“X-Men” review from the perspective of progressive values

Social democrats evaluate films based on the values promoted in these movies and relying on their alignment with progressive values. We will try to provide an example of such an evaluation regarding one of the films that best answers to our values — “X-Men: First Class”, as well as touch upon its sequel. It should be clarified right away that if you are afraid of so-called “spoilers”, then it is better not to read this review; however, from the author’s point of view, if spoilers can ruin a movie, then such a movie is not worth watching at all. Truly good movies can be rewatched more than once.

Thus, in the universe of the “X-Men” franchise, the world is divided into humans and mutants endowed with certain abilities not inherent to humans. Mutants are considered subhuman by some people (an allegory for “non-white” races and racists). Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) is a mutant, the main antagonist of the franchise, whose ability is to control metal. His mother was killed by the Nazis. Due to the events he experienced, Erik leads a struggle for mutants to seize control of the world with the subsequent replacement of humans by them, which his best friend — Charles Xavier (Professor X), who possesses telepathic abilities — fights against. Comic book writer Chris Claremont later admitted that Magneto’s image was based on the right-wing Israeli politician Menachem Begin, leader of the underground terrorist organization “Irgun”, and Professor X’s image — on the Israeli social democrat David Ben-Gurion¹. Probably, in the 1990s, many people who heard about the animated series “X-Men” were interested in two questions: why are Magneto and Professor X fighting each other, and why is the latter in a wheelchair? “First Class” provides comprehensive answers to these questions.

The very beginning of “X-Men” gives us part of the understanding of the reasons behind the different paths of Charles and Erik — the former had an exceptionally prosperous childhood, while the latter was extremely unlucky. The scene in which young Charles first meets Mystique — a mutant girl capable of taking any appearance, but looking unusual and perhaps frightening in her natural appearance — shows that Xavier, even at a child’s age, experiences no prejudice toward those who look different.

This scene gives us an understanding of the difference between blind hatred toward those who are different (xenophobia), which can give birth only to pain and suffering for everyone around, and a tolerant attitude that gives friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation. The Nazis behave differently toward young Erik Lehnsherr — they threaten him and kill his mother. Unsurprisingly, he will later ruthlessly destroy and torment them and their accomplices.

Evil and intolerance give birth to other evil. Meanwhile Charles and Mystique live a normal, peaceful life.

Of course, one can watch Magneto destroy Nazis for a long time. Whether he is right or wrong — we will mention this later, but for now we will say that the evil done by Putin’s regime today in Ukraine will spawn headhunters of Putinists.

However, the main antagonist of the first movie — Sebastian Shaw, who performed experiments on Erik and killed his mother — slips away from Magneto because the latter is not strong enough to defeat him alone. And where strength is insufficient to defeat evil and there is a certain agreement among those opposing it, democracy arises — everyone to whom this evil is repulsive either unites and wins as a team, or loses individually. Therefore, Xavier, having found Magneto, offers him to work together.

Shaw is also a mutant, he possesses immense power, and his goal is to provoke a war between the USA and the USSR so that only mutants survive in this war. He considers humans a weak, obsolete species. Already during the first attempts to find Shaw, Charles notices that his new friend is ready to go to great lengths for his goal of revenge, even to murder.

Charles and Erik’s team includes Mystique and Hank, who has a strange mutation — his toes are as developed as his fingers, and he is ashamed of this defect that makes him unlike humans. He and Mystique want to change their appearance to become “normal”, and Hank creates a serum for this. Mystique, after a conversation with Lehnsherr, who tells her that she should not hide, but should look as she really is, changes her mind and refuses the serum.

Hank, however, takes the serum, but it only gets worse — the mutation affects his entire appearance. Here the film already raises questions of minorities and their attempts to fit into society. “X-Men” asks a question — maybe it is better to accept yourself as you are, rather than trying to pretend you are different, rather than trying to take measures dangerous to your health to fix your differences from the majority?

Here we also see all the complexity of the question of identity. On the one hand, Magneto helps Mystique accept herself, gain harmony in this regard.

