Well, in the case of the latest X-Men offering from 20th Century Fox, we have something that stretches beyond “metaphysics” principles to delve into the deeper “occult” mysteries. Metaphysics and the occult are not the same. A simple definition for metaphysics is “beyond the physical”, while occult means “hidden”. Something can be unseen and not be hidden. Electricity is unseen, but certainly is not hidden. Or, take for example, Marvel’s Thor, which was released just one month prior to X-Men: First Class. Thor was themed around a world that existed in another dimension – just beyond the reaches of the third-dimensional, material Universe. And, while that dimension was unseen, it certainly wasn’t hidden. In X-Men: First Class, everyone has something to hide. Secret plans, secret powers, hidden histories, hidden physical properties, and hidden places abound in this movie. That’s not to say that there are no metaphysical characteristics to the film. However, it is very clear that the primary focus of the film is the occult.
In X-Men: First Class, Charles Xavier played by James McAvery, is publishing a thesis on mutation for Oxford University. Turns out – he has a hidden power, the ability to telepathically communicate with others, to suspend the continuity of their thoughts, and to implant thoughts of his own. Meeting the shape-shifting Mystique as a child is confirmation for him that there exist other mutants like him. So, Xavier teams with the CIA to track these other mutants (who are also hiding). One only has to watch the film to see that each character has something they either wish to hide or are seeking to uncover.
Further, it is clear that those charged with writing, producing, and directing the film have an “occult” agenda of their own. A picture is worth a thousand words. And, the passive viewer, lulled to sleep by a title they’ve come to know and trust are bombarded with themes and imagery that stab at the conscious and sub-conscious mind like a searing-hot knife. The handsome, highly-intelligent, sophisticated, British-educated, moral and mentally-capable Charles Xavier is in stark contrast to some of the other American characters, who are painted as immature and uncultivated. The class-conscious creators of this film had no problem maintaining the pecking order. At the low-end sit Black cab-driver Armando Munoz (Darwin) who is the first of the X-men to fall (though likely not killed as many film-goers suspect) and stripper Angel Salvadore who is the first to side with the villains. In maintaining the pecking order, the Cubans are weak, the Russians are seen as aggressive and sex-crazed in contrast to the more sophisticated Germans, and the Americans are a little naïve.
Then, there is the ritualistic killing of the CIA agents by Satan (Azazel) for lacking the necessary sophistication to deal with “the mutant problem”. Hint! Hint! There is the British-educated Xavier who teaches the poor Jewish boy (Erik Lensherr) who has something to hide (otherwise why would he need the helmet) how to gain full control of his power. Being extremely powerful, Magneto (Erik Lensherr) is allowed to save face. However, at the deepest level of the ritual, Magneto’s character (who wouldn’t need a gun in a thousand years because he cannot be shot) is left holding the gun (smoking gun). Hint! Hint! The deepest occult significances cannot be discussed at length in this article, but please realize – movies are meant as a means to send messages, both overt and covert.
Even the name X-Men: First Class seems to send a certain “occult” message. Are they trying to say that the movie was done in “first class” fashion? It seems to say something about the position of everyone in that “first class”. Obviously, this is not the first class, as certain characters in the movie did not enter the world of the X-Men until 40 years after Stan Lee first penned the X-Men. Some of these characters are not even the creations of Stan Lee and the original writers.
And, this brings me to another point. The movie skips through time and merges real history with the imaginary. As the brain tries to make heads or tails of all this, we are hit with the more subtle messages being sent in the film. One might say – it’s just a movie. And, you know what? Maybe that’s all it is. Maybe there is a one in eight-hundred, quintillion probability that the hundreds of things I noticed in the movie are merely circumstantial. I would simply like to lastly point-out that no one (in their right mind) is going to spend millions of dollars in making a movie without ensuring that the message they want to send be sent. And, that (to me) is one the deepest “occult” significance in movies –bar none. In most cases, the writers, producers, and directors of movies are painting a picture of the world they see or the world they would hope to see, with high hopes that you will embrace (or at least be found in agreement with) that vision. In the case of X-Men: First Class, it is a vision I chose to begin to forget the second the screen faded to black.
James Will Power
