Last weekend, millions of Americans were at the movies
watching "X2: X-Men United," the latest in the series of films about
genetically mutated beings with superhuman abilities. Though the
story is pure fantasy, the entire film is laced with important themes
very relevant to our times. Creator Stan Lee originally developed the X-Men comic books in 1963 as a commentary on the civil rights era. That tradition has continued until today, though widely unnoticed. Most Americans went into the theaters expecting to be amazed by riveting action sequences and the latest in special effects technology. What they did not bargain for was a chilling commentary on post-9/11 America.

The film’s disturbing opening scene, a vigorous mutant’s
assassination attempt on the President in the Oval Office of the White House, sets the stage for the events to unfold. With the public already distrustful of mutants, this attack triggers a national
response that comes to include military action. The background to
this story is set in the previous movie, "X-Men." As the discovery is made of mutants living among humans in society, an overzealous Senator exploits public ignorance of these beings and fear of their potential to suggest that limits be set to their being in the country. The fictional Senator Robert Kelley puts forth measures for "Mutant Registration," which, following a lengthy battle with the X-Men and other mutants, are ultimately quashed. In X2, a military general named Stryker picks up where Senator Kelley leaves off. Motivated by a personal hatred toward mutants, he begins operations to destroy their existence in America. Does this ring any bells so far? Substitute Muslims for Mutants and one receives a fairly accurate depiction of events since September 11, 2001. An undeclared war on Islam has followed, targeting all Muslims in America for the actions of a few outsiders (even in the film, the President’s attacker is a devoutly Catholic mutant from Germany). As in X2, the nation’s fervent response to this crisis has surpassed the initial event itself in its intensity. Muslims have been painted with a single brush, denoting them all as dangerous and subversive. Measures have been taken to keep track of them, with mandatory INS registration for lawful immigrants from all Muslim countries. In addition, mosques have been infiltrated and spied upon by agents of the government.

In recent months, these governmental actions have been
stepped up, with numerous raids upon many Islamic institutions across the country. This brings to mind the startling scene of Styker’s raid of Mutant Academy, home of the X-Men and a school for mutant children. What is more telling is that this institution is neither dangerous nor subversive; rather, it seeks to promote tolerance and understanding of mutants within the mainstream and preserve for them a peaceful place among humans, while teaching its students to become responsible members of society. Violent incursions by the government into homes, mosques, and schools (including at least one Islamic Academy) of America’s Muslims have exclusively targeted a people that share those exact goals. Community leaders too, are often the victims of these gross violations by law enforcement officials. Professor Charles Xavier, head of the school and telepathic founder of the X-Men, who has consistently preached against violent confrontations and
for peaceful coexistence, was nonetheless imprisoned by Stryker for his own evil purposes. Several Muslim leaders, many of them educators and peaceful advocates of justice and equality for all people, have met a similar fate at the hands of an overreaching government body. Ordinary people are victimized publicly without end, reminiscent of the scene in the museum. While on a fieldtrip with her students, one of the X-Men is able to hear the hate-filled thoughts running through the minds of people all around her. Slap a headscarf on Jean Gray and you have a real-life scenario that occurs everyday. Though they may not possess telepathic abilities, the insults overheard by many Muslim women are real enough.

It has been a recurring theme, both immediately following
9/11, and in the original X-Men, that people fear what they do not
understand. It is under this pretext that Senator Kelley proposes
Mutant Registration and Attorney General John Ashcroft successfully passed the PATRIOT Act. By the arrival of X2, however, it is clear that ignorance is no longer the root of the problem. Stryker is more intimately familiar with mutants (having experimented with them himself) than any person in government, and yet it is he who leads the charge against them. Scattered scenes within the film exhibit television programs discussing the issue of mutants at length, with pundits casually discussing their proposals. Similarly, the American people and especially their leaders have been more exposed to Islam and Muslims in the previous months than at any point in their history, and yet the call for their repression is still heard loud and clear. This fear has turned ignorance into an informed hatred. It is these ill feelings that have sustained efforts by Ashcroft to tighten his grip and push for the passage of yet a second and even more draconian PATRIOT Act. A strident public eager for security, and a government that would rather be safe than sorry subsequently back these measures. The less than constitutional raid by Stryker is shown to have been given personal authorization (though reluctantly) by an unapprised president.

Another timely issue raised by this film is the internal
struggle taking place within the community of mutants itself. Though very few in number, but nonetheless vocal, there are those members of their respective group who wish to fight the war that has been waged against them. In the X-Men movies, they are led by Magneto, an older mutant whose childhood in a Nazi concentration camp is motivation enough to ensure that he will not be singled out once more and cast aside based purely on his genetics. This becomes his driving force for a violent struggle against humanity, yet there are only a handful of mutants who join his cause. Professor X and the remaining mutants have had to come to grips with this existing hurdle within their own kind. And though both sides ultimately want the same thing -an end to their oppression- they differ greatly on how to achieve it. Muslims too, have faced these challenges for decades, though it was only brought to them front and center on 9/11. Since then, however, the message has been as loud and clear to those who wish to listen. The extreme elements of Islam are not representative of the rest. Unfortunately, the prevailing message of the majority is often drowned out by the drums of war. It is only after this point that Stryker can, well, strike.

Many new elements are explored in the story, which lay
bare the human cruelty that can occur in a climate such as that seen in both reality and fantasy. One of the young mutants at the Academy, Bobby (Ice-Man), returns home to finally reveal to his family his secret only to be rebuffed. His younger brother ultimately calls the police to have him arrested, while Bobby’s parents look on at him in disgust. If a family can turn away its own child out of such fear and revulsion from what is no more than a new classification of people, whole societies can do so to an alien faith without batting an eyelash. And this is precisely where we stand.

The figure of Lady Deathstrike, Stryker’s mutant creation
and servant, represents the ideal mutant in the eyes of Stryker and his kind. They do not abhor all mutants, simply those that are
potentially threatening to the status quo. A model mutant for them is one that can be molded and shaped as they see fit; one that will obey their every directive and not overstep its bounds. Lady Deathstrike fulfills this role very capably, ultimately leading to her demise at the hands of Wolverine, another one of Stryker’s creations who was not so easy to control. This is more or less the vision of the American Muslim according to Ashcroft. An entire population of seven million has been offered the choice to forgo all dignity and self-worth in order to serve the interests of those would have it destroyed, or face the consequences of exercising its right to dissent.

By the end of the film, as expected, Stryker is defeated
(at least for now) and his plot to destroy the mutants is foiled.
That scene has yet to be written in our film, but one should hope for a similar ending. On their return home, the X-Men make a stop at the White House, just as the President is about to address the nation concerning the mutant hysteria. Professor X speaks candidly with the President, alerting him that the time for decisive action is now. He should take the steps to ensure unity and equality among his citizenry, not division and warfare. The forces of fear and hatred are strong, but such is the moment for truth and courage. A befuddled president (much like our own) listens to this message in silence. What he proceeds to tell the American people we will never know. Unlike many movies that would attempt to tie up all loose strings in a happy, good-for-marketing bow, X2 leaves with us with that question mark. Perhaps it awaits the response from our own country, its leaders and its people, to these tremendous challenges, in much the same way that the comic book wrote its endings based on how the civil rights movement progressed. American Muslims, as a community-in-
waiting, have endured their fair share of trials from villains on all
sides. And while none of this has made it onto any screen for popular viewing, it is a story that will one day be told.