[ExI] transhumanism by any other name

[Mike Dougherty]

On Thu, Dec 13, 2012 at 4:18 PM, Ben Zaiboc <bbenzai at yahoo.com> wrote:
> The point of Magneto is to be The Bad Guy.  So he doesn't care about other people.  Dr. X does.  Magneto wants the mutants to win, but he also wants the baselines to lose.  This is not a convincing argument to me.  We want win-win scenarios, not win-lose ones.
>
> The most telling scene in the X-men films, to me, is when Mystique loses her powers, and Magneto instantly turns his back on her, leaving her naked on the ground, to die for all he cares.  That defines his character more than any powers or arguments about mutants vs. baselines.  I don't want that to be associated with transhumanism.  Do you?

of course not.  However, that movie had tons of Hollywood problems.  I
originally posted this about First Class.  After Eric (later to become
Magneto) deflects a gunshot in self-defense that strikes Xavier (later
Dr.X) he extracts the bullet from his friend - and, at least I
thought, was truly saddened.

I also take much of Magneto's diatribe against normals (baselines) as
equivalent/similar to Ayn Rand's attack on normals (pretty much every
consumerist herd-mentality livestock)

Yeah, that scene where he steps over Mystic is just raw.  I think that
is a plot device more than a realistic character portrayal.  Granted,
those movie-moments define the character - but the long friendship (?)
with Xavier suggests he was not simply the monster depicted in other
moments.  If being a motivated/driven SOB makes Magento a monster,
then we should examine successful business leaders for this same
trend.  ex: You don't think Steve Jobs got to the top without a few
abused people in his wake?

On a different note, did you like the class lesson Dr.X gave his
students about the moral implications of transferring consciousness
into the mindless patient... who at the end of the movie wakes up and
greets Minerva (one of Dr.X's oldest friends)