Ok, the 2017 movie Logan has a lot to offer. To start, it’s about an aging superhero, Wolverine, of Marvel comic’s The Uncanny X-Men series. Another thing, Logan is old, in a possible future, and not getting much out of life. As we get into this one, declining civil liberties and an American way of life are brought to forefront. On top of that, private multinational corporations and their subsidiaries have taken over farming in the USA. Finally, a private paramilitary cyborg army, employed by an evil private multinational corporation, Transigen, is after Logan. These story lines, which sound political or like conspiracies at times, are just some of the ideas in Logan.
At the beginning of Logan, I liked the newscast from the future US. Some news reporter says in it, “Everyone is asleep. Sleepwalking. Between the ice caps, pornographers, poisoned water, mutants, it’s all connected. It’s 2029. Why are we still talking about mutants? This scene suggests a future apathetic USA population (perhaps due to welfare or wage or minimum wage increases to appease an apathetic USA population).
In Logan, we learn the rich control the USA- like in most advanced capitalist countries. You see some rich Texas guy and some rich kids partying in the back of a limousine chatting “USA! USA! USA!” as they drive along the US/Mexico fence. They appear to be mocking Mexicans along the border. Yep, the rich call the future shots in a future USA.
The movie Logan also looks at the Reavers, a private paramilitary group first introduced in The Uncanny X-Men #229. In one scene, Donald Pierce, leader of the Reavers, says to Logan:
“She see you yet? Gabriella? See, I am not looking for you wolfie. Well, really, I am looking for someone who is looking for you. She took something of mine when I wasn’t looking. Something for which I am responsible. Mexican lady has it’s sights on you, you know. Doesn’t ring any bells?”
In both the comic and movie, the Reavers are a private paramilitary cyborg group hired by private multinational corporations to kill mutants.
Interestingly, too, Logan makes reference to an incident which occurred sometime in the past at the statute of Liberty where American civil liberties were lost. An old Professor Charles Xavier explains to Logan: “They’re waiting for you at the statute of liberty.” Here, he’s speaking to Logan; however, you have to read the X-Men comics to get the full background about this incident.
Anyways, something happened where no more mutants were born. Logan tells Charles, “Statue of liberty was a long time ago, Charles, a long time ago. There are no new mutants, understand? There hasn’t been one born in 25 years, not anywhere. We were all part of God’s plan. Maybe, God’s mistake.”
That being said, Charles has regrets about the Liberty incident. Charles tells Logan: “Logan, what did we do. No one should live like this drugged in a f..king tank.”
Nevertheless, Logan isn’t listening to Charles. Logan says, “It’s for your own good.” Here, he would rather give Charles medication than deal with him.
In response, Charles has a few words for Logan. Charles says,”You’re waiting for me to die.”
Notably, Logan touches on the whole private military contractors in the USA. Donald Pierce, leader of the Reavers, a private paramilitary group working for Transigen, explains to Calaban:
“The girl is not worth it, trust me. She is not a natural fuck up, like you. She’s a business mistake, R&D going bad There’s a liability. They can’t have things with their patents running around hurting people, can they? We need to get her off the board before she hurts anybody else. Someone you care about. So begins the sniffing.”
Presently, private military contractors make up a high percentage of the US military.
One subtle theme implicit throughout the Logan movie is private multinational corporate research seems to be on the loose in the streets of a future USA. We learn people with genetic mutations, due to secret private research of private multinational corporations, are running around in the streets of America. These people have certain supernatural powers due to their laboratory created genetic abnormalities. And private corporations have dispatched their private armies to retrieve these intellectual properties aka mutants from running all over the country of a future USA.
During this movie, Gabriela Lopez, a nurse at Transigen, exposes the private multinational corporations and their subsidiaries’ bad practices in Mexico, when she states:
“My name is Gabriela Lopez. I’m a nurse. And for 10 years I worked for Transigen research in Mexico City. Transigen is combined American company. What I’m about to show you is illegal… in the US and Canada. They told us we were part of a pharmaceutical study. But of course, it was a lie. These children were born in Transigen. They were born here… And have never left. They have never seen the sun or the ocean… Rain or snow… Or any of God’s creatures. They have no birth certificates… No names… Except the ones we have given them. They were raised in the bellies of Mexican girls. Girls no one can find anymore. Their fathers were semillas genética, special seeds in bottles.”
Throughout the movie, one can wonder where are the Mexican labor unions. Why aren’t they not standing up for the civil rights/labor rights of the Mexican nurses? I am sure nurses pay union dues. Where are the Cesar Chavez’ of Mexico in this movie?
