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Xavier's dream: corporate brand or philosophy?

  
 
Quireboy
17:21 / 24.02.03
This is an idea I brought up on the NXM137 thread but which I think deserves space to examine in more detail.

NXM has seen Morrison question the goals and direction of Xavier's dream ... which increasingly seems to be more of a brand than a philosophy.

At the start of his run, the X-Men have had a corporate makeover: new uniforms, new technology. And in Extinction their place in the global market is transformed. Beast forecasts that there will be far more consumers of the X-brand as the mutant birth rate increases and humanity gradually dies out. And then Xavier's main competitor (Magneto) is wiped out.

However, the X-Men suffer a hostile takeover (as Cassandra posesses their founder). Cassandra outs Xavier, transforming the school from a private enterprise to a public ltd company. At some point, either just before or after this takeover, the Institute sets up a global franchise - the X-Corporation. Former enemies are either brought into the X-Men's fold or become redundant in this new world order.

At the same time Cassandra initiates a rebranding of one of the X-Men's arch-enemies - the Sentinels. The obselete "classic" models which Cyclops and Wolverine so easily destroy in NXM114 are superceded by a deadly new class that adapts to any environment.

The nano-technology of the new sentinels is also employed by the U-Men - a new corporation which like Xavier's dream is promoted by an aspirational lifestyle - gaining mutant powers. Its expansion is based on canabalising the raw materials of the X-Men - mutants. The U-Men also attempt a hostile takeover of the Institute but are easily defeated. Jean courts the media, using a press tour and conference to sell the X-brand to the public.

Meanwhile, Cassandra has surreptiously seized control of the Shi'ar Empire and uses them as another weapon against the X-brand. However, Empires are outdated concepts - globalisation is the new imperialism. The Superguardians look archaic, the Empire is ruined and it withdraws from the world's market - cutting off ties with its former partner organisation, the X-Men. With the support of the Institute's board (the teachers), Cassandra is ousted and Xavier is reinstated as chairman.

Xavier and Jean continue their promotion of the X-brand, touring round the various franchises that make up the X-Corporation. While in Paris they are confronted by a new threat from the competing human organisation known as the Weapon Plus Programme, which uses a combination of mutant subjects and sentinel technology. In contrast to Xavier's lifestyle driven corporation, it is promoted by viral marketting. However, the product's test run is sabotaged and its newer model (Fantomex) does not conform to its corporate strategy.

Xavier and Jean travel to Genosha where it becomes clear that Magneto's brand could be set for a revival due to his iconic status - and, we learn later, young mutant consumers' nostalgia. In India, we also see that the managers of the local X-franchise are also adept at using nostaligia and kitsch (the spandex uniforms) to promote the X-brand. Back at the mansion, the X-men are increasingly concerned with their media profiles - Beast, on the front of magazines (like Xavier), is more popular than Scott, who admits feeling uneasy in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, the X-brand faces criticism from its management trainees/consumers. Quentin Quire rejects Xavier's aspirational dream as out of date and touch with the new generation of mutants. he creates his own agenda and his own franchise - the Omega Gang, whom he describes as 'the new X-Men - the improved version" - to rival Xavier's. Quentin adapts the direct action tactics of anti-globalisation to attack Xavier's brand - hijacking a planned media event to promote the school - much to the consternation of the media conscious staff. Quire also suggests that the Professor is selling out on his core consumers in rebranding the Institute as a school for mutants and humans.

Although the Omega Gang's takeover fails, it highlights the deficiencies of Xavier's corporate strategy. His philosophy is as superficial as the aspirational lifestyles promoted by a Benneton or Diesel advert.

At the end of NXM137, Emma tells Quentin that he didn't think through his plan at all - take over the school and then what, she asks the rioters. But she might as well ask a similar question of Xavier, as he clearly didn't think through the implications of taking in so many students ... open up the school and then what? Does the Institute have an admissions policy, how qualified are its staff?

The Institute now looks more like the McDonalds University - read Fast Food Nation for more details - than an Ivy League college. Its graduates end up running X-Men franchises - the X-Corporation - around the world and wear the corporate X logo. The school is based on conforming to and living Xavier's dream - so it hardly seems like coincidence that the Omega Gang are parodies of anti-capitalists.

