No More Mutants



See the source image     I'm taking a closer look at how Sc-Fi movies specifically represent different groups of age, gender, race, etc. so that I will correctly represent them in mine. One specific example is from X2, the X-Men sequel. The plot is that the mutants are being oppressed and their rights are being revoked by society, and one mutant leader, Professor X, wants to solve it through peace, but the enemy mutant leader, Magneto, wants to end the oppression through violence. This is obviously similar to the civil rights movement and shows how one type of representation in film serves to represent not the diversity of the actors, but the plot represents important moments in history for certain groups. This is also seen in historical fiction movies, or "based on a true story" movies, but in Sci-Fi specifically, it is usually the plot element of history repeating itself in a different form.
See the source image

     As for the most commonly analyzed type of media representation, the diversity/representation of the characters themselves, Sci-Fi is mostly the same as other genres, having a heroic lead, mostly male (aside from some notable exceptions like the largely female represented cast and lead in Alien). The side characters are very diverse sometimes, with a recent example, Star Wars: The Last Jedi showing a very young, diverse cast of characters, with a female lead role.  This has obviously changed over time, as I notice that movies made in the 20th century are very white male focused, with not many social issues included, of course with some exceptions, but this is just a general trend. As film moved into the 21st century and in the past decade, the cast seemed to become increasingly diverse and the plots seemed to raise a lot more social issues.


Source: http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/science-fiction/261921/how-allegory-in-sci-fi-can-narrow-representation

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