Created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Uncanny X-Men comics have traditionally been viewed as a metaphor for diversity parallel to the battle for racial equality of the Civil Right Movement. Composed of mutants gifted with extraordinary powers, the X-Men have always been targeted by distrust, fear, and hatred of the human population because their diversity. The central theme of the comics has always been the conflict between identity/authenticity and otherness, which has been developed exploring the clash between the dream of a peaceful coexistence between human and mutants envisioned by the founder of the group Charles Xavier, and the mutant’s revolution against humanity advocated by his historical rival Magneto. During the decades, several writers (such as Stan Lee, Chris Claremont, Jonatahn Hichman) explored this issue showing the evolution of social consciousness and exploring sociological and constitutional concept such as multiple identities or identity politics. Starting from this premise, the present contribution aims to investigate the use of constitutional law within the saga both from a theoretical and practical standpoint, analyzing the integration’s models presented in the comics and comparing the role of some fictional laws enacted within the comics (the Mutant Control Act 1983 or Krakoa’s trade agreements 2019) with real antidiscrimination laws enacted by US Constitutional system.

From Civil Rights to Identity Politics? Law and Diversity in the X-Men / L.P. Vanoni - In: The Law in Graphic Narratives : Legal Perspectives on Comics, Manga and Anime / [a cura di] G. Martinico, G.M. Ruotolo. - Prima edizione. - Berlin : Walter de Gruyter, 2024 Sep. - ISBN 978-3-11-149740-2. - pp. 87-106 [10.1515/9783111498683-006]

From Civil Rights to Identity Politics? Law and Diversity in the X-Men

L.P. Vanoni
2024

Abstract

Created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Uncanny X-Men comics have traditionally been viewed as a metaphor for diversity parallel to the battle for racial equality of the Civil Right Movement. Composed of mutants gifted with extraordinary powers, the X-Men have always been targeted by distrust, fear, and hatred of the human population because their diversity. The central theme of the comics has always been the conflict between identity/authenticity and otherness, which has been developed exploring the clash between the dream of a peaceful coexistence between human and mutants envisioned by the founder of the group Charles Xavier, and the mutant’s revolution against humanity advocated by his historical rival Magneto. During the decades, several writers (such as Stan Lee, Chris Claremont, Jonatahn Hichman) explored this issue showing the evolution of social consciousness and exploring sociological and constitutional concept such as multiple identities or identity politics. Starting from this premise, the present contribution aims to investigate the use of constitutional law within the saga both from a theoretical and practical standpoint, analyzing the integration’s models presented in the comics and comparing the role of some fictional laws enacted within the comics (the Mutant Control Act 1983 or Krakoa’s trade agreements 2019) with real antidiscrimination laws enacted by US Constitutional system.
Comics; Law and Literature; Identity Politics; X-Men; Discrimination
Settore IUS/21 - Diritto Pubblico Comparato
set-2024
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1090316
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