In X-Men: First Class, gifted mutants and non-gifted regular
humans were at the brink of war. Two leaders were in disagreement about the
role mutants should take; Magneto gathered a group of mutants who believed that
other people couldn’t be trusted. He expected that others would feel threatened
by the differences between themselves and the mutants, and would attack the mutants.
Charles Xavier believed that the two sides could overcome their differences and
live at peace. Unfortunately, Magneto seems to be proven correct as X-Men
opens. Senator Kelly is advocating laws that would make mutants register
themselves. Magneto and Xavier both oppose this; Magneto prepares an attack
that will make Senator Kelly experience life as Magneto experiences it. Xavier
secretly trains mutants, encouraging them to view their differences as gifts. Rogue
is a particularly gifted teenager who has difficulty seeing her gift as a good
thing. Xavier wants to help her expand her potential, but Magneto wants to use
her to further his cause.
How is This Relevant
to Adoption?
As
with X-Men: First Class, the story is based on one group of people being
misunderstood by another, larger group of people. Young adoptees may feel
ostracized by their friends for being different; older adoptees often feel
misunderstood by society, family, and friends.
This
movie introduces a character that some teenage adoptees might identify with.
Rogue’s gift is that she is able to survive in difficult situations by taking
energy from other people, and by temporarily assuming the ability of other
mutants. Some adoptees (especially ones who’ve been through foster care), may
feel – or may have been told – that they take a lot of energy. And yet, they’ve
also been able to adapt to (sometimes many) different home environments.Wolverine’s ability to rapidly heal might resonate with some children who’ve experienced trauma. Wolverine also has a self-defense mechanism (claws) which he acknowledges hurts him every time he uses it.
All of the Mutants take on new names.
Strong Points
X-Men
does a fine job of showing the impact that mindset has on a person’s
development. Xavier explains that Magneto, “believing humanity would never
accept us… became angry and vengeful.”
Xavier’s
care for the gifted youngsters appears selfless and unconditional.
Challenges
Xavier tries to convince Wolverine to join the school. He attempts to entice Wolverine to join by promising to help Wolverine piece together his past. While I appreciate Xavier’s nod to the importance of Wolverine’s past, I wish that the information wasn’t offered conditionally. Wolverine should have the right to know his past (even though it is traumatic,) regardless of whether he helps Xavier. Wolverine eventually leaves on a journey to find his answers.
Rogue
kisses a boy, but because of her mutation, he goes into a coma for weeks. She
decides that she cannot touch anyone. This isn’t an unusual pattern: A kid may
feel as though she hurt the people around her, so she goes into an impenetrable
shell. The movie seems to affirm that Rogue is right, but in real life, a child
struggling with these feelings needs to be encouraged not to be unreachable and
not to blame themselves unjustly.
Magneto
encouraged Mystique to embrace her uniqueness in X-Men: First Class. In this
film, Wolverine encourages Rogue to trust Xavier. He explains, “Not many people
will understand you. Xavier is one of them. He seems to genuinely want to help
you. And that’s a rare thing for freaks like us.” – The encouragement is in a
good direction; adoptees can be helped by finding people that understand them
or who have had similar experiences – the Internet has lots of adoption blogs
that could be helpful. On the flipside,
the quote would be better if Wolverine suggested that being understood wouldn’t
always be rare.
Weak Points
There
are some scenes which could be troubling: families are separated by Nazi
soldiers, and mothers and children scream for each other. A child is struck by the butt of a rifle.
There are some violent scenes.
Recommendations
X-Men
fits the same audience that X-Men: First Class did. Violent scenes would make
this a bad choice for young kids and for teens who have experienced violence.
For many teens age 12-17, though, this movie raises excellent questions about
self-acceptance, expectations of others, feelings about one’s self, and
worldview.
Questions for Discussion after the movie
In
the opening narration, Xavier says that mutation “has enabled us to evolve.”
Which characters seem to have the most useful mutations?
How
have you evolved or adapted?
How
have people responded to you being adopted (or in foster care)? What do you
think of their response?
Wolverine forgot much of his past, and what he remembered
was traumatic. What do you remember of your past? What do you wish you could
remember? What parts of it were pleasant?
Have you ever wanted to search for more answers? We would help you!
Rogue wasn’t able to touch anyone because of her mutation.
How do you think she felt?
Who understands you?
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