I don't disagree with that, though that wasn't entirely my point. My point is that modern writers are super-concerned with the concept of distinctive identity over shared humanity and thus write as such. In order to make that perspective work as metaphor, they have to write mutants as separatists rather than as heroes for humanity. This may be a kind of realism in-world, but it is a loss for the reader.greycrusader wrote: ↑Sun Aug 28, 2022 1:58 amI'm...not entirely sure this is the case. I mean, most people who belong to a minority group (be it POC, LBGTQ people, religious minorities) aren't interested in segregating themselves from American society, or retreating to enclaves where only the same types of people live, though there's definitely more of that on certain campuses and in professional societies. The last group is probably the most likely to do so, with communities of Ultra-Orthodox Jews, fundamentalist Muslims, etc., but there really aren't THAT many. There obviously IS a lot more insistence that these differences be recognized and taken into account, rather than just an attitude of taking pride in one's heritage but still wanting to be treated no differently than the majority population.drkrash wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 8:54 pm This is the difference between the worldviews of the 60s and 70s that saw unity as one people as a noble goal, whereas now, the concept of one's "identity," distinctive from others, is held as far more important. As such, I think the concept of mutant *superheroes* has pretty much lost its meaning.
All my best.
I don't entirely agree, however, that our current fixation on identity is based fundamentally on wanting to be treated as the "majority" of people, as the concept of the majority now becomes a fiction premised simply on the idea of the "other" or the "not us," ironically heightening the distance between identities. Identity politics emphasize distinctive "communities" that co-exist intertwined with one another, but they don't really emphasize a shared humanity anymore.