X-Men or X-Gays?
Spare me the "Separated at Birth?" bullshit here.What were The Beast's special powers? I just didn't get it. Was he the pinnacle of mental and physical strength, or just a big pussy with heartfelt, wounded sincerity? AKA The Pussy Monster.
The ONLY thing I left the theater certain about was the explicit overarching social commentary throughout the film. I mean, within the first few minutes of the film ,we see a small child sawing off his wings, embarrassed because he knew his father would be so disappointed to have a mutant [fag] for a son.
That's just the beginning, and of course, the chaos comes to a head in the gayest of all gayborhoods... San Francisco. Coincidence?
I guess it's more about having choices and making the right choice for yourself... And I have made my choice. YES PLEASE!
9 comments:
yay for the pussy monster!
The analogy between mutanthood and gayness is not a new issue among _X-Men_ fans. In fact, this reading was prevalent in the 1970s/80s. I'm glad to read that the screenwriters were clued in to this not-so-subtle subtext.
also happened in the second film - iceman "comes out" to his parents, who ask him "have you ever tried *not* being a mutant?"
the x-men have always had a special place in the hearts of all minority identity groups, be they people of colour, gays/lesbians, persons with disabilities, &c. it's particularly emphatic with gays, because mutants start feeling "different" right around puberty.
oh, and beast has enhanced speed, strength, agility, reflexes, senses, &c. he's basically wolverine only blue, without the claws, and a hell of a lot smarter.
Apparently, Ian McKellen says he helped write the Iceman "coming out" speech in X-Men 2, but since Bryan Singer is a big 'mo, I don't know that he would have needed a consultation. As for Last Stand (Spoiler Ahead), I liked the fact that though Magneto was forced to take the cure, it appears not to have taken. A definite message to ex-gays.
I totally agree with the idea of finding similarities between minorities and the X-Men. I've seen it in all the three movies and I applaud it. It's been so influential that I have began collecting comics in which a super-hero (or heroine) comes out/is openly gay. And I'm no spring chicken!
I thought the scene un the bathroom with the boy was less gay and more about shame--linking it to something more universal -- masturbation.
A father bursting in on his son in a locked bathroom furiously rubbing it out with sticky evidence left behind. But every other place in the film gay could be substituted fro mutant especially in the whole "cure" plot.
While there is common ground between the struggles and life issues faced by gays and mutants, lets not confuse the fact that this is a movie about mutants. This story was are way before the gay movement. The same can be said about the struggles of any two groups who are different common society and have keep it to themselves for fear of pursecution.
As a gay man, I think it's time we stop trying to make EVERYTHING about "gay". It's a movie. Let it entertain you. Not everything needs to be analyzed in order to prove how it has gay tendancies. Constantly trying to drag everything and everyone out of the closet is not a positive thing. In fact, it only serves to aggrivate peoples views towards the gay community.
In response to the part about Beasts' abilities....
Unlike Wolverine, who posses regenerative powers and an extreme sense of smell, Beasts' powers are not nessicarily powers. His mutation makes him half man half animal, hence the animal digits, bone structure, fur, etc. Though his human side is excelerated in the aspect of intellegence. Wolverine, is not an "animal" as the name was given because of his claws, which were added to his body along with his skelton of metal through a surgical procedure.
everyone sees what they want to see in regards to the "mutant" it's about everyone's own individual mutant....not just gayness, or racism its about social construct of hatred and our willingness to give and recieve acceptance....some people may like the individuality others see it as hatred
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