As we've already explored through the topics of McCarthyism
and racial identity, the X-Men universe is filled with a surprisingly deep
amount of political subtext. This being the case, the creators of the X-Men
series have drawn inspiration from the stories and speeches of real men and
women in American history to enrich their fictional one; essentially making
X-Men an Orwellian commentary alongside classics such as Animal Farm and 1984. In
the case of the films, this correlation between the worlds of reality and
fantasy are represented in the characters of Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr,
who both represent major figures in Civil Rights and American history.
Charles Xavier and Erik have a similar goal in mind—they
want to live in world where mutants are free from oppression. Xavier believes
that this goal is best achieved by earning the mutual respect of their
misdirected human brothers, and occasionally, even protecting them from harm.
While clearly not a pacifist, Xavier does believe in using the political system
to achieve equality in society. Erik, however, believes that mutant oppression
will result in a war between mutants and the rest of humanity. With his sense
of rage and justice fueled by the slaughter of his Jewish family during the
holocaust, Magneto represents a formidable adversary. “Where’s your mark?” A begrudged mutant demands during the events of
X-Men 3. “I have been marked, my dear.”
Erik remarks, pulling back his sleeve to show the serial numbers tattooed on
his forearm by Nazis. “No needle shall
ever touch my skin again.” (X3, 2006)
Erik doesn’t stop at merely avenging the deaths and
oppression of minorities, however. Magneto comes to believe that mutants are
the next step in human evolution. As such, they are destined to inherit a post
Homo-Sapiens earth. This idea drives him to destroy humanity in X2, but also
plays into his mindset that humans are an inferior breed—the genetic equivalent
to Neanderthals in human evolution. This use of science to justify racism is
taken directly from the pages of history. Professor George M. Fredrickson notes
in his book Racism; A Short History
that naturalists in the eighteenth century propagated racist stereotypes in
their books, asserting that human evolution made Africans stupid, deceitful,
and lazy. Interestingly, Fredrickson writes that “Whatever their intentions...eighteenth-century ethnologists opened the
way to a secular or scientific racism by considering human beings part of the
animal kingdom rather than viewing them in biblical terms as children of God
endowed with spiritual capacities denied to other creatures.” (Fredrickson,
page 57) Categorizing humans alongside animals gave racists discriminatory
ammunition to justify their views on minorities—the same ammunition that Erik
Lensherr uses in the movies to rationalize his attempted genocides.
Magneto’s view on Homo-Sapiens as sub-human are intended to
be reflective of Malcolm X’s rhetoric during the Civil Rights movement.
Biographer Marshall Frady wrote that Malcom X proclaimed his racist tormentors as
“genetically beyond any moral appeal,
really only a ‘bleached’ parody of a human being, an ‘ole pale sickly-looking
thing,’ but a predator nonetheless that could be handled only with threat and
force.” (Frady, page 129)
The rhetoric espoused by Malcolm X suggests that his
viewpoints on race relations were mirror images of the same oppression leveled
against his African-American brothers; a dim shadow of the hatred and
discrimination used against him throughout his life. Reporters frequently painted
Malcolm as an advocate for black violence, but frequently failed to relate the
underlying justifications that backed his radical statements. As the frustrated
civil rights advocate stated in his autobiography "I'm for violence exactly as you know the Irish, the Poles, or Jews
would be if they were flagrantly discriminated against. I am just as they would
be in that case, and they would be for violence--no matter what the
consequences, no matter who was hurt by the violence." (Malcolm, pg.
422)
Malcolm believed that his father and brother had died at the
hands of white men; how could he love them? “We don’t want to have anything to do with any race of dogs. Two legged
white dogs siccing four-legged dogs on your and my mother!” He exclaimed at
one speech. (Frady, 128) Thus, Malcolm viewed the Civil Rights movement led by
King with a sense of disdain, believing that an effort led on ideals of peace
and love would eventually falter in the face of white racists. Erik Lensherr
holds similar disdain for the movement led by Xavier, believing that the
possibility of mutant and human co-existence is impossible. As Erik remarks while
flying towards Ellis Island in the first movie;
“Magnificent, isn’t
it” [looks at the Statue of Liberty]
“I first saw it in 1949. America was supposed to be the land of tolerance; of
peace…(but) there is no land of tolerance. There is no peace. Not here, nor
anywhere else. Women or children, whole families destroyed because they were
born different than those in power.”
