Ceasar Chavez 2014, Malcom X 1992, Boys Don't Cry 1999, A Better Life 2011, and XMEN 2000
The first film of the new story arc is Ceasar Chavez, starring Michael Pena and John Malkovich. The film is a biography on the civil rights activist and labor organizer who uses the same nonviolent
protest strategy initiated by Gandhi to secure a living wage for farm workers. Torn between his duties as a family man and his commitment to helping his people, he uses non-violence as a form of battling greed and prejudice in his struggle to bring dignity to his people. The story of Ceasar Chavez has inspired millions of Americans from different ethnic backgrounds to fight for social justice outside of the farms. His story, along with Gandhi's, is living proof that the actions of one man can change the world.
The next film in the lineup is Spike Lee's Malcom X, a biography of the slain black nationalist leader, who began his career as a small-time gangster, who rose to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam. Denzel Washington plays Malcom X in a stunning performance that captures the essence and spirit of this controversial individual.
The first two films present the fight for civil rights in both the Hispanic and African American communities. The third film in this part of the timeline is Boys Don't Cry, Hilary Swank's Oscar winning performance about a Nebraskan female born girl named Teena Brandon, who adopts a male identity of Brandon Teena in an attempt to find himself and love. Reverting back to Europa Europa, this film also reintroduces the theme of hiding ones identity from others in fear of being discriminated against.
The next film tackles the current issue of immigration with a father trying to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents while attempting to give him the opportunities he never had. Demian Bichir received a well deserved Oscar nomination for the film as the gardener father.
The final film of the entire timeline of discrimination is racism in the future. Bryan Singer's XMEN, deals with two mutants named Wolverine and Rogue who come to a private academy for teaching mutants to balance out their powers. While doing so, they must join together with the other residents to form a team called the XMEN to oppose a radical terrorist group of mutants that's hellbent on mutant dominance. The two key figures in this film are the leaders of the mutant people named Professor X and Magneto. Professor X embodies the traits of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Ceasar Chavez in the belief that violence is never the answer and minorities (or mutants), can coexist with the rest of humanity. Magneto follows the belief of Malcom X in which society can never fully accept minorities and mutant/minority rights should be fought for with any means necessary. The mutant registration act by Senator Kelly is a mirage of the communist witchhunt that was touched upon in Good Night Good Luck. The character of Rogue played by Anna Paquin, has the issue of hiding her true identity from people in the same vein as the Jewish boy in Europa Europa and Hilary Swanks character in Boys Don't Cry. What the film XMEN does in bringing our epic timeline to a stunning conclusion is that it ties everything that was previously shown together. Magneto even goes as far as lifting a direct quote from Malcom X in the final scene of the film. "There is a war coming and I intend to fight it by any means necessary." To which Professor X replies "And I will always be there, old friend."
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