Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Adoption Movie Guide: X-Men: First Class
Your story is unique, and you didn't get to choose it. You do get to choose how it influences your world view.
Sometimes you feel like an outsider. Charles Xavier reads other people’s minds. Erik Lensherr moves metal with his mind, especially when he’s angry. Hank McCoy has prehensile feet. Raven often disguises the fact that her skin has a particularly bright shade of blue. Do you view your uniqueness as a curse or as a blessing? Does it help you live a fulfilling life, or does it create a sense of “You against the world?”
Sometimes you feel like an outsider. Charles Xavier reads other people’s minds. Erik Lensherr moves metal with his mind, especially when he’s angry. Hank McCoy has prehensile feet. Raven often disguises the fact that her skin has a particularly bright shade of blue. Do you view your uniqueness as a curse or as a blessing? Does it help you live a fulfilling life, or does it create a sense of “You against the world?”
Sebastian Shaw is a unique person (unfortunately, the
movie’s term is “Mutant”) who tries to use his uniqueness to rule the world. Charles
tries to stand in his way by gathering a group of differently-gifted people to
oppose him.
How is This Relevant
to Adoption?
A
person touched by adoption has a life story that differs from the experiences and
expectations of many others. Some view their unique story as a building block
for community: like Charles, they find joy in their story and seek out others
with similar experiences. Some experience it with a level of distress: like
McCoy and Raven they fear being ridiculed or misjudged by others, wish that
their story was hidden, and struggle to come to accept themselves. Some, like
Lensherr, view their story with pain and anger and are uncertain how to direct
their lives in light of their experience. All are on a journey of processing.
X-Men: First Class is an excellent study in choosing
what to do with the hand you’ve been dealt.
Strong Points
X-Men:
First Class shows the value of community. When a young Charles first discovers
Raven he is glad, “I always believed I couldn’t be the only one in the world…
the only person who was different.” Later, it’s affirmed that there are “far
more” unique people “than you would guess.”
Erik
consistently affirms to Raven that she is beautiful in her natural, blue state.
He sees the value in her uniqueness before she does. He also cautions her, “if
you’re using half your concentration to look normal, then you’re only half
paying attention to whatever else you’re doing.” Raven is eventually given the choice to “become
normal,” and she chooses to remain as she is. She encourages another character
to make the same choice, “You’re beautiful. Everything you are, you’re perfect.
We are different, but we shouldn’t aspire to fit in.”
A
fun scene shows several “Mutants” enjoying their newfound sense of camaraderie
and showing off their special talents
Challenges
There
are really three schools of thought espoused by the characters in this film.
Charles Xavier believes that “Mutants” and normal people can live together in peace.
A villain believes that “Mutants” are superior and should eradicate humans. And
then there’s Erik.
Erik
learns to embrace and value his uniqueness but he is fueled by anger, harbors
grudges, expects people to treat him unkindly, and holds himself in opposition
to society. His pessimistic expectations of others are not without basis; various
governments try to use, control, and eventually destroy the “Mutants.” At the
same time, there are people who are kind to them. Because of his expectations
though, his experiences of mistreatment serve as proof to him that almost
everyone is against him. Other characters reach different conclusions. The
movie seems to show that preconceptions and expectations have as much impact on
one’s worldview as the actual events one experiences. This is a powerful thought; it gives each
person some responsibility – and control – over how they view the world.
Charles
doesn’t leave Erik’s anger unchallenged. In a powerful conversation, Erik
explains that he needs his anger in order to function. Charles counters that
his anger is dangerous and uncontrollable. Charles affirms, “there’s so much
more to you than you know; more than pain and anger. There’s good in you, too,
and you can harness that.”
Weak Points
Some
scenes in this film could be troubling for some young viewers: Erik’s mother is
killed in front of him by a Nazi officer trying to make Erik exhibit his
metal-moving gift. Erik harbors a grudge for decades. He finally finds the
officer and murders him in cold blood, in full view of the camera. Charles has
tried to convince Erik not to do this, but in a powerful scene Erik
symbolically and literally shuts Charles’s voice out of his mind.
There is gun violence in the film and a major
character is paralyzed by a bullet wound.
Recommendations
X-Men:
First Class doesn’t mention adoption, but the questions of self-acceptance,
expectations of others, and orientation toward the world are relevant for all
teenagers, and perhaps especially adopted ones. The violent scenes make this
movie a bad choice for younger kids, especially those who’ve experienced
trauma. The movie’s best audience is probably 12-17 year-olds and their
parents.
Questions for Discussion after the movie
Your
story is unique. Do you view it as a good thing, a bad thing, or something
else?
What
does it mean to accept your story? What does it mean to accept yourself?
What
will you do with the adoption connection in your life? What other parts of your
story make you unique?
What
have you experienced of others in relation to your uniqueness? What do you
expect of others?
How do you view the world? Is it a good place, or a bad place? Who gets to choose how you view the world?
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Other than the violence, sounds like some good messages here about loving oneself, warts and all.
ReplyDeleteI really like what you say here: "preconceptions and expectations have as much impact on one’s worldview as the actual events one experiences."
So true.
Thanks, Lori. One of the most powerful relationships in the film is between Erik and Raven --- he eventually convinces her that she is beautiful, warts (or blue skin) and all. And she starts sharing that message with others. Good film :)
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