Despite their differences, Erik and Xavier demonstrate a
mutual respect for each other throughout the X-Men movies, a trait shared by
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Nonetheless, Erik believes that
co-existence between species is an illusion and in the inevitability of a war
between mutants and humanity. The violent assertion of mutants to rise to their
place and stake their claim on earth is further reflected in his final line of
dialogue in X-Men. “The war is still
coming, Charles. And I intend to fight it, by
any means necessary.” The line is a clear allusion to Malcolm X’s
rhetoric. Standing before a gathered crowd shortly before his death in 1965,
Malcolm stated;
“We declare our right on this earth to be a
man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the
rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we
intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.”
The creators
of the X-Men film franchise have chosen to tie Malcolm X and Erik Lensherr
together by using this shared piece of dialogue. Erik and Malcolm both believe
in the ability of violence to achieve their racial goals, and both are the
products of discrimination. As such, their very existence is a judgment against
the societies to which they belong. As MLK stated, the racial malevolence of
Malcolm's messages was "not so much
an indictment against him as it is against a society whose ills in race
relations are so deep rooted that it produces a Malcolm X." (Frady, 129)
Just as Erik represents Malcolm X in the Marvel Universe,
Charles Xavier represents a conglomeration of several different civil rights
figures. As the head of a school for mutants, he represents a belief in the
power of education to empower minorities, a belief shared by Booker T.
Washington. And as a figure who firmly believes in the power of non-violence
and civil disobedience to change society, he also represents Martin Luther King
Jr. While no direct references to these analogies are drawn in the movies,
similarities are too numerous to ignore.
Booker T. Washington was the dominant figure in the black
political community for twenty-five years, long before Malcolm X or Martin
Luther King Jr. would ever see the light of day. Washington believed that education was
critical to the empowerment of the black community. As head of the Tuskegee
Normal and Industrial Institute, one of the first black schools of its kind,
Washington sought to teach his students the skills they would need to play a
critical role in society. He believed that this path would allow his students
to gain peaceful acceptance in the white dominated culture of his day. As the
educator famously stated "We need
not only the industrial school, but the college and professional school as
well, for a people so largely segregated, as we (African-Americans) are, from
the main body of our people must have its own professional leaders who shall be
able to measure with others in all forms of intellectual life."
(Harlan, pg. 175)
At the end of X-Men: First Class, Charles Xavier establishes
his school for gifted youngsters after successfully averting nuclear war. While
the reasons behind this decision are notably absent from the movie, it only
comes after Xavier witnesses the militaries of two nations gather together to
destroy the "mutant threat' gathered on a Cuban beach. His decision to
start a school exclusively for mutant children is an implied means to combat future
discrimination against his kind and gain acceptance in his society--the same
reasons Washington gave in the establishment of his schools. The school becomes
a safe place for closet mutants and runaways, a place where they can learn to
control their powers and grow as a person.
Xavier's decision to found his school ultimately
pays off: Jean Grey, one of his early graduates, advocates in front of Congress
on behalf of mutants in the first X-Men movie. Hank McCoy becomes an advisor to
the President. And by drawing on the gifts of previous graduates, Xavier is
able to gather a team of mutants to carry out missions critical to maintaining
peace in the world: his X-Men. More often than not, the X-Men are actually
tasked with protecting society from Magneto's efforts to annihilate humanity.
In other words, Xavier is protecting the very people who discriminate against
him. Nonetheless, the threat of a future war between mutants and humanity
constantly hangs over his head. "Does
it ever wake you in the middle of the night?" Erik whispers to Xavier in
the first movie. "The feeling that
one day that they will pass that foolish law or one just like it, and come for
you? And your children?"
"It does indeed."
"What do you do, when you wake up to that?"
"I feel a great swell of pity for the poor fool who comes to that school... looking for trouble."