Moreover, I wondered what kind of paperwork Transigen filed for their charter in Mexico? Every corporation must register for a charter in a country. Plus, they have to disclose their board of directors, employees, etc. All foreign private companies/corporations/subsidiaries must pay taxes in foreign countries.
Furthermore, if corporations don’t file the right paperwork, those corporations are breaking the law. Corporate law is very clear about registering a charter in a foreign country. Breaking the law will mean tons of tort lawyers and negligence suits.
That being said, in the real world, Transigen would face many lawsuits. For example, the bait and switch research, where they had cancer research as a pretext, but there real research was really genetic testing on human subjects, which isn’t allowed in the US (UN has called for a ban on all human genetic testing). Genetic testing on human subjects would violate any corporation’s bylaws and code of ethics in the US.
As well, there is the issue of human beings considered as Intellectual Property in Mexico. Some doctor at Transigen says to a Mexican nurse:
We don’t bring them cake, Maria. We do not dress them up for Halloween. We do not call them baby or kiss boo boos. They’re part of a study. Do not think of them as children. Think of them as things. They have patents and copyrights. Like this-(throws a stapler) Comprende?”
I wondered about the constitutionality of such a Intellectual Property law, since the Hela and Moore human cell lines have been patented.
Plus, we see future problems with DNA code owned by private multinational corporations coming down the pike. Logan tells Charles Xavier, “Alkali has your genetic code. Not just mine.” Perhaps, one day, the Ancestry.com or 23Andme.com will have problems like in this movie.
Furthermore, the future shady private multinational companies and their subsidiaries are using this DNA code to create genetically altered soldiers in countries where USA laws don’t apply- like Mexico. “They became more difficult. They were not to be controlled. The company made their bodies into weapons. They tried to teach them to kill. But they do not want to fight. A soldier who’ll not fight is useless.” Much like going to another state for an abortion or another state to buy a gun, private multinationals go to other countries to create genetically altered soldiers to skirt the laws of their own countries.
Notably, the movie showed lots of self driving aka AI vehicles. We see see self driving semi trucks on the highway. Apparently, in this future, there are lots of self driving semi trucks on the roads.
In another interesting scene, Logan’s new friend, Will Munson, an African American farmer, has property rights infringement problems; specifically, an angry neighbour will not recognize Munson’s easement of using water on the neighbour’s land. In fact, the current owner accuses Munson of trespassing when he goes to take some water. Perhaps Logan should of helped his buddy to sue the landowner rather than commit a battery against the neighbour and make things worse.
Logan, too, looks at a possible future where private multinational corporations and their subsidiaries have taken over farming in the USA. These multinational farming corporations now do all the farming, while displacing USA farmers. Private multinational corporations do it with the use of robots and large farming equipment.
Additionally, it should be said, private corporations have extended AI via robots to other planets. Currently, AI and robots have been sent to Mars and the moon. Anyways, there doesn’t seem to be any limits on private corporations in the near future.
Of course, too, Logan ultimately sheds light on the DIY mutant creation movement of private multinational corporations. In the movie, Dr. Zander Rice, a geneticist employed by a private multinational corporation, tells an aging and dying Logan: “Random mutancy went the way of polio. We embarked on our endeavor, precisely.” Logan responds, “Growing mutants of your own!” All this points out private citizens getting involved in DIY mutant creation via biohacking.
Notably, Logan takes place at the end of the world. In this movie, too, Logan must help mutant kids make it to Eden, which is a place in a fictional X-Men comic at the Canadian border. Logan does get the kids to Eden after killing the Reavers, but he dies due to his clone killing him; however, Laura 23, Logan’s daughter kills the clone.
Furthermore, this movie points out future goals of private multinational corporations like gene therapy. Logan suggests multinational corporations will distribute gene therapy via foods like sweet drinks, soda pop, or breakfast cereals to “perfect” humanity. Gene therapy, if not being currently done, will be done via foods in the future.
In the end, I liked Logan the movie. First, we saw a very much aging Logan with human problems even though he’s a superhero. Also, we learned of unscrupulous private multinational corporations like Transigen setting up in countries where the foreign laws there let them do bad stuff. Plus, we got to see Logan’s daughter, Laura. Additionally, the Reavers were introduced in this movie. I would love to see another Logan movie again since it touched on live issues like US/Mexican foreign policy. Or, at least, a movie where Logan/Wolverine is a zombie like in “Marvel Zombies”.
