The X-Men Films

A Cultural Analysis

Edited by Claudia Bucciferro

Originally appearing as a comic book in the 1960s, X-Men has been a cultural touchpoint for decades. Since the release of the first film in 2000, the series has enjoyed an even greater transnational presence. With each successive film, the franchise has secured its place within global popular culture, becoming one of the most profitable and complex superhero series to date. While much of the research that has been published on the X-Men focuses on the comics, the movies constitute their own cultural text and deserve special attention.

In The X-Men Films: A Cultural Analysis, Claudia Bucciferro has assembled a collection of essays that draw from work in communication, cultural studies, and media studies. With contributions from a diverse group of scholars, the chapters analyze issues that include gender, sexuality, disability, class, and race. The contributors pose intriguing questions about the franchise, such as: What do “mutants” really represent? What role do women and people of color play in the narratives? Why does it matter that Professor X is disabled? Why is Mystique often shown naked? What facilitated Wolverine’s rise to prominence? And how do topics regarding identity, trauma, and bioethics, figure in the stories?

Exploring issues relevant for a multicultural world and connecting thematic elements from the films to political debates and social struggles, the book seeks to make a thoughtful contribution to the scholarship of popular culture. The X-Men Films will appeal to media scholars and students, as well as to anyone interested in the X-Men series.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 264 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4422-6533-2 • Hardback • February 2016 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4422-6534-9 • eBook • February 2016 • $105.50 • (£82.00)

Subjects: Performing Arts / Film / History & Criticism, Performing Arts / Film / General, Performing Arts / Film & Video / Genres, Performing Arts / Science Fiction

The X-Men Films

A Cultural Analysis

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Originally appearing as a comic book in the 1960s, X-Men has been a cultural touchpoint for decades. Since the release of the first film in 2000, the series has enjoyed an even greater transnational presence. With each successive film, the franchise has secured its place within global popular culture, becoming one of the most profitable and complex superhero series to date. While much of the research that has been published on the X-Men focuses on the comics, the movies constitute their own cultural text and deserve special attention.

In The X-Men Films: A Cultural Analysis, Claudia Bucciferro has assembled a collection of essays that draw from work in communication, cultural studies, and media studies. With contributions from a diverse group of scholars, the chapters analyze issues that include gender, sexuality, disability, class, and race. The contributors pose intriguing questions about the franchise, such as: What do “mutants” really represent? What role do women and people of color play in the narratives? Why does it matter that Professor X is disabled? Why is Mystique often shown naked? What facilitated Wolverine’s rise to prominence? And how do topics regarding identity, trauma, and bioethics, figure in the stories?

Exploring issues relevant for a multicultural world and connecting thematic elements from the films to political debates and social struggles, the book seeks to make a thoughtful contribution to the scholarship of popular culture. The X-Men Films will appeal to media scholars and students, as well as to anyone interested in the X-Men series.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 264 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4422-6533-2 • Hardback • February 2016 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4422-6534-9 • eBook • February 2016 • $105.50 • (£82.00)

Subjects: Performing Arts / Film / History & Criticism, Performing Arts / Film / General, Performing Arts / Film & Video / Genres, Performing Arts / Science Fiction

Author

Claudia Bucciferro is assistant professor of communication at Gonzaga University (Washington State). She is the author of FOR-GET: Identity, Media, and Democracy in Chile (2012) and the editor of The Twilight Saga: Exploring the Global Phenomenon (Scarecrow Press, 2013).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Claudia Bucciferro

Part I: Utopian and Immersive Experiences
1 Mutopia: American Utopianism and the Mutant Superhero
Matt Yockey
2 The Immersive Marketing Campaign for X-Men: Days of Future Past
Nicolò Gallio

Part II: Agency and Authority
3 Superhuman Authority: Fascism and Bioethics in the X-Men Films
Evan Hayles Gledhill
4 Magneto’s Dilemma: The Technological Limitations of Mutant Transhumanism
Ron Von Burg and D. Stokes Piercy
5 PTXD: Gendered Narratives of Combat, Trauma, and the Civil-Military Divide
Christina M. Knopf and Christine M. Doran

Part III: Women and Power
6 Containing the X-Women: De-powering and De-queering Female Characters
Carolyn Cocca
7 Shape-Shifting Identity: Mystique’s Embodied Agency
Jason Zingsheim
8 The “Stolen” Superpowers of Marvel’s Rogue
Julie Davis and Robert Westerfelhaus
9 The Curious Case of “Dr.” Jean Grey, Mystique, and Mariko
Barbara Cook Overton, Athena du Pré, Loretta L. Pecchioni, and John H. Overton

Part IV: Masculinity and Race
10 Wolverine in Transition: Shifting Portrayals of Masculinity and Identity
Nathan Miczo
11 Techno-Orientalist Villains and White Masculinity in the Wolverine Movies
David C. Oh
12 Reframing Disabled Masculinity: Xavier as Marvel’s Supercrip
Jessica Benham
13 Mutating Minorities: White Racial Framing and Group Positioning
Jason Smith

Part V: Passing and Otherness
14 Passing While Homo Superior
Kat Overland
15 Mutancy, Otherness, and Empathy in the X-Men
Claudia Bucciferro

Epilogue
Jason Zingsheim and Claudia Bucciferro

Index
About the Editor and Contributors