X-Men: First Class

[rivkat]

Loved it!  Am largely in agreement with Abigail Nussbaum's review, except that I think the heroes of the movie are Erik and Mystique, and that the movie (absent metatextual expectations that Charles is the good guy because of all the other canon) validates Erik's viewpoint and makes Charles out to be an idiot who thinks he's smart and thinks that his privilege will protect him. 

And by the way, where does the guy who's willing to mindfuck humans not just to carry out secret spy activities but also to protect his own ass get to have the moral high ground?  Also, he must have mindwiped all the people who met him the first time around at the CIA, given that McTaggart specially requested to go meet him in particular, which meant there were records of who he was, but I'll just assume he had the brains to do that because that doesn't involve an iota of emotional intelligence.

I mean, how epically dumb do you have to be to make your plea for the survival of hundreds of sailors be "they're just following orders" when you are talking to a Holocaust survivor?  Especially when the truer "hundreds of men on those ships have no power at all and they'll be dying for the actions of a few" is also available?

I appreciated that the theme of "saying just the wrong thing" was consistent, though.  While Xavier walked away with the gold, bronze goes to Havoc for calling Hank "Bozo," and silver to Hank for telling Mystique that she was only beautiful when she wasn't herself.

But this is why I loved it!  There was character momentum and Erik was a badass Mossad agent without an agency to back him up.  And the great powers did what they do, which was unite to face an apparently greater enemy (the Soviets were our friends while we fought the Germans; then the Germans were our friends while we didn't directly fight the Soviets; allying against an apparently greater threat was perfect Cold War logic).  

Could've done with Darwin surviving and Emma Frost having an actual motivation, to be sure, but overall I am now wholly invested in Mystique/Magneto(/Xavier or any combination thereof).  What abbreviation are we using, and is the fandom eligible for Yuletide?  I hear there's a kink meme, but I haven't gone looking to find whether there is good stuff there.

Comments

[ceares]

Hmm, I'd argue though (sorry for butting into the thread)that his words, at least at that point were more along the lines of any minority embracing that attitude as a coping mechanism to being constantly told you are less than, worse than less. Saying no,I'm not what you are and never will be, but what I am is better. I mean Mutant and Proud, Black and Proud, Here and Queer... all fall along the same lines.

Over the years, yes he grew into a monstrous version of that, but I think if things had played out differently he could have come to believe in humans and mutants living together. Nearly every human he dealt with lived down to his expectations by the end of the movie, cementing his path.

[sorrel]

Saying no,I'm not what you are and never will be, but what I am is better.

I guess it comes down to the fact that I'm not okay with that narrative either? Take it as a metaphor for gay rights, for example- I'm deeply not okay with the kind of activist who refer to heterosexuals sneeringly as "breeders." I mean, obviously mutants are more powerful in a personal, exertion-of-strength sort of way, but that doesn't automatically make them better people, any more than being black or gay or Jewish makes one better than one's neighbor white or straight or gentile neighbor. If it was "mutant and proud, because we're all just as good as each other!" then that would be a different thing, I feel. But that's not... quite what I got. Though this I think is a YMMV sort of thing.

but I think if things had played out differently he could have come to believe in humans and mutants living together. Nearly every human he dealt with lived down to his expectations by the end of the movie, cementing his path.

Upon this, we agree completely.

[ceares]

I understand that but for me it still me it still reads more as an overcompensation thing, a 'fine, I'll show you' response to whatever group of people that are trying to negate you rather than an actual hardcore belief in the superiority of whatever you are over what they are.

It's self defense mode of someone with less power trying to build their power and self esteem up. If we're all the same and you still don't except/include/respect me then it's hurtful and confusing but if I'm better than you, then it doesn't matter because I don't need that from you.

For some people it's been drilled into them that they are not equal enough that they believe it. It's been written in laws, it's been written in blood. So their options are to pretty much accept that they are less than, or hold onto that they are better than.