date: Fri, 9 May 2003 10:31:02 -0000
from: "LICC" <no-reply@licc.org.uk>
subject: LICC - Connecting with Culture - X2
to: m.hulme@uea.ac.uk

   LICC  connecting with culture

   X2

   directed by Bryan Singer

   Humans have never been good at sharing the Planet, as a voiceover reminds us at the start
   of X2, the sequel to the 2001 blockbuster X-Men. We have enough territorial disputes
   between ourselves, so what happens when we come face-to-face with a new breed - not homo
   sapiens but homo superiors, who can read minds, walk through walls and control the weather?

   This film isnt subtle as it explores its main theme, xenophobia; but it delivers a useful
   examination of racism and ignorance nevertheless, reminding us that when we put up such
   barriers we not only alienate ourselves, but we become less human and less like God leaving
   our true potential untapped.

   As Spiderman taught us last year (as, no doubt, will Neo in the Matrix this summer, along
   with Ang Lees Hulk), its not having the power, but what we do with it that counts. It is a
   point not missed by X2s most spiritual character, the demonic looking but deeply devout
   Nightcrawler. After Halle Berrys Storm informs him that anger is what helps her to make it
   through, he replies that faith does the same job. When sadly a colleague dies, he recites
   the 23rd psalm.

   Power without character can be crippling. X2 joins a legion of stories such as H G Wells
   War of the Worlds and James Camerons Aliens that warn against the use of superior
   technology in subduing supposedly inferior races. Wells castigated the British Empire,
   while Cameron focused on the US in Vietnam. The most disturbing character in the X-Men
   story is Magneto, a holocaust victim who intends to duplicate the elitist savagery of the
   Nazis, citing evolutionary superiority as his mantra.

   This is a timely story about the destructive power of power. Those who wield it would do
   well to learn from the way Jesus dealt with temptation in the desert. He sought to order
   his private world before heading into public ministry, understanding that power was not a
   talent to be abused but a gift to be used wisely in the service of others.

   Jason Gardner

   humans have never been particularly good at sharing the planet

   power without character can be crippling

   The rate of climate change is greater now than it has been for thousands of years - is
   there a way to tackle the issues of global warming and see it as a positive opportunity for
   change? Sir John Houghton is at LICC on June 10th and will explore the challenge to
   individuals and to business. Click here for more details:
   [1]http://www.licc.org.uk/events/event.php/id/63

   The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
   St Peter's, Vere St, London, W1G 0DQ   (t) 020 7399 9555   (e) mail@licc.org.uk   Visit
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