But the Omega Gang can also be seen as the "new Coke" - public reaction to them is hostile, so they'll have to be withdrawn while Xavier's rethinks his coporate strategy.

At the end of the Riot, will Xavier decide to "greenwash" this bad publicity by using his telepathy to erase it from the media/public's memory? Or will the return of Jean see the injection of some much needed corporate social responsibility?
 
 
Quireboy
19:06 / 24.02.03
X-Static readers may want to contribute to this thread as that book has openly explored the X-brand.
 
 
ciarconn
02:20 / 25.02.03
Making a dream into reality is very difficult. Just watch the distance between marxist theory and the Sovietic Union. X Corp, in that sense, is is a way of making the dream of Xavier real. Even if that dream has been redefined (changed from the peaceful co-living between humans and mutants to raising the quality of mutant's life). Banshee's X Corps was a valuable balance to X corp, mantaining civil order in a growing mutant society (paralel to the XSE).
X Corp might not be the most efficient way of making the dream real, but it is realistic. As a amtter of fact, it would be expectable to see mutant religious phenomenons and other commercial corporations rise as answers to Xavier's move.
 
 
perceval
07:59 / 25.02.03
Well, one problem Magneto could never overcome was he still believed in the "you're either hammer or anvil" philosophy, tragically ironic since he grew up in a Nazi death camp, a perfect example of what that philosophy leads to. The world has evolved beyond a point where sheer brute force is the sole means of gaining influence and authority. While representative of physical evolution, Magneto still thought in terms of the old world, and physical conquest, trying to be a conquerer like Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, or Hitler. Physically, he was evolved, but mentally, he was an evolutionary throwback, his ideas unable to survive a more complex, evolved, mental world.

One significant thing that Morrison has done with Xavier that just about everyone has overlooked is de-aging him. Instead of being 60-something, as previously assumed, Chuck is now in his early 40s. While in a discussion on another forum on Chuck's history, and how de-aging him changes him as a character, in a nice bit of synchronisity I happened to be listening to "Mind Games" by John Lennon. "A nice song for Chuck", I thought. Then, I realized when Chuck's powers now would have manifested (the early 70s), right at the time when Lennon, among others, was a huge influence on young people, appealing to their idealism, getting them to think differently, infuencing them to EVOLVE, and make the world a better place. Charles Xavier is now, as of Morrison's de-aging of him, a product of late 60s/early 70s counter culture, with all it's innocense and ideals.

The first generation of X-Men come from a different mental place, as we saw in Jean's speech in the same issue she brought up Chuck's age. When discussing the potential of those lost in Genosha, she brought up Shakesphere, Einstein, and Kurt Cobain. Kurt is as significant in Jean's world as Shakesphere and Einstein. Of course he would be, when you look at when Jean would have been an angsty teenager. This was the significant time in Jean's life where her thought and ideas were formed.

I suppose Quentin likes the International Noise Conspiracy.

E
 
 
Quimper
16:24 / 25.02.03
GM has used the idea of the corporation as viral entity before in Marvel Boy. He, and I agree, might think it is the most effective way of spreading memes and products. And Xavier has embraced this philosophy.

One of the most important aspects of a corporate ideal is its visual identity. The X-Corporation Logo. It's brilliant from a corporate standpoint. There are tons of Xavier's ideas—mutant presence in today's world as beneficial, instant safety in return for brand loyalty (which I'll get to later), peaceful coexistence, mutant superiority—all wrapped up in one character. The letter X. If Xavier saturates his market enough, which he has done, every time someone sees the letter X, even in a sentence, they will feel the emotional aggregates of The Dream.

Another aspect to visual identity, as Quireboy said, is the company uniform. They are The Matrix. Children, like the boy Xavier speaks of in Paris, think they look so cool and adopt their sleekness. Adults fear the look, as the reporter says in front of the school, as being too militant. But Jean quells his fears—she's such a good Marketing Director—as a necessary evil if they are to compete in the marketplace.

