The X-Men As A Social Mirror: An In-Depth Look At Our Society Through Critical Race Theory and Feminist Frameworks

Jayden Rodriguez

Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation

College: College of Liberal Arts

Major: BA.PSYCHOLOGY

Faculty Research Mentor: Nathalia Hernandez Ochoa

Abstract:

Title: The X-Men as a Social Mirror: Mutants, Power, and Institutional Violence

Author: Jayden Rodriguez, Department of Psychology, Kean University

First created in 1963, the X-Men franchise has evolved beyond the pages of its conception into a powerful allegory of civil rights struggles, patriarchal control, racialized state violence, and the mass policing of identity. My project was created to visualize how institutions continue to regulate one's bodily functions, suppress our differences, and sustain the inequalities that keep marginalized communities down, in a digestible and engaging way. Using Critical Race Theory and feminist frameworks as the foundation of this study, this analysis helps explore five main themes. A conflict of ideologies of how to save their people between Professor X and Magneto. The consequences of controlling women in our patriarchal society and what happens when they are freed are shown through Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force. Our country's history of unethical experimentation on minorities is presented through Wolverine's transformation under the Weapon X Program. How faith was treated in these communities as a bright light paving the way through the darkness that was engulfing the lives of these marginalized and, back then, enslaved people through the lens of Nightcrawler. Lastly, there is the issue of state policing, surveillance, and internment, a part of history that continues to repeat itself even now, especially now, this will be shown through the Sentinels. These narratives help show that Justice is more than tolerance, it is love, understanding, unity, and most of all change.