And by this he evokes her gratitude and sympathy, unlike Charles, who does not think she should demonstrate her natural appearance. Erik himself realized himself as a mutant and accepted it. On the other hand, his realization of himself as a mutant will later turn into a dangerous form of racism. The message of the film here is that there are dangerous identities that can be useful in some cases, but in some can lead to terrible consequences. It is to such identities, from the author’s point of view, that national identity belongs. We can perceive ourselves as Russian, but first of all we must feel ourselves to be democrats, humanists, supporters of social justice, and only after a series of the most important identities can we perceive ourselves as Russian, without forgetting about everything else. We wrote about this earlier in the article on constructed identities.

As for the scenes in which Magneto, with Charles’s help, turns a satellite dish and lifts Shaw’s submarine out of the water using his powers, they are typical works of American culture. In the US, as a whole, they attach much more essential importance to the role of human will than they do in pragmatic Europe. The film shows that Lensherr has come a long way from a boy who cannot move a coin to a man who lifts an entire submarine into the air. At the beginning of the film, he almost died trying to lift this boat, but in the end he achieved his goal anyway. The belief of Americans that hard work can achieve anything is very strong, and on the one hand, this is good, since some people really achieve incredible things and incredible inventions, but on the other hand, down-to-earth Europeans have achieved greater success in social struggle due to the fact that they do not rely only on themselves, but understand that in some cases the wealthy and powerful social groups simply will not allow high goals to be achieved, do not want to create conditions for this, and are only busy with personal enrichment.

As a result, through joint efforts, they manage to defeat Shaw — Magneto, seizing the moment during the villain’s lecture that they are “the future of the human race”, tears off his helmet, which prevents Charles from controlling Shaw’s brain, and without the helmet, he immediately comes under control. Xavier neutralizes him, and here, it seems, is a good moment to try to send him to eternal rest in some special room of the Pentagon, but Erik has his own plans. He takes the very same coin that Shaw made him move (and after failing, killed Erik’s mother), and simply cuts through his opponent’s head with it. We see a swastika on this coin, and our brain sees how the violence of the Nazis then returns to themselves.

At this time, the governments of the US and the USSR decide that mutants are dangerous and order warships to destroy them. Missiles are fired at the mutants located on the island. Magneto stops them, but Charles sees that Erik is ready to go even further, turning the missiles around to strike back with them. He also realizes that this strike by Erik means war between humans and mutants, and will confirm the fears of those who consider mutants a threat, with all the ensuing consequences. And he wants to stop his friend, despite the resistance.

The problems of this scene are even more complex than the issue of identities. It is about punishment for carrying out criminal orders. Should this be punished? If so, how strictly? Is the destruction of the perpetrators acceptable, which Magneto was ready to do? Of course, he, as a former prisoner of Auschwitz, is ready to do anything not to end up again in the hands of people who “follow orders”. And his truth is in this. Just as there is truth in the intentions of Xavier, who thinks that to stop violence and war, someone must step over themselves and do it first. And if Charles could come to terms with the murder of Shaw, since the burden of responsibility on this villain was truly colossal, and it would be very difficult to neutralize him, then he could no longer come to terms with the death of the sailors.

Why? We recall what was noticed by Maximilien Robespierre (when he had not yet lost his mind): if you can punish a criminal, neutralize him, then you are strong, and you can afford not to kill him, and if you can do this, then you must leave him alive if you are a humanist. A humanist has the moral right to kill someone who poses a deadly threat and cannot be neutralized, but in cases where he has power — that is when the time comes to show that he is a humanist. Charles says: “You said it yourself, Erik. We’re better than them. We can prove it”. And in this situation, they really could prove it. This is colossally important for us as Social Democrats. Our humanism does not mean that we should turn the other cheek to someone who has come to kill us and make us slaves. Anyone who comes to us with such intentions, and does not wish to abandon them, must be physically destroyed, and we should not have a shadow of doubt or a shadow of compassion in this. But if we can neutralize him, if we have the power to do so — this is where the time comes to prove that we are humanists.

The creators of the film obviously assigned equally high importance to this scene. This is indicated by the reference to the 2000 film “Nuremberg” — the American captain is played by the same actor (Michael Ironside) who played the American colonel in that film, who, in response to a German’s phrase that they were “just following orders” and that a soldier should understand this, tears off his epaulets and says that they are no longer soldiers, but war criminals. There is no doubt that with this reference the authors wanted to draw special attention of the sophisticated viewer to the problem of “following orders”. And, of course, the fact that now this actor already plays the role of someone who follows an order makes one think — today you condemn a person for following orders, but who knows what orders you will be forced to follow.

