Popular Culture as a Resource for Christian Education

The following reviews of films, music and other manifestations of our popular culture have been provided by students of Bible 300 Jesus and the Gospels, 2004, at Goshen College in the hope that they might be of service to other disciples of the Gospel.

Films

X-2 X-Men United, 2003
Brian Singer
U.S.A.

In “X2 X-Men United, ” the evil General Stryker attempts to exploit the power of Professor Xavier [Patrick Stewart] and other mutants to destroy the world. Stryker is the agent who has implanted razor sharp knives in Wolverine’s body [High Jackman] and holds the key to Wolverine’s past. The X-Men must team with Magneto [Ian McKellen] in order to stop him.

“ X-2” bears all the hallmarks of standard Hollywood fare: comic book villains and heroes and plenty of special effects, but at every turn it bears witness to the truth of Jesus’ redemptive love. Given the eagerness with which youth will watch the movie, it provides a context in which to discuss how an act of self-sacrificial love brings reconciliation. In the film, Jean saves the lives of her friends from deluge that will overwhelm their temporarily malfunctioning aircraft unless she holds it back with her body. This act of self-sacrificial love stands at the end of a complicated narrative that exposes the destructive and unnecessary rivalries endemic in our world that are lethal. The X-Men bear the sins of their world on their bodies. They are mutants, the products of our exploitation of our environment. In their difference, many them as rivals who will claim the privileges and powers of our society for themselves; therefore, some seek to expel or exterminate them. The X-men devote themselves to saving the world that rejects them; however, the sins of this world threaten their own society. Jean’s boyfriend, Scott (Cyclops) and Wolverine both love Jean. As rivals for her affection, they cannot tolerate each other. Jean’s example of true love points to the ties that bind them. United in their common grief and debt, the continuation of their rivalry would be a denial of Jean’s love. Wolverine is redeemed by Jean’s love in more ways than I have time to recount here. He begins to trust and to understand the way that X-Men use their gifts to create rather than to destroy. As a sign of his redemption, Wolverine reassures Scott that Jean never doubted her love for him.

The world is torn apart by rivalries for power and privilege. By exploring these themes in X-2, our youth can gain insight into how Jesus act of love ought to bring about reconciliation between the members of creation as well as between the creature and the creator. Reviewed by Jo-Ann A. Brant