Ever think about the X-Men films as a metaphor for gay rights?
06-28-06, 02:57 PM
#1
Ever think about the X-Men films as a metaphor for gay rights?
I doubt I'm the only one ever thought about this; especially considering that Bryan Singer and Ian McKellan are both gay. The whole mutant/human debates in all 3 movies bring up a lot of similiar points. In the first movie, Magneto wants everyone to understand what it's like to be a mutant by turning them into mutants. Which I suppose would change a lot of the gay haters' opinions if they woke up one day to find themselves gay. The second movie, well, doesn't really have anything like this that I can think of. Onto the third movie, which brings up the question: If you could take a drug that could make you straight would you? Would they be calling this a "cure"? The parallels are there I just wanted to know if anyone else saw them or wanted to comment on them.
06-28-06, 03:39 PM
#4
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The second movie, well, doesn't really have anything like this that I can think of.
06-28-06, 03:48 PM
#7
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The scene with Iceman is a definite "coming out to the parents" scene - including "have you ever tried not using your powers?" or whatever the line is.
I think a lot of it is a closer parallel to minorities in general but the cure storyline, the "coming out" stuff, and the fact that a mutant could be right next to you and you wouldn't know it (where you might recognize a minority) is definitely about gay rights.
I think a lot of it is a closer parallel to minorities in general but the cure storyline, the "coming out" stuff, and the fact that a mutant could be right next to you and you wouldn't know it (where you might recognize a minority) is definitely about gay rights.
06-28-06, 03:54 PM
#8
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I've seen quite a few quotes and comments about this from both the people behind the movies as well as the comics, but as was said, includes more then just gay rights but all minorities.
06-28-06, 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by tvpuff
Uh, yes. Singer wasn't really subtle about it during Bobby's outing in the second movie.
06-28-06, 04:57 PM
#14
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I had no clue that Bryan Singer was gay until this thread. I did a quick search about this, and found the following interview:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/04/2...nterview.shtml
So there ya go.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/04/2...nterview.shtml
How much, though, have you personally brought to these films? It has been suggested that because you're gay and Jewish, you know what it is like to feel like part of a minority...
I'm actually part of a number of minorities. I grew up being a horribly awkward kid. A terrible student. And now I find myself as a filmmaker, and you feel kind of alone in the world because you're separate from everyone else. So, yeah, it's definitely everything from the [coming out] scene with Bobby Drake and his family, to Wolverine's journey to uncover his past. I'm adopted, so even my own origins I'm not completely precise on.
The journey of Wolverine has always been a very personal one, because it's not just about where did I come from, who am I really, but how important is that to who I am now and to who I'm going to be? That journey, particularly through this picture, has been a kind of odd, personal one for me.
It seems that "X-Men" and "X-Men 2" represent your identities as a Jew living in America and as a gay man respectively, because in this one there is a homosexuality/homophobia subtext...
Well, yeah. That is also a very relevant analogy because where certain races, even a Jewish boy or a Jewish girl, will be born into a Jewish family, or a Jewish community sometimes, or an African American or whatever minority in any given area, a gay kid doesn't discover he or she is gay until around puberty. And their parents aren't gay necessarily, and their classmates aren't, and they feel truly alone in the world and have to find, sometimes never find, a way to live.
So you're exploring your own situation in these films?
Absolutely. And what better way than in a giant, action, summer event movie! I could think of no better place to spill out one's own personal problems and foist them onto the world [laughs]. And for that, I apologise.
I'm actually part of a number of minorities. I grew up being a horribly awkward kid. A terrible student. And now I find myself as a filmmaker, and you feel kind of alone in the world because you're separate from everyone else. So, yeah, it's definitely everything from the [coming out] scene with Bobby Drake and his family, to Wolverine's journey to uncover his past. I'm adopted, so even my own origins I'm not completely precise on.
The journey of Wolverine has always been a very personal one, because it's not just about where did I come from, who am I really, but how important is that to who I am now and to who I'm going to be? That journey, particularly through this picture, has been a kind of odd, personal one for me.
It seems that "X-Men" and "X-Men 2" represent your identities as a Jew living in America and as a gay man respectively, because in this one there is a homosexuality/homophobia subtext...
Well, yeah. That is also a very relevant analogy because where certain races, even a Jewish boy or a Jewish girl, will be born into a Jewish family, or a Jewish community sometimes, or an African American or whatever minority in any given area, a gay kid doesn't discover he or she is gay until around puberty. And their parents aren't gay necessarily, and their classmates aren't, and they feel truly alone in the world and have to find, sometimes never find, a way to live.
So you're exploring your own situation in these films?
Absolutely. And what better way than in a giant, action, summer event movie! I could think of no better place to spill out one's own personal problems and foist them onto the world [laughs]. And for that, I apologise.
Last edited by BrentLumkin; 06-28-06 at 05:00 PM.
06-28-06, 05:24 PM
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I read somewhere Ian McKellen saying that he'd been consulted about the 'coming out' scene, too. That scene was undoubtedly a direct reference to homosexuality, but mostly the mutant characters face the same prejudices as any other real or imagined minority, and react with the same gamut of responses.
06-28-06, 05:30 PM
#16
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The early writers/creators of the X-men were influenced by the civils rights movement, so no. Civil rights yes, gay rights no.
06-28-06, 06:05 PM
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I had a number of comic book geek friends in my teen years who were gay and lesbian and were big X-Men(and New Mutants and X-Force and pretty much anything with Chris Claremont's name on it) fans. I remember one of them writing slash fanfic. I used to think of the comic as having a gay slant, for want of a better term, since then - although I remember more awkward racial metaphors(like "mutie" as a racial slur) in the storylines than sexual ones. And FTR, my openly gay brother-in-law had no idea Bryan Singer was openly gay until I mentioned it after we saw X3.
06-28-06, 06:59 PM
#20
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Originally Posted by Kdogg
The early writers/creators of the X-men were influenced by the civils rights movement, so no. Civil rights yes, gay rights no.
06-29-06, 06:58 AM
#21
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Originally Posted by Matt Millheiser
Read the Subject line next time. X-Men films...
06-29-06, 08:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Kdogg
Whose themes are based on the comics. They are not pulled from the ether. Singer understood that.
06-29-06, 12:27 PM
#23
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One would also have to accept that there is a Jesus element to his Superman movie, based on recent comments. (which I can dig up later if anyone wants...)
06-29-06, 12:54 PM
#24
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Originally Posted by Artman
One would also have to accept that there is a Jesus element to his Superman movie, based on recent comments. (which I can dig up later if anyone wants...)
I'd like to check out the comments you're talking about though.
06-29-06, 01:40 PM
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Originally Posted by kcbrett5
OK. Then how about you read the excerpt from Singer's interview above where he says that yes, there is a gay subtext to his xmen movies. Perhaps that will convince you.
My puny brain can't grasp more than one level!