In the course of the shooting that broke out, Charles receives a wound that will render him disabled for life. And Erik’s stubbornness led to this. He tries to sway his friend to his side, telling him that they want the same thing. Xavier replies: “my friend, I’m sorry, but we don’t”. Indeed, a common goal is what unites. If the goal is different, people cannot be together. This is especially important in the context of the processes taking place among Russian Social Democrats today — part of them wants European-style social democracy, and the other part wants what even developed social democracies turned out to be incapable of. Part wants a normal economic system, part wants socialism, moving away from private property. We are politically friends with Democratic Socialists, but we do not want the same thing. And it would be a mistake to build a common party.

Magneto, who has already realized his identity as a mutant, which was superimposed on Shaw’s Nazi “sermons”, announces that “mankind has shown its true face”. Like individuals who think in dangerously large identities, he passes off the actions of individual people as the actions of a huge group, and all people become his enemy. Mystique joins him. Charles, having chosen the path of non-violence, entered a difficult road. His best friend left him, Mystique, who was like a sister to him, left him, even the ability to walk left him. Unfortunately, our world is arranged in such a way that sometimes it will repay generosity only with this, and everyone who chooses this difficult path must be ready for this.

In fact, the scene on the island is a key moment in the entire franchise. It is built on the confrontation between Charles Xavier and Magneto, and this confrontation shows the difference in approaches, the difference in methods of struggle, and the difference in goals. This scene shows us where this confrontation came from in the first place, for what reason the paths of these two individuals diverged. The left movement, and the Russian left movement in particular, is very close to the problem of demarcation — given its frequent splits. As we can see, splits are observed even among characters of super-popular franchises, that is, they are not connected with the “toxicity” of the left movement, but with the presence of issues on which there cannot and should not be unity of opinion, since there is no single correct answer option (we will return to this later).

The second part of the franchise is called “Days of Future Past”. According to the plot, the “Sentinels” program created to destroy mutants began to find “latent” mutation genes in ordinary people as well, and the whole world lies in ruins, and the surviving humans and mutants are kept in concentration camps or destroyed. A small group of X-Men remained free, but soon they will have no places left where they can hide from the Sentinels. They find a way to send one of them into the past to prevent Mystique from killing the creator of the Sentinels program, Bolivar Trask — it was this murder that convinced the government to launch the program. The only one who can withstand such time travel is Logan, aka Wolverine (he has the ability to regenerate). Having traveled to 1973, Logan finds Charles Xavier in a depressed state, taking drugs in order to be able to walk, but they neutralize his telepathic abilities.

Together they free Erik Lensherr, who by that time was already in prison under the Pentagon, so that he could help them stop Mystique, who was trying to kill Trask in Paris. In the course of carrying out this task, all of Magneto’s extremism was manifested — the desire to solve the problem by simply killing Mystique, with whom he had been close for a long time and who had once chosen him. And for the fact that she also solved the problem by his method. And this is extremely symbolic — after all, political extremists also end up devouring themselves, it is enough to recall the Jacobin Terror or the Great Terror in the USSR. Solving problems with such extremist tools, you never know in advance at what moment these tools will turn against you. By joining extremists, do not complain later that they applied their methods to you as well. It is much safer for the whole society if all its members stay within the bounds of a reasonable, humanistic law. However, Magneto is hindered by Beast, and Mystique manages to escape.

President Nixon, impressed by the threat from Mystique, gives the green light to funding the “Sentinels” program. Charles, after Magneto’s departure, realizes that they have little strength to stand against him, and sacrifices the ability to walk for the return of his powers. Seeing that Charles is still skeptical about the possibility of changing anything, Logan asks him to “see his future” with his help. Looking into Logan’s brain, the Professor sees himself from the future, and that self sees him. The dialogue between Professor X from the past and from the future is truly a great scene deserving a place in the pantheon of cinema. Charles from the past asks:

– So this is what becomes of us? Erik was right. This is what happens to us.

– Not if we show them a better path.

– You still believe?

