**Due to recent misinterpretations of some one post
from this blog, a disclaimer is now apparently necessary. If this is your first visit to The
Scratched Camera, please read the introductory post and discover, for yourself, that every typed word that
follows is unabashedly my opinion and mine alone. In said introductory post, which,
shockingly, I did not simply type up for my own good health, I state that we
all read events and characters with our own baggage in mind; no one observes
with a perfectly clear lens—hence the
name The Scratched Camera.
Therefore, it is completely your will to disagree with any material that
follows, just as it is my will to agree and advocate for what is mine.** ~End, irritating obligatory disclaimer~
Jean Grey—Mutants are Not the One’s Mankind Should Fear—Except
Maybe the Phoenix (Requested)
As
I said at the start of my Natasha Romanoff post, (I mean that literally. Click on the link and you’ll see I
copied what follows right out of there) I’d like to preface this post with a
specific disclaimer. In all my
nerdy habits, I’m afraid I can’t count comic books amongst them. I have never read a comic book in my
life, despite the deep devotion I feel towards superheroes. That being said, this post will focus
on the film adaptation versions of Jean Grey/the Phoenix.
I’ve
always felt a steadfast affection for Jean; I won’t deny that she was certainly
an influence behind giving my protagonist the particularly vague shade of red
hair she possesses post-power acquisition. I was ten years old when the original X-Men movie was
released and, therefore, at a rather formative age. Even once Harry Potter
crash-coursed into my life approximately a year later, uprooting a lot of the
previous role models I had held in high esteem in the process, Jean held a grip
on my soul.
Perhaps
this is because we are left with a lot of unanswered questions at the end of X-Men in regards to her character. For those of us who hadn’t read the
comics, we saw hints of a deeper potential in Jean, but very little proof of
it. In a group of exceptional
beings, Jean remains rather undistinguished in her first go around in
2000.
But
I firmly believe the mystery of her wasn’t all that inclined me towards Dr.
Jean Grey. She was intelligent—a
quality she displayed during the debacle with the senator. Her defense that not all mutants are
harmful because “after all, the wrong person behind the wheel of a car can be
dangerous,” blew my ten-year-old self out of the water (excuse the pun,
accidentally uttered in reference to Jean’s extraordinary actions at the close
of X2) in admiration. Grey also has the attention of
suitors—most notably Logan, who caused even ten-year-old me to giggle in
appreciation—but she isn’t necessarily affected by their attention. Certainly, she recognizes the advances,
perhaps even feels something in response, but this, to me, never seemed to be a
large priority to her. She chose to
disregard or overlook Logan’s attention, on the grounds that, typically, they
had far bigger problems at hand.
In
some way, her resistance towards Logan made her markedly more fascinating to
me, even in my youth. This
characteristic has continued to draw me towards Jean in my repeated viewings,
succeeding in drawing my particular attention in a post-Twilight world, where strong heroines who don’t worry themselves
with their male suitors are few and far between.
There
is a particular line she delivers to Logan in an attempt to assuage him and
reassure the Wolverine of her commitment to Scott—a commitment that, while earning
my respect for her loyalty, confuses me to no end. James Marsden is attractive; Hugh Jackman is a god. “Girls flirt with the dangerous guy,
they don’t bring him home; they marry the good guy.” This quote has always intrigued me, as I find the good
guy/bad boy debate an interesting one—one I look forward to further exploring
on the men’s side of these posts.
There are so many couplings of the good guy/bad boy dichotomy—Dean/Jess,
for that matter—Dean/Sam, Angel/Spike (who is which depends on an episode-by-episode
basis), to name a few. Jean contributes
Scott/Logan to this list.
With
this line, she presents a sort of honesty that isn’t frequently shown in women
in media, especially when it concerns men. Typically, women are portrayed as coy and mysterious and,
while I would definitely agree that the writers preserved the mystery involving
Jean’s whole other identity, they, at least in this one line, finally gave the
audience a woman who could speak her mind and not feel ashamed of it. She’s bluntly informing Logan that,
while it may be interesting to entertain the idea of him, she has made a
commitment to stay with Scott, one she can’t turn on just because he holds an
appeal to her.
