The X-men metaphor: is it changing?

[jdtennesse]

For me the X-Men have always felt like home. Everybody was welcome there. They were a family but without the blood ties (mostly). Defending the weak. Everybody equal. And to answer the question of this thread - it is changing but for the worse. It's diluted. Losing meaning more and moe.

[DDD]

It's about animal rights because Beast is most used X-Man.

[DDD]

I love Aaron's idea of having more weird mutants I liked them being butt of jokes less. And I didn't like the stories. :/

[Optic Rage!]

"The civil rights movement was about stopping – or at least decreasing - the oppression of a people based on an immutable trait, i.e. their skin color. This is not a challenge to whether one is born gay or not, but one cannot deny that one is born black. And it is this color that caused others, including those in power, to demean, discriminate, abuse, dehumanize and oppress them. Notwithstanding ineffective skin-lightening creams, there is no way to turn off, disguise or otherwise hide the fact that one is black.

On the other hand, being gay is not something you can necessarily detect from just looking at a person. Of course there are the more flamboyant homosexuals, but for the most part they do not carry themselves that way. In other words, there is no DADT for blacks."

Your point?

Yeah. I have to agree. I can't remember the metaphor being adressed in most of the current runs. Which is why the most recent example I could think of was during Fraction's run.

Bendis has highlighted it in his Uncanny run. Kitty's speech in All-New X-Men too.

[Baron of Faltine]

Before going to bed(is 23:02 at my latitude right now) I wanna reply to this thread:
Now my opinion about Xmen, mutants in general as metaphr for oppressed minorities is already knowns and on old board i made it clear multiple.
I'll catch the chance to repeat here on the new board:
The mutatn , each type of mutat, embody/is an avat /stand for/is a metaphor FOR ALL the oppressed mistreated minorities of the world
Human looking mutant and /or who can hide his being mutant(shapechanger as example) but don't want to because is unfair ? LBGT of course, but also people of different religion or cultural faith(is interesting how uncontrolled shapechange is always reflecting an inner turmoil of the character, like he don't know who he/she is. Kind like a perons of a whatever religion pondering what identify him/her, being follower of this religion or being a person...Interesting how ALL shapechangers of MU tend to have similar identitfy trouble, Chameleon with his russian heritage, Mistique with her sexuality as well family ties, Wolfsbane with her oppresive religious upbringing and Recently the new Ms. Marvel tha thwile not so over-drammatic is facing similar inner investigation...becaus eonce you can be literally whoever you want, who do you want to be then?) peoople who can hide what they are but don't find fair and just doing so (example Jean Grey)
Mutant with uncontrollable power and/or power who require them to get special equipement or take special tool and actions to just live a normal life ? All the Handicap bearing or sick people, HIV positve, people who sufffered tragic incidents and need little help to live their life and surely can live without some d-bag trying take advantage of them (Cyke classify for this)
Then we have mutants who CAN'T hide who they are, whose nature is always outside. They are what they are, and for most part they deserve to repsected as equals not inferiors or monsters. Who they represent? All those non-white humans who got soooo much **** thrown at them just for their skin tone that is horrific and stupid(two words that sadly go way to often together in human world). And the answer they oftne get for their plight is "why don't you stop being so non white/human?".
PLus there are also cultural and class status metaphor that are exploited more in the rooster of the teams than by the mutants themselves. If you notice in all the team of Xmen there are the WHOLE gamut of social classes(from filthy "i don't even know what not having a manservant means" rich to the "grown in piss poor farm eating potato if i was lucky"), albeit to be honest this angle is never too much explored as they go along FAR TOO WELL (considering that class differences are as hard as racial differences to overcome) but probably help haivng a common goal and asense of unity. As well as cultural apsect , but again this one is rarely faced, mostly because would require lot of research from writers, so for most being from different part of the world transalte only in exotic fashion choice and odd claremontian accent. But is present. Xmen are , evne more than avengers, multiclass intercultural teams

[ZNOP]

Your point?

Yanking my chain will gain you nothing you Optic Rage.

[Optic Rage!]

Yanking my chain will gain you nothing you Optic Rage.

I'm not yanking anything. I wanted you to elaborate on your point so i can confirm that you're saying what i think you're saying.

[Tomppa]

X-Men as mutants were originally created by Stan Lee so that he could get off easier and not have to think of separate origins to characters if he just had the characters be born with their powers but then he added the discrimination angle and since this was in the 60's his influences more than likely were the civil rights movement which was mostly about gettign equal rights to african americans who faced discrimination. But it can apply to any and all minorities really and that's how it's been used over its decades long history. Obviously things have gotten better when it comes to racism which has been eliminated for the most part from western world or at least it is considerably lessened, not completely gone but lessened. Nowadays gay rights are probably a bigger issue in western cultures than racism so it's only natural that writers would end up leaning that way more often now. However mutants are unlike any real world minority and yet they are like any real world minority so they can and do represent any and all minorities that struggle for their rights and to be accepted. It can represent struggles of ethnic minorities, women, LGBT people or anyone who feels like an outsider really, that's why it works and is successful. It's all inclusive.


But this is a big problem currently:

There is no metaphor any more. The X-Men don't represent anything because the people in charge of story direction don't have much interest in that aspect of the franchise's history.

X-Men is basically about a group of generic, unorganized would-be superheroes that never get around to doing heroic things because they are too busy fighting each other or fighting the Avengers. And Marvel truly thinks they are more compelling this way.

[klinton]

The metaphor changes from story to story, depending on what story the writer wishes to tell.

It's worked as a 'family' metaphor. It's worked as a 'racial' metaphor. It's worked as a 'gay' metaphor. It's worked as a 'cultural' metaphor. It's even worked as mindless capes and tights action or grande sci-fi opera.

There is no 'one, true message'. There's a box of crayons with some useful broad strokes, but no unifying message. The reader infuses that into these stories, which is why people defend certain stories and themes as 'definitive' - that's what the X-men mean to them.

[ZNOP]

I'm not yanking anything. I wanted you to elaborate on your point so i can confirm that you're saying what i think you're saying.

There is nothing cryptic in that post. 'Nuff Said!

[FIGHT]

One phrase the resonates with the X-men lately is "black on black crime."
I'm not saying mutants should be on one page, in fact there should be philosophical arguments. However, the xmen and even the marvel universe just seem like a bunch of bickering children half the time, who are too stupid to talk their problems out.

Remender and Aaron sating that the minority comparison is false is bull and not worth addressing. Multiple metaphors have been associated with X-MEN.

[Optic Rage!]

There is nothing cryptic in that post. 'Nuff Said!

So you won't mind elaborating on what you mean then?

[ZNOP]

What part did you miss Optic Rage? There's nothing more to elaborate on.

[Optic Rage!]

What part did you miss Optic Rage? There's nothing more to elaborate on.

I guess i'm curious as to what your intentions were when you posted that comment. Why bring that up?

[just another user]

Remender and Aaron sating that the minority comparison is false is bull and not worth addressing. Multiple metaphors have been associated with X-MEN.

Is that a direct quote? If that's the case it maybe goes someway toward explaining why I don't think either of them have been a very good fit for writing the x men