre– Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, or schools for the visually or otherwise impaired. Perhaps this is a more fitting basis as at the mutant school they are taught how to use their powers and to able to function better in society, much like the work of schools for the visually impaired.
The first story featuring the X-Men appeared in 1963, right in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement.
There are two main groups of mutants, the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xaiver, and the Brotherhood of Mutants led by Magneto. Both leaders desire peace, rights and stability for mutant-kind but differ in their views on how to achieve that goal. Xaiver believes the way to mutant salvation is a complete assimilation into society. He desires nothing more than mutants be accepted in society and be treated just as any other citizen would be. On the other hand, Magneto believes that mutants should be proud of their mutant heritage, not assimilate or blend into the non-mutant world and dreams of mutant prosperity. His tactics are significantly more militant than Xaiver’s. Magneto has a hard time finding the right balance between peaceful co-existence with non-mutants and forcing his will and mutant rights upon them. Magneto also carries with him a dream to create a mutant home world, with a mutant population and independent mutant government. This is mirrored in the dreams of Jewish Zionists before the creation of Israel in 1948. The two leaders could have possibly been based on two civil rights activists who were alive and active during the early years of the comic’s history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. King argued for assimilation and X was a champion of black identity politics.
A third issue that is brought up in the latest X-Men movie also strikes a chord with real life marginalized groups. The Cure. Scientists develop a cure for mutants, allowing them to rid themselves of what makes them different and allow them a place in normal society. Should mutants be taking the cure and rejecting their unique abilities in favour of a “normal” life? Or should they reject it, embrace that they are different and continue fighting for rights that recognize who they are? This raises many ethical questions not escaped in the real world. Pregnancy screenings can tell if a baby has or will have certain disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy or Down’s Syndrome. Should these births be avoided in hopes of a ‘normal’ child later on? Imagine if a cure for homosexuality came out. Would the Gay Community embrace it, finally offered a quick way to escape prejudices? Or would it be scorned in favour of retaining a unique culture? Clearly the answer would be to scorn the cure. Something like sexual preference is not something to be cured, it just is.
The treatment of those that are marginalized in society is mirrored in fiction like the X-Men.
If we are outraged when humans do not give super-powered mutants full rights, why do we deny full civil rights to those who do not fit the cast of normal in real life?
Who the X-Men are made to represent is open to interpretation, and there is a blending of characteristics from real groups that goes into the plight of the mutants.
First off, the mutants attend their own segregated school. Much like real-life segregated schooling pre– Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, or schools for the visually or otherwise impaired. Perhaps this is a more fitting basis as at the mutant school they are taught how to use their powers and to able to function better in society, much like the work of schools for the visually impaired.
The first story featuring the X-Men appeared in 1963, right in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement.
There are two main groups of mutants, the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xaiver, and the Brotherhood of Mutants led by Magneto. Both leaders desire peace, rights and stability for mutant-kind but differ in their views on how to achieve that goal. Xaiver believes the way to mutant salvation is a complete assimilation into society. He desires nothing more than mutants be accepted in society and be treated just as any other citizen would be. On the other hand, Magneto believes that mutants should be proud of their mutant heritage, not assimilate or blend into the non-mutant world and dreams of mutant prosperity. His tactics are significantly more militant than Xaiver’s. Magneto has a hard time finding the right balance between peaceful co-existence with non-mutants and forcing his will and mutant rights upon them. Magneto also carries with him a dream to create a mutant home world, with a mutant population and independent mutant government. This is mirrored in the dreams of Jewish Zionists before the creation of Israel in 1948. The two leaders could have possibly been based on two civil rights activists who were alive and active during the early years of the comic’s history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. King argued for assimilation and X was a champion of black identity politics.
A third issue that is brought up in the latest X-Men movie also strikes a chord with real life marginalized groups. The Cure. Scientists develop a cure for mutants, allowing them to rid themselves of what makes them different and allow them a place in normal society. Should mutants be taking the cure and rejecting their unique abilities in favour of a “normal” life? Or should they reject it, embrace that they are different and continue fighting for rights that recognize who they are? This raises many ethical questions not escaped in the real world. Pregnancy screenings can tell if a baby has or will have certain disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy or Down’s Syndrome. Should these births be avoided in hopes of a ‘normal’ child later on? Imagine if a cure for homosexuality came out. Would the Gay Community embrace it, finally offered a quick way to escape prejudices? Or would it be scorned in favour of retaining a unique culture? Clearly the answer would be to scorn the cure. Something like sexual preference is not something to be cured, it just is.
The treatment of those that are marginalized in society is mirrored in fiction like the X-Men.
If we are outraged when humans do not give super-powered mutants full rights, why do we deny full civil rights to those who do not fit the cast of normal in real life?
Peter.Concepts.Inc.
posted by Glen. @ 7:46 PM
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