Jean's role is more vital than ever if you look at the Institute as a corporate HQ. Especially, when you look at the Institute as a corporation whose ethics are in question. The Institute is going the way of Enron and Arthur Andersen. The only way to save public opinion—vital to a company which just launched its IPO—is to have the ultimate spin doctor. Jean could probably save face for the Institute after Open Day with mere words. But she's not there. When the Marketing Director is not there to buffer the CEO and the public, things are not good. The public never trusts the CEO.

And no one else is capable of spinning the disaster. Beast says it has to be done, but Scott doesn't think it's possible. Beast is TOO disconnected from humanity now to do it. Xavier is the rich, stuffy guy in the big black tower who no one trusts. Scott is incapable of dealing with the public, as is Emma, who doesn't have the tolerance. And, Xorn has no clue about corporate mentality.

The other brilliant strategy exercised by X-Corp is the ease of consumer use. Just Think X. And your safety is secured. All you have to do is think! Xavier has taken the ideal of the logo/sigil and combined it with the ultimate convenience. All you have to do is think about it. It's like wishing a Coke was in your hand. The ultimate reward for brand loyalty.

Xavier's main competitor (Magneto) has been outmoded and reduced to kitsch (the T-shirts). All other takeovers have failed. But the problem is Xavier is now the Bill Gates of mutantkind. He has eradicated competiton, or its been eradicated for him. Capitalism does not allow monopolies. I guess the Shiar have already told us the Phoenix is going to be the Anti-Trust suit.
 
 
Warewullf
18:24 / 25.02.03
Uh, I just wanted to say: excellent post, Quimper!
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
19:08 / 25.02.03
As far as X-Statix goes and its connection to Xavier's branding, my favorite way to look at it is that it's an Adult Swim-type series withIN the Marvel Universe. Clever, smart, and taking the piss out of the real world (NXM) it's reflecting.

It explains its rampant cultural presence but little impact on or connection to the Marvel Universe. (With the X-Men's higher profile, X-Statix' writing staff could have easily culled together storylines featuring real life celebrities like Xavier and Wolverine).

I look at it this way mainly because its commentary is slanted more towards satire than Grant's serious consideration. And the idea makes me chuckle.

I have little else to add to the alpha waves of genius throughout this post, I'm just basking in the rays.
 
 
Mike-O
19:35 / 25.02.03
The danger of Xavier's "Dream" evolving in the corporate mentality lies in its homogenization: Philosophy, in the truest sense, is personal, not applicable to all individuals in any specific way, but mutable. Specifics will always be insignificant in the face of the core ideologies of a philosophy. And ideologies must be interpreted and uncovered independently. Which is why the idea of Xavier franchising his beliefs concurrently makes him his own greatest threat. As Quireboy suggests, X-Corporation in the end can only become ever similar to the nature of the capitalist ventures it emulates: profit as the ultimate end. So that, as far as I can see, means that in order to gain more followers Xavier, or if not he himself his successor, will ultimately justify any means of increasing membership and devotion by blindly envoking the goodness and neccessity of The Dream (Xavier's visions of society). But for how long will the Dream maintain its integrity before the quest, and all that the quest may entail, becomes more important than the end goal? When does violence and devotion become more important than the reason such elements became realities in the first place?

In this sense, I find the idea of X-Corporation not unlike Chrisianity following the death of Christ: the deciples (X-Men) sent into the world to spread the word of their founder, their visonary (Xavier). And yet, over time it is that mission which almost overtakes the philosophy it is meant to disperse....
 
 
Quimper
20:33 / 25.02.03
Mike-O is right. Success = Sacrifice of the Integrity of the Dream. It's the capitalist way. More people now associate Ben N Jerry's ice cream by their new twisted flavors than by their original platform of kindness to animals, rainforests, blah blah blah. Hell, I can't even remember. That is certainly a flaw to Xavier's current methods.

Another flaw is that Xavier's mission statement is based on trust. Trust from humans and fellow mutants. However, the corporation is probably the LEAST trustworthy entity of our times. It's ironic to me that the purveyor of advanced living is falling back on a structure that, by nature, rips people off and sucks the souls out of its staff and constituents.

