more on xmfc- I can neither read it as a gay nor race allegory..
My XMFC Xavier dys(u)topia fic is threading in my head. I'll start writing tonight before the plot starts to tangle.
The following has only a little to do with the fic in progress...
Erik to Mystique's "you are an exquisite creature" is one of his creepiest/most unsympathetic lines in the movie because the "creature" equivalent echoes the Holocaust, eugenics, and the worst of 1950s gender politics at the same time. It's on par in thoughtlessness with "they were only following orders". The only reason that it even worked is because he said it to Raven, who's trying to sleep with him to..affirm her own attractiveness. In short, she's insecure to the point that he's exhibiting another subconscious sign of Frankenstein's monster or being deliberately manipulative, which's possible considering the "If I look like you I wouldn't change a thing." The latter would colour the Charles/Erik interaction later in the movie in a very odd way... Granted, analyzing the "dialog" in this movie's an awful idea.
Before the sequel's out, I still have hope Raven learns to make her own choices, but I rather suspect that Erik's indoctrination methods will be more effective than any potential influence Charles has on her because whereas Charles is essentially reflective, Magneto's reactive, neither truly offering her an answer. What she needs is time, which is something Magneto will definitely not give her.
The following has only a little to do with the fic in progress...
Erik to Mystique's "you are an exquisite creature" is one of his creepiest/most unsympathetic lines in the movie because the "creature" equivalent echoes the Holocaust, eugenics, and the worst of 1950s gender politics at the same time. It's on par in thoughtlessness with "they were only following orders". The only reason that it even worked is because he said it to Raven, who's trying to sleep with him to..affirm her own attractiveness. In short, she's insecure to the point that he's exhibiting another subconscious sign of Frankenstein's monster or being deliberately manipulative, which's possible considering the "If I look like you I wouldn't change a thing." The latter would colour the Charles/Erik interaction later in the movie in a very odd way... Granted, analyzing the "dialog" in this movie's an awful idea.
Before the sequel's out, I still have hope Raven learns to make her own choices, but I rather suspect that Erik's indoctrination methods will be more effective than any potential influence Charles has on her because whereas Charles is essentially reflective, Magneto's reactive, neither truly offering her an answer. What she needs is time, which is something Magneto will definitely not give her.