Comments on: X-Men: Sexist Men

By: Harper

Harper — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 21:27:56 +0000

Hi. I found this through “When Fangirls Attack.”

What a wonderful analysis. After the movie, I managed to think some of these ideas in a rather sad, half-formed way, but you hit the nail right on the head. This was a pleasure to read.

By: Tim Boucher

Tim Boucher — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:54:42 +0000

Iâ€™ts probably not intentional, but maybe subconscious.

Frankly, I don’t see how it could *not* be intentional. But I think the question for me becomes, are they just being true to the original comic books? I never read the X-Men series too much though so I can’t really say.

I would also be curious as to what this fellow thought were the Christian themes in the movie…

By: Jenn

Jenn — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 16:45:01 +0000

I havent seen the movie myself but from what you have written it does seem like there are gender issues present in the plot. I’ts probably not intentional, but maybe subconscious. While it may have nothing to do with it, I was watching t.v one morning and the 700 Club featured a man who worked on the movie and claimed there are Christian themes worked into it. I don’t have more information on that. Again, it may have nothing to do with it, but it should be concidered anyway.

By: Tim Boucher

Tim Boucher — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 04:56:21 +0000

Another post I found on this subject:

http://impatientgirl.blogspot.com/2006...x-men-3-sexism-contains-spoilers.html

By: whatacharacter

whatacharacter — Wed, 31 May 2006 16:44:30 +0000

Waitadurnminute! What about the ending and Wolverine’s display of violent male domination, under the subterfuge of so-called ‘love’?? So sure … he loves her enough to die for her … but instead he-kills-her. He killed her out of love? Probably she deserved it, in fact, she was begging for it! In the end the woman looks to the man for salvation. Even Rogue gets her ultimate injection to settle her man lust! Finally Mystique ends in with the de facto “hell hath no fury…” now that’s the real reason to fear women! Keplunk! The staus quo remains!

By: zacharius

zacharius — Wed, 31 May 2006 12:55:02 +0000

i wasn’t expecting much, becuase the movies mostly mirrors the plot of the comics, but in the comics jean kills herself becuase she can’t reassert control over her homicial other persona.

i agree in general the x-men ought to be about consciousness evolution not just physical evolution, but it rarely has been, except perhaps during the period where grant morrison was writing it.

i do admire how the movie doesn’t really draw a clear moral distinction between magneto and xavier if anything the x-men come off a lot worse. too bad the brotherhood are all characterised as hoodie-wearing battle of seattle style street hoodlums, with tatoos and piercings. their psychology is the closest thing to radical in the movie and they all get killed.

By: channel null

channel null — Wed, 31 May 2006 03:53:39 +0000

I could barely make it through either of the initial two x-men movies without gagging on the teenage sexual angst. “I have… powers?” sounds a little too much like “I have… pubic hair?” And the anti-mutant thing sounds too much like the anti-gay thing. etc. I thought it was just me and a few cynics, and wondered whether maybe my literary theory had completely destroyed my ability to enjoy the movie, and whether my theory was valid at all, and didn’t have any desire to see the third one on account of my malignancy. But in an underhanded way, I’m glad to see, that someone else got this reading of the damn thing. You are not alone! Sorry about the $10.

By: Ktulu

Ktulu — Wed, 31 May 2006 02:48:59 +0000

It almost makes sense to me to see the “mutants” devolve psychologically while they evolve physically (or psychicly). Because of the whole mind-body interaction, if the body (including the brain) evolves, the mind is going to suffer until the evolution reaches a balance point. Like if the world started going through drastic changes, we’d try to find the safest, and probably lowest, points to wait out the changes. The psyche can do the same thing. It will retreat from the ego and the superego, and it will focus on the survival mechanisms inheirent in the id.

As for the movie itself, I haven’t seen it yet, but I will shortly.

By: Gnomely

Gnomely — Tue, 30 May 2006 22:36:33 +0000

I agree with Kylark excellent analysis indeed! I have never really seen any femininst mutant films though. Funny that the word analysis has anal and sis in it, kind of a gross word.
Anyways the guy who directed X-men went to School of Visual Arts in NYC. I dropped out of the school, I wonder how many art school drop-outs visit this site?

By: Keith Demko

Keith Demko — Tue, 30 May 2006 22:21:23 +0000

Interesting stuff … I think you’re very right … the empty characterization of Jean Grey and the complete lack of exploration of the Phoenix saga were just despicable to me

By: Kylark

Kylark — Tue, 30 May 2006 20:43:41 +0000

Excellent analysis, Tim. I was disturbed the character of Jean Grey was not written in such a way that she could fully realize her power and integrate her different selves. It was unethical for Xavier to put up those walls in the first place. It would’ve been interesting to see what would have happened if, after Wolverine “saved” her with his love, he, oh, let her live. Of course, that would’ve made for a more open-ended and complex story, and that’s not good cinema.