By admitting this, she is conceding
that she does have feelings for him, thus placing her precariously close to a
potential for a love triangle.
Women in love triangles are typically meant to fret throughout the bulk
of their movie/television show/novel/series of novels over who they should be
with; the triangle has been known to frequently be their only main plot (I
guess girls in love aren’t allowed to have a To Do List?). With this quote, Jean refuses to fall
victim to that stereotype. She can
acknowledge that she has feelings for Logan that she shouldn’t, but she refuses
to fall into a triangle situation with him and Scott.
As
someone who prides herself on blunt honesty, even if the truth has the
potential to hurt the recipient, Jean’s candor is a breath of fresh air for me,
particularly when applied to a male, as, for some reason, writers often seem
hesitant to allow women to be honest with men in favor of a propensity towards
mystery instead. Often, the only
exception to this is the Triple F—or Fronting Feisty Female, a woman who is
honest enough to forcefully tell a man he’s doing something wrong, but fails to
do enough right to save herself, relying on the supposed ‘wrong’ man to do the
saving in the end.
Jean
doesn’t fall into the Triple F category fortunately, as she is strong enough to
assert herself to the men in her life, demanding respect, but also earning it
as her powers allow her to save the X-Men on several occasions. Grey’s sacrifice at the end of X2 saves everyone on the X-Jet as the
dam collapses. Her efforts with
Scott and Logan in X-Men saves Rogue
and the attendees of the banquet, all of whom would’ve been killed without her
quick thinking. These instances
only become more common as more factors of the Phoenix awaken.
According
to Bryan Singer, the director of X-Men
and X2, (and the soon to be released Days of Future Past) as announced in the
X-Men commentary, Jean’s attempts to
direct Cerebro in the original movie are what started the process of awakening
the Phoenix. Her attempts to grasp
at powers she should be in possession of, but due to Professor X’s preventative
measures, she isn’t, stirs something in her subconscious, in the process,
breaking down some of her mental walls.
The
Phoenix is an entirely separate persona from Jean. When she was very young, as a potentially limitless Level 5 mutant,
Professor X placed psychic blocks in her mind, which prevented her from ever
fully grasping her potential for power.
Her repressed abilities revolted, creating a new personality, which
referred to itself as the Phoenix.
I
have mixed feelings on Professor X’s actions. I understand his desire to protect a young child from
hurting herself or others merely because her powers were beyond her control. On the other hand, I can’t help but
think, had he simply taught her how to control her powers from the start,
perhaps he, along with countless others—Jean included—would’ve made it to see the
end of Last Stand.
Last Stand is, by far, Jean’s
movie. In a sense, she is an
antagonist of the film, something I remember troubling my sixteen-year-old self
at the time of its release. However,
as I’ve aged, I’ve seen that Jean’s potential paths were numbered. Her fate was, in a way, sealed—a fact
that allows me to resume my previous compassion for and approval of the
character.
Regardless of her allegiance, no
one can deny that Jean is a strong female in the final film of the original
trilogy. She feels a deep sense of
betrayal from Professor X’s actions—to the point where she blames him for
Scott’s death; had he taught her to control her powers instead of repressing
them, she can’t help but think, Scott may still be with them.
That
isn’t to say she takes no responsibility for the death of her husband. Jean, of course, feels immeasurably
guilty for killing the man she loved, as shown with her breaking down at the
mere mention of his name. The
anger the Phoenix feels combined with Jean’s guilt for both Scott and Professor
X’s deaths results in a driving motivation that eventually leads the Phoenix to
destroy almost everything in her path.
The
Phoenix has an amazing potential, one I don’t think we really even saw the full
spectrum of in Last Stand. Even Magneto appears to fear her,
almost cautiously tiptoeing around her at times. However, that doesn’t stop him from releasing her at the
attack on Alcatraz, where she does an impeccable amount of damage in a very
short amount of time—destroying a lab, the X-Jet and countless humans and
mutants in the process.
