The world's best-selling comic book,
"The X-Men" always has been an allegory
for racism and antisemitism. Now it
takes its message to the big screen.
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Above: Friends and foes: Professor Xavier
(Patrick Stewart), left, and Magneto
(Sir Ian McKellen) discuss their oppos-
ing viewpoints on the _figure of mankind
... and mutantkind. Holocaust survivor
Magneto is determined not to let the
atrocities he experienced in Auschwitz
happen again — even if that means
destroying humanity. His longtime
friend, Xavier, opposes Magneto's
destructive course.
activity they witness. Witch hunts
begin. Mutants are expelled from their
communities or suffer at the hands of
angry mobs.
Assimilation seems to be the only
option for mutants. Many try to disguise
their unique features and hide their pow-
ers. Others take more drastic action, end-
ing their own lives rather than living in a
world that hates them. Some turn to
crime, striking back at society.
But there is hope: a man in a wheel-
chair, a man with a dream. Professor
Charles Xavier attends university lec-
tures, senatorial sub-committee hearings
and other forums to speak on behalf of
mutants. With a commanding presence
that belies his crippled body, and a
calm, rational voice, Professor Xavier
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tries to reason with the public: Mutants
aren't to be feared; they deserve equal
rights and opportunities.
What the public doesn't know is
that Professor Xavier is a mutant him-
self, and he has established an academy,
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, in
Westchester, N.Y.
Here he mentors teenagers who
have just discovered their powers. He
teaches them that their special abilities
are not a curse but a gift. Through his
instruction, his students learn how to
control their powers and use them to
benefit mankind.
These very young men and women
share Xavier's dream of peaceful coex-
istence between mutants and humans.
They are the X-Men, and they fight to
save those who hate and fear them.
B
ut not every mutant sub-
scribes to Xavier's philoso-
phy. The most feared mutant
of all calls himself Magneto.
He is Xavier's oldest friend and the
X-Men's deadliest foe. Magneto and
Xavier met in Israel in its early
nationhood. The professor was a
patient in a Haifa hospital and
Magneto an orderly who cared for
him. They quickly became friends,
each appreciating the other's intellect
and hope for a better future.
They disagreed, however, on one
point. What should the fate of
mutants be in a world that doesn't yet
accept them?
The pair often parallel the civil
rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. and Malcolm X. Xavier professes
f,*
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P
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Class of 1955
, th Reunion ;
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Saturday, July 29th:
atotel Baronette•
Call for more information:
RENA 248-399-4020: 7 2 /0 0
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