I wonder if the disaster that was Open Day will have any effect on X-Corp's bottom line. How do they make money anyway?
 
 
Quimper
21:20 / 25.02.03
And thank you, warewullf.
 
 
dlotemp
22:41 / 25.02.03
I just want to say that it's threads like this that remind me intelligent people still read and discuss comics. I would never have thought of Xavier using brand methodology to spread his goals, and yet it's so obvious now. Or at least the theory fits well. Thank you all for the wonderful ideas and intrepetations.
 
 
Mike-O
01:10 / 26.02.03
Dlotemp, Quimper, thanks for your responses...... I feel the same way. I really have to thank Quireboy for givin' me the heads up on this forum.... I can tell you places like this are few and far between, or at least from my perspective.

That said, I think the idea of Xavier's philosophies as a corporate entity is ever more disturbing given the nature of Capitalism within the modern world. By that I mean that in many ways corporations act as political entities as well. Take Natural Resource firms within the U.S.: it's no secret that politics are influenced by business potentiality.... in fact much of American foreign policy is (arguably) based upon the expanison and domination of the world market by U.S.-based businesses who hold sway over American economics. One might see the current looming conflict with Iraq as one such example of this: Are U.S. interests truly founded in ensuring world peace? Or is the more likely answer that one of the world's most oil-rich nations just happens to be worth spilling blood for?

My point is not to debate American morality. It is simply to review the fact that a nation like America has altered itself so radically from its initial impetus, and become alogether different in its attempt to maintain its own status quo. How much of a risk does Xavier run by letting his Dream get too far ahead of him? How much control will he have in the end?

Almost makes you wonder... if Xavier were Lenin... who would his Stalin be?
 
 
ciarconn
02:38 / 26.02.03
Trotsky would be Magneto, the radical that dies because of his ideas.

I sometimes get the feeling that Stalin will be Emma Frost, given the strong presence of the Hellfire club into X Corp (Chris Claremont mentioned in Xfan that Sunspot will be heading X Corp L.A.)
 
 
Mike-O
03:22 / 26.02.03
Magnus as Trotsky.... interesting. Mind you, I've always found his character most interesting in that I could never find a presence throughout history that was quite so intriguing as he's become to me. Such a noble, intelligent leader.... and yet flawed in the simplest and yet most crucial elements of his logic at the same time.
 
 
perceval
06:43 / 26.02.03

Well, Magnus set his structure up as something people distrust more than corporations: The Government, and a totalitarian one, at that. I see more parallels with Stalin or Mao than Trotski. Magnus was a power junkie. He was addicted to his own mutant power, and it tended to drive him insane. Similarly, having an island dictatorship wasn't enough. He had to go for everything, the entire world. Yet, like Stalin and Mao, he still saw himself as the revolutionary, rather than the tyrant.

Regarding what Xavier is trying to achieve and Capitalism/Democracy, it's a noble goal, but messy to achieve. It depends on consensus, and people treating each other properly. But, for all it's faults, no one's come up with something better. Xavier also can't do the same level of damage Magneto did for the same reason Nixon couldn't do anything as horrible as Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Communist China, Cambodia, etc, did. He has to be able to sell what he's doing to his people, and enough of the public, rather than just doing it and say "Support it, or else".

E
 
 
No star here laces
08:17 / 26.02.03
I have to say, I think a lot of bollocks has been talked in this thread about assimilation.

Critical moment in the storyline: Chuck to Quentin "real change happens slowly".

Themes in New X-men - extreme positions annihilate, leaving the moderates. Crucial that Cassandra destroyed Genosha - proponents of violent change always have violent opponents. Who is left standing at the end? Xavier...

Somebody mentioned Lenin/Stalin. Who acheived more change Clement Attlee or Lenin? Attlee is an appeasing moderate by Lenin's standards, but 50 years after Attlee's premiership, his acheivements still stand. Everything Lenin built is in ruins, economically and militarily his country is right back where it was in the Tsarist days.

What's the point of Riot at Xaviers? Answer: the futility and immaturity of everything QQ stands for.