Xavier is
locked in a constant struggle between restraining mutants from initiating war
and advocating peacefully for their rights through the political system. Xavier’s
protection of humanity mirrors MLK’s advocacy of peaceful protest in face of
violent discrimination. For example, after a particularly nasty night in in
Florida, King took it upon himself to calm a crowd of black activists who had
been stuck between a troop of Florida policemen with German Shepherds and a
violent crowd of Klu Klux Clan members. King calmed an angry mob of bruised and
battered faces crying for justice with his rhetoric of peace. “…we will continue to present our bodies in
peaceful witness for justice, we ain’t gonna let nobody turn us ‘round. And we
will not turn to hate…we gonna love this hate filled city of St. Augustine
right on into freedom and righteousness.” (Frady, 141) Shortly after he had
calmed the protestors, a friend of MLK noted “What those white hot-rods back at the square don’t realize is that
Martin Luther King is the best friend they ever had. Whole lot of rednecks
walking the streets today wouldn’t be if weren’t for him.” (Frady, 142)
Xavier finds himself in similar situations throughout the film series, from his
attempts to dissuade Magneto to the harsh words he gives to Pyro and Iceman
when they use their powers to demobilize antagonizing teenagers in the second
movie.
The relationship between Xavier and MLK hasn't gone unnoticed by
the public. Screened.com
commentator Andrew Godoski noted, for example, that "Charles Xavier has long
sought mutant rights through more peaceful methods. He truly believes that
humans and mutants can live and function together in society. His philosophy
falls in line with the same kind of stance Martin Luther King, Jr. took during
the civil rights movement that started during the 50s; that a peaceful
co-existence where everyone is treated as an equal was possible." (Godinez,
2011)
Like his real-life counterpart, Xavier is killed before he
sees his dream of mutant-human coexistence fulfilled. As Storm notes at the professor's funeral during the events of the third film, “Charles Xavier was born into a world
divided—a world he tried to heal. A mission he never saw accomplished. It seems
to be the destiny of great men to see their goals unfulfilled. He may be gone,
but his teachings live on through us, his students. Wherever we must go, we
must carry on his vision. And that’s a vision of a world united.” After the assassination of MLK,
cries for violence arose from the black community. And when given the news, a
friend of MLK stood in front of crowd gathered for a rally and broke the news
to a dismayed audience. Given without notes, Robert Kennedy had this to say. “…we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King
did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of
bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand,
compassion, and love.” (American Rhetoric) Both of the speeches draw from
the same theme—unity and compassion, the carrying on of the torch of the
deceased.
It’s tempting to conclude that Xavier and Magneto are simply
fictional representations of their real-life counterparts. As we’ve explored in
this paper, the evidence certainly points in that direction. However, I believe
the message conveyed in the X-Men movies is deeper than one of mere fictional
allegory. The closing scene of the first X-Men movie hints at this reality.
While playing chess in a holding facility, the two men exchange this
exceptional piece of dialogue.
Magneto: You know this plastic prison of theirs won't
hold me forever. The war is still coming, Charles. And I intend to fight it, by
any means necessary.
Xavier: And I will always be there, old friend.
I will always be there,
old friend. The statement hints at a reality that transcends either one of
the characters. Like the Yin and Yang in Taoism, Xavier indicates that their
responses to mutant oppression are tied together by fate. Taken in this light,
Xavier and Magneto cease to represent men—and
come to represent ideas: two minority voices that surface whenever bigotry
and racial feuds demand their presence. Magneto represents the desire for
revenge and supremacy on behalf of the oppressed; Xavier the desire for
peaceful resolution backed with capable force. The plots of the X-Men series
indicate that this cycle repeats itself as long as the conditions of minority
oppression persist. As Storm relates to
a mourning crowd during Xavier’s funeral, “We
live in an age of darkness, in a world full of hate, fear, and intolerance. But in every age, there are those who
fight against it.”
This idea that the rise of these two voices is inevitable
elevates the X-Men series to a modern day mythos, representative of the
struggles and voices in American history. In this light, the tales spun by
Marvel may well go down in history with other myths like Hercules or Achilles:
stories of incredible weight and magnificence that relate the values and
conflicts faced by the societies who created them. This ability to share our
heritage through mythical figures doesn’t appear to be the result of a
mutation. Rather, it’s an inherent trait of our humanity.
Conclusion
For a series of movies starring characters from a comic book
with roots in the sixties, the X-Men serve as surprisingly deep subject
material for a politics in popular culture paper. What’s more remarkable is
that the X-Men’s message of tolerance emerges from a medium that, according to Duke
University political scientist David Paletz, has been accused of“…corrupting young minds, of propagating
imperialist ideology, and much more.” (Paletz, 39) Yet, by posing as a
series of comic books and action movies, the X-Men series holds the capacity to
subtly change their audience’s perception of historical figures without them
consciously realizing it, giving their creators a power that alludes to
Xavier’s—mind control.
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