In
the end, only Logan, with his mutant ability to heal can bring her down. He approaches her slowly, in
measureless pain as he watches Jean—a woman I truly believe he has loved for
quite some time, despite his bad boy status—attempt to disintegrate him over
and over, only to fail as he manages to heal just in time. Finally, he reaches her, begs her to
stop. Something in her snaps, Jean
resumes the reigns for the briefest of time—just long enough to beg him to end
it. He knows what she’s
requesting, but it isn’t a request he wants to grant. Grey continues to prod; her powers are now completely out of
control as she destroys everything surrounding them, to the point that Logan
can no longer dissent. He tells
her he loves her one last time, before extracting his claws and stabbing
Jean. The final piece of her
puzzle slips back into place and, for one shining moment, the woman standing in
front of him is comprehensively, unconditionally his Jean as she smiles gratefully to him, finally at peace. I’m sure Jean, wherever she may be
post-Last Stand, detests the damage
she inflicted, but is exceedingly thankful to Logan for preventing her from
further spread of devastation.
Perhaps, she might think, bad boys aren’t such a bad decision after
all.
From Bella to Katniss:
Is Jean a good role model? Jean’s telepathy and telekinetic powers in X-Men are really just starting—almost
like driving a sport’s car in first gear in the middle of an empty
highway. Even in her version of
first gear, Jean is a very strong woman, if a bit insecure and shaken by the questions
surrounding her powers. She
manages to save her fellow superheroes several times, even the males. But her superpowers aren’t the only
strength in her possession. She’s
obviously intelligent, as a successful doctor, setting an excellent example
that women can flourish in a lab coat, no matter what one chooses to do while
in the coat at hand. Grey has two
attractive men seeking her attention and, while it is a factor for her, it
isn’t her only factor, particularly
as she progresses and her internal struggle with the Phoenix deepens. In fact, despite this struggle, which
is already waging war by the end of X2,
she manages to sacrifice herself for the sake of her fellow X-Men, including
all of those on the X-Jet, as she uses her immense abilities to simultaneously lift
the jet, hold up a tidal wave ready to overtake her and communicate
telepathically with Professor X to say goodbye. While typical, everyday humans don’t often face a struggle
in which they are forced to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others, I do
think that the message of Jean’s actions is clear. She has an acute loyalty to these people that insists she
see this through—no matter how difficult it may be or how many superhuman
obstacles she must tackle at once.
Failure is not an option to her, indicating that she has a solid moral conscience
as well. While Jean is perhaps not
as dazzling as the Black Widow, she holds her own, which is far more than some
heroines can say.
Role Model Rating:
6/10
From Lorelai to Wonder Woman: Is Jean relatable?
As I mentioned with Natasha, it can be difficult for superheroes to be
relatable—hence the placing of Wonder Woman on this scale. However, typically, once we look past
the superhuman abilities, there’s a very human relatability to be found—thus
the term superhuman. While we may not all have Hugh Jackman
fawning over us, we can appreciate why he has set his sights on Grey. Jean is sensible, logical, with her
feet on the ground—she is a doctor, after all. She isn’t quite as headstrong as a lot of the characters
I’ve covered, but what she lacks in flair, she makes up in sensibility. Jean internalizes a lot—she isn’t
necessarily a big talker—as she often struggles with a personality at war with
itself. While we don’t all have a
separate personality as a result of our mentor repressing part of our
superhuman ability, there are some who know how it feels to struggle against a
part of yourself that you can’t control or, perhaps, an aspect of your
personality that you intensely hate and wish you could reign in. This aspect, ever-so present in Jean,
isn’t covered very often by popular media, for reasons I can’t quite
fathom. Perhaps the image of
someone in a less than healthy mental state troubles the general public and,
therefore, creators tend to shy away from it. Either way, Jean isn’t the only one to suffer against a
dislike of some part of her personality, myself included, and, therefore, undeniably
earns the human part of her superhuman title.
Relatability Rating:
6/10
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