Which is the Most Racist X-Men Movie of All TIme?
![]() |
X2 (2003) |
On Monday, it was announced that Psylocke will be played by Olivia Munn in X-Men: Apocalypse. The exciting thing is Munn is she's Chinese on her mother's side, meaning the fan-favorite character will be played by an Asian and not "white-washed." In the comics, Psylocke's a British woman named Elizabeth Braddock who took on a Japanese woman's body. While Psylocke has mental abilities like mind-reading and telekinesis, her most recognizable feature is her ability to generate glowing blades using her mind. So far, the cast of Apocalypse is pretty diverse: Alexandria Shipp as Storm, Fan BingBing as Blink, Lana Candor as Jubilee and Olivia Munn as Psylocke.
It started us thinking about the diversity in the upcoming film and past films.
My brother and I have been talking a lot about what we call the "Nichols Test" (named after the pioneering Black woman in Star Trek: Nichelle Nichols). It's a way to rate how racially diverse a movie is. It's a lot like the Bechdel test, but it talks about ethnicities. One of the most important parts of the Nichols test is asking how important are the minority characters? Is it just "window dressing" or do they contribute to the film?
Here are the questions we ask to get a score:
- How many minorities are in the film (must be a speaking role)?
- Do they talk to each other (on screen)?
- Are they socially or economically superior to the highest billed white character?
X-Men (2000)
![]() |
Halle Berry as Storm, Katrina Florece as Jubilee |
- Minorities: 2 (Halle Berry as Storm, Katrina Florece as Jubilee)
- Do they talk to each other? Yes
- Are they superior? Yes
Score: 3
X2: X-Men United (2003)
![]() |
Halle Berry as Storm, Kea Wong as Jubilee |
- Minorities: 2 (Halle Berry as Storm, Kea Wong as Jubilee)
- Do they talk to each other? Yes
- Are they superior? No
Score: 2
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
![]() |
Halle Berry as Storm, Dania Ramirez as Callisto, Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dr. Kavita Rao, Bill Duke as Secretary Trask, Meiling Melançon as Psylock, Ken Leung as Kid Omega, Kea Wong as Jubilee |
- Minorities: 7 (Halle Berry as Storm, Dania Ramirez as Callisto, Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dr. Kavita Rao, Bill Duke as Secretary Trask, Meiling Melançon as Psylock, Ken Leung as Kid Omega, Kea Wong as Jubilee)
- Do they talk to each other? No
- Superior? Yes
Score: 4
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
![]() |
will.i.am as Kestrel, Lynn Collins as Kayla Silverfox, Daniel Henney as Agent Zero |
- Minorities: 3 (will.i.am as Kestrel, Lynn Collins as Kayla Silverfox, Daniel Henney as Agent Zero)
- Do they talk to each other? No
- Superior? Yes
Score: 4
X-Men: First Class (2011)
![]() |
Edi Gathegi as Darwin; Zoë Kravitz as Angel Salvadore; Álex González as Riptide |
- Minorities: 3 (Edi Gathegi as Darwin; Zoë Kravitz as Angel Salvadore; Álex González as Riptide)
- Do they talk to each other? Yes
- Superior? No
Score: 4
The Wolverine (2013)
![]() |
Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida; Rila Fukushima as Yukio; Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida; Brian Tee as Noburo Mori; Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Yashida; Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada |
- Minorities: Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida; Rila Fukushima as Yukio; Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida; Brian Tee as Noburo Mori; Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Yashida; Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada
- Do they talk to each other? Yes
- Superior? Yes
Score: 10
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
![]() |
Halle Berry as Storm; Omar Sy as Bishop, Fan Bingbing as Blink; Adan Canto as Sunspot; Booboo Stewart as Warpath |
- Minorities: Halle Berry as Storm; Omar Sy as Bishop, Fan Bingbing as Blink; Adan Canto as Sunspot; Booboo Stewart as Warpath,
- Do they talk to each other? Yes (sort of)
- Superior? No
Score: 5
Here's the chart if you like that kind of thing
So, what does all this mean? It means that The Wolverine stands as the most ethnically diverse mutant movie of all time. X2 is the most racist. We'll see where the new movie stands, but at least the trend is going up.
What do you think of the minority roles in the X-Men films? Which is your favorite X-Men movie? Will the next film be more diverse?
If you enjoyed this, then please use the buttons below to tell your friends about this post! Follow us! Email | RSS | Twitter | Facebook
Really interesting. I hadn't thought about it in terms of ranking the films. When you consider all the comics, it's pretty surprising how much some of them have fallen short.
ReplyDeleteI think it does speak well that Marvel has started to hear people in terms of wanting to see more diversity in the cinematic world. And I'd say that's definitely have a correlating impact on other studios.
That makes sense that The Wolverine would have the most minority characters. Though besides Asians I don't think they had many other minorities represented.
ReplyDeleteSet in Japan, it would've been odd not to have a lot of minority characters. Shame the movie wasn't very good though.
ReplyDeleteI like seeing diverse casts in all movies. I'm surprised the media are still so 'behind'.
ReplyDeleteA lot of successful movies copied Star Trek's trend setting ideas. They just did it better by reinventing characters with emotionally deep backstories enhanced with cgi and all the glitz hollywood has to offer.
ReplyDeleteYou guys certainly think out of the box. I'm more of a DC person, but thankfully the X-Men films have gotten more color over the years. I hope y'all are doing well!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ms Mariah! We overthink outside the box. I hope you're doing well too
ReplyDeleteIt's a winning formula!
ReplyDeleteWhen the most successful franchise makes a move all the other studios follow suit. The comics are rich with mutants of all ethnicities Tim and I'm looking forward to the future films exploring that.
ReplyDeleteNone that I could find Pat
ReplyDeleteIt always makes for a richer moviegoing experience.
ReplyDeleteThe Wolverine should not be on this list since it takes place 99% in Japan, making Wolverine the "minority".
ReplyDeleteIt's called bad writing and a misuse of resources.
ReplyDeleteThe story takes place outside of the US so the term minority is misused here. I think this one, due to geolocation should be excused from the list.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point! But it's more a reflection of how the races are portrayed regardless of location. Worth noting though.
ReplyDeleteI understand the point of race portrayal, but there is still the issue of context and setting/environment. Japanese people are a minority in America, BUT when the story is set in Japan, the rule changes. It also doesn't help that the film sucked, sorry I couldn't help it.
ReplyDeleteI gotta agree with with you there Vernon. A good writer would know how to showcase all the characters equally well. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to balance a film with a large cast, ethnic issues included, it just takes a good script and a smart director. See Silverado and The Godfather. But as far as these films are concerned, they need Jos Weadon at the helm.... and a miracle, to balance it all. See Avengers and Firefly
ReplyDeleteLogan is the most racist X-Men film...
ReplyDeleteThe bad guys are dressed like Mexican police, all the minorities die, and Latino men get portrayed right away as cholos. On top of that, there is an idea that Mexican mothers abandon their children (indirectly), since every mutant child is born in Mexico without parents. This movie got cheered for mutilating many portrayed Mexicans...