What's the key to Xavier? His dream is radical, but he realises it can only be acheived gradually at the pace that he can change people's minds to agree with him.

This book is a statement of belief in democracy and gradual change, not a critique of 'selling out' or something equally adolescent...
 
 
glassonion
10:26 / 26.02.03
telepathy annihilates democracy.

to do the commie thing to death, charlie and erik are fred and karl, surely. jean is leo, scott is ivan and if there is to be a jo its emma [or maybe jim. very difficult not to do a whole lot of murderin when you've got claws like that]. emma, having already had her damascene conversion takes on a st peter role, as pointed out elsewhere.

and the whole xcorp idea is a nice conceit, but the models don't quite fit. corporations are simply the best way of getting a lot of shit sold within freemarket capitalism. the xmen don't have a product, or customers really. to sell ideology, you want a religion, not a corporation. the x dream isn't mutant utopia, that's magneto's dream. x-dream is humans and mutants having a real cool time all the time. at the mo x has a monopoly on post-human ideology, and hence entropy is squeezing into the system.
 
 
Quireboy
11:32 / 26.02.03
Consider Xavier's sermon/sales pitch to Xorn in NXM127:

"With no special gifts other than its intellectual skills, humankind survived for many thousands of years in a very dangerous world. One of the ways they survived was by forming themselves into groups or tribes, gathering around flags and books and laws...

"A shared ideal is one of the best ways to hold a tribe together in the face of chaos. But now all the tribes are sharing the same tent and we can all be guilty sometimes of mistaking our ideas for things.

"I see it as the job of the X-Men to help build bridges between human and mutant thinking."

In the following Fantomex arc humans have adapted Sentinel technology to not only destroy the X-genepool but also to subvert mutant memes with the viral mind of Weapon XII.

Returning to Xavier's comments, notice this remark in particular: "we can all be guilty sometimes of mistaking our ideas for things." The dream has been diluted (or transformed) amid diversification, opening new franchises, etc. X-merchandise and competition between different X-franchises for media airtime is certainly prominent in X-static.

The Institute sells ideas - but I don't think it has to be a commercial organisation for the globalisation analysis to work.
 
 
Quireboy
20:58 / 26.02.03
Grant has portrayed superhero teams as corporations before:

Here he's talking about how Lex Luthor tries to make a corporate takeover of the Justice League during his run on JLA:

I guess the Injustice League has to be indirect and crafty because the Joker and Luther are people who can't challenge the JLA directly?

GM: Luthor decided that they've never won before mainly because they've tried to go up against them in street fights. Knocking each other through walls is useless when you're up against Superman. So Luthor's ideal way to win is to make a corporate takeover of the Justice League using his business acumen.

So with these things in mind, the organization which the people like Superman, Batman and the Martian Manhunter belong to has these young heroes, like the Flash and Green Lantern, and Luthor's people are trying to sweet-talk them into joining the bad guys by pointing out the fact that they are humans, and they are working for the aliens. It's like making them a better offer.

Luthor is absolutely convinced that his business skills and his corporate savvy are going to allow him to take over the Justice League; but Bruce Wayne is a member of the Justice League, and he's a better corporate shark than Luthor is. This means the two ultimate human minds are pitted against each other.

You wouldn't count the Joker as one of the ultimate human minds?
GM: Well, he's the mind of a different stroke.

Yes, he is indeed. You never really played Bruce Wayne as being a competent businessman.
GM: Well, here's what I thought - I can actually see him doing that stuff on behalf of the Justice League, which would just add a new dimension to the whole team dynamic.

Given that we live in an information society where knowlege has become a commodity is it makes sense to examine Xavier's Institute as a memetic corporation. Who has more control over the flow of information than telepaths? - Especially telepaths with access to supercomputers that can boost their power to a global level.
 
 
Quireboy
20:22 / 06.04.03
Posted by Byron:

From what I can make out from Grant's rantings on his site and yawn's interview, his big kick at the moment is Ken Wilber. Ken Wilber is a sort of philosopher, but more in the Deleuze mold than the Kantian, meaning that he spouts a lot of unsupported theory and hopes some of it will stick.