The Professor explains to young Charles that just because someone stumbled and lost their way, it doesn’t mean they’re lost forever. This is, of course, a great thought. We must forgive mistakes, but to those who are truly ready to change. We know that Shaw, for instance, set out on the path of evil completely and irrevocably. Such individuals we can only neutralize, which was done in the first movie. However, those who can still change — our loved ones, friends who have helped us more than once and whom we know to be good people who just got confused; those who have already done good, but just, like all of us, are not immune to grave mistakes — them we can forgive, we can show them a better path.

Magneto, in the meantime, equips the robots from Trask Industries with metal and at their presentation blocks the White House using a sports stadium ripped from the ground. Beast and Wolverine try to stop him, but they fail.

Magneto aims guns at the President and his staff, and gives a pathetic speech to the cameras that “our new tomorrow starts today”, preparing to use weapons, and at that moment Mystique, transformed into Nixon, shoots him. Neutralizing Magneto and preventing him from killing everyone, unleashing a real war between humans and mutants, she points her gun at Trask. At this moment, Charles tries to convince her not to shoot, and after the words he spoke, Mystique drops the gun and surrenders Magneto to Charles. The future changes: the President is convinced that mutants do not pose a threat and cancels the “Sentinels” program, while Trask is arrested. Logan wakes up in a future where all his friends are alive.

“Days” ends with a great line: “countless choices define our fate. Each choice, each moment — a ripple in the river of time. Enough ripples, and you change the tide. For the future is never set”.

The predetermination of the future, the linearity of the course of world history — is one of the most dangerous chimeras that the progressive forces of society have to fight. When a whole constellation of states under the rule of communist parties collapsed like a house of cards, many were overcome by the illusion that the democratic world had won, democracy had come to many countries forever, and communism had died and would never rise again. But history, as it always did, showed the utter absurdity of ideas about the predetermination of the future. Some countries rolled back to authoritarianism. And although today it may seem that nothing can revive communism and Nazism, this is an illusion — they could well return. And democracy could well lose on a global scale. Ideas about the linearity of history convince us that in any case certain “laws of historical development” or another invented deity will lead to some result, be it democracy, socialism, or something else. And since this will happen in any case, it means that we decide nothing. And if we decide nothing, then why fight, why engage in politics? This is precisely one of the most dangerous threats, it is one of the most disgusting thoughts that kills the personality in a person and raises a slave. If our generation does not wage a political struggle, future generations will pay a terrible price for this irresponsible stupidity. This is a brilliant message that is gratifying to see in a work of mass culture.

The third film tells of the awakening of a powerful mutant from the past — Apocalypse. He proclaims that “the weak have taken over the Earth” and “this world must be saved”. When he is told that there are laws and systems for this, he asks in response: “my child, why did you let yourself be enslaved?” That is, in the person of this character we have a typical utopian populist who rejects any of the existing and working (though not without flaws) political and economic systems. Such people promise a utopia after the destruction of the current order and such fundamental institutions as the state, luring followers with clever demagogy just as Apocalypse does in this scene. He promises that “on the ruins of their world we will build a better world”.

He manages to draw Magneto along with him, who was hiding in Poland and trying to live like a human being, getting a family, but he was discovered and in the course of an incident with the Polish militia his wife and daughter died. Magneto is angry at people again because of this and joins Apocalypse. However, during the ritual for the latter’s transformation, after which he is supposed to absorb and assimilate Charles’s abilities, Mystique convinces him to help in the fight against this mutant. As a result, Magneto returns and helps defeat Apocalypse. While the second film was a triumph of moderation, settling the situation with the help of example and persuasion, in the third film an important role is already assigned to the “radical wing”.

The franchise as a whole shows us that without Magneto it would not have been possible to defeat either Shaw or Apocalypse, and in the situation with Trask’s robots he played a role without which everything could have turned out differently. Indeed, in the fight against authoritarianism and the main threat, democrats may not cope without the help of radical, revolutionary democrats. However, a hint is also given that the radical wing should be under the control of the humanistic one.

In the end, we can call the “X-Men” franchise filled with relevant and complex issues, a wonderful work of culture that makes one think and corresponds to progressive values, forming citizens who are not just humanistically minded, but also possess freedom of choice and realize that there are no universal and always correct solutions, that there are many different difficulties and ways to solve them, and decisions can sometimes be hard.

1. Alec Foege. The X-Men Files // New York Magazine (nymag.com). July 20, 2000. [Electronic resource]. URL: https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/3522/ (accessed: 17.04.2023).