Wilber's most interesting idea (and one, I feel bound to point out, that marketing professionals use frequently so you should all familiarise yourselves with his work or you might be, *gasp*, exploited) is that people's spiritual development takes a variety of levels that he calls 'memes'. In ascending order of development the red meme is adolescent rebellion, the blue (I think) meme is of orderly conformity in the 50s america mold, the orange is of free-market competition and independence (like science or markets) and the green meme is all about consensus, non-aggression and 'lets all love each other'. In other words, hippies (and possibly New Labour/Clinton).

Once you progress past this point you get into 'ascended' type states where people manage to integrate all the previous memes without contradictions.

I would suggest that these memes are the structure behind NXM. The outside world is the blue/orange. The school (probably as in the student body) is the green. Xavier certainly represents some kind of higher meme (as do the Shi'ar, probably). QQ is the red, but a very smart version of the red, thus illustrating that although Dennis the Menace, Sid Vicious and QQ (for example) are all at the same spiritual level of development they are at opposite extremes of intellectual capability. The interesting thing is to see how the various memes react and deal with QQ. I'd suggest that what we'll see is that the students will be carried along by QQ as the green meme cannot deal with conflict. The response of the blue/orange will be violent and oppressive, and that X will somehow re-integrate QQ into his schema, much as he did with Cassandra.

I've just had a look at some of Wilber's writing - load of bollocks if you ask me. But it is possible to apply the basic ideas of his meme types to New X-Men.

The theory lays out a number of arbitrarily color-designated "value memes" (or vMemes) grouped together in different "tiers."

In the first tier, individuals, organizations, and cultures pass through the following stages:

Beige Meme: SurvivalSense, Instinctive, small survival bands; Purple Meme: Animistic, Kindred Spirits, superstitious tribes; Red Meme: Power-Gods, Egocentric, empires bent on conquest and impulsive gratification; Blue Meme: TruthForce, Authority, groups concerned with rules, traditions, and obedience; Orange Meme: StriveDrive, Strategic, corporations seeking wealth and status; Green Meme: HumanBond, Consensus, cultures sharing egalitarian feelings.

The "second tier" starts with Yellow Meme (FlexFlow, Ecological), and then Turquoise Meme (WholeView, Holistic). Even higher "third tier" vMemes are said to exist. 

With the Riot over, I see Xorn as the only example of an ascended or third tier meme in the book, which explains his actions in the arc. Jean is moving from the green to the turqouise meme towards ascension.

Xavier appears to be the green meme; Emma the orange meme; Scott the blue meme.

If Grant is really influenced by this bullshit then perhaps the various levels of mutation can be seen as comparable to the various tiers of memes. This theory would also tie in with the Qabala mythology in NXM as well. Or maybe it's all pretentious mumbo jumbo. Interesting that this theory is used in marketting though, which is why I thought it tied in with Xavier's dream as a corporate strategy.
 
 
Aertho
14:57 / 11.04.06
This may be the wrong thread, but I prefer to recycle/reuse than create new.

Has anyone seen this?

Seems that Warner Bros has hired a graphic design company to build a "band book" for Superman. I would assume its for marketing efforts in promotional materials in anticipation for the film.

I guess it's not a far stretch of the imagination for the industry to build consistent brand ideologies for their characters. On the heels of All-Star Challenge and Villain Workshop, I thought it might be helpful to consider the inherent "brands" (themes, motifs, plot) of our iconic characters.

I can see one might imagine Superman to be a bit of a philosophy as well.

The X-Franchise is a brand/philosophy that's fallen all over the ground, and Morrison is busy building new brands for DC. Still, the X-franchise has many tropes and taglines that hold it in the forefront of the market. Is it the lack of a philosophy/brand ideal that leads B-list characters further down the alphabet? Is a consistent brand what makes D, E, F-listers like Bulleteer and Guardian so appealing?

Anyway, does anyone know where I can get one of those Superman books?
 
 
Mario
17:57 / 11.04.06
Not uncommon, really. Every notice how, when they do ads and posters and the like, the images of Superman, Batman, or Wolverine always look basically the same?

As I recall, the last "official" designer for Supes was Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
 
  
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