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Batman and Our Psyche MAG
I’m not going to lie. I saw “The Dark Knight” five times over the course of four weeks, and still I was not entirely satisfied with my intake of Bat-o-rama. Something about the most recent incarnation of the series made my skin tingle as if I was witnessing something great – a long-awaited event, a momentous culmination. The film made $158 million its opening weekend, selling out in venues across the country and breaking many records, so I’m guessing one or two people agreed with me.
Batman’s long-running status as an American superhero has had its ups and downs, but at select moments (like this one) the true magnificence of this character shines. “The Dark Knight” was the culmination of years of Bat-lore; a long-traveling genre finally coming together in a perfect combination of gritty realism, good writing, and a flair for the substantial and stylish. Audiences loved it.
The initial concept of the Caped Crusader remains intact today. He still carries the burden of warding off the ghouls of the night, still embodies the modern-day Robin Hood, and continues to be a vigilante. His message remains solid: maintaining ethics in a chaotic world, standards in a lawless city. His image and his humanity, however, have drastically changed over time.
When Batman first came to life in the 1940s, his simplistic style and lack of character depth was due in part to the cartoon. Adam West’s Batman was a direct translation from the newspaper funnies, and this showed in the costumes and screenwriting. Simplistic, easy-to-follow, lacking developed characters – the films were essentially the cartoons rehashed, and thus worked on the same childlike level.
His conception as a new kind of superhero was attributed to his antihero format: a vigilante who sometimes crossed the law to deliver justice. This reflected the public’s need for an iconic character, a sort of Robin Hood for the 1940s. It was a daring personality for the day, and introduced a new complexity to the superhero genre. Still, this format was very dry, and the character itself just a template from which many later versions would be built.
In his reintroduction to TV in the 1990s, Batman’s character and image developed. As audiences became more attached to the idea of fleshing out Batman’s personal history, the realism of the series grew. The idea of blurring the line between fantasy and reality was introduced by the films of the ’90s when people suddenly wanted to see their favorite superheroes portrayed as real, emotionally complex humans, not just corny caricatures. In “Batman” of 1989, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, for the first time a Batman film offered distinguished, nontraditional characters and a cast of top actors. Despite some lagging screenwriting, the film was heralded as a critical success; audiences loved the idea of a superhero film that embraced the humanity of its protagonist.
The superhero films released after 2001 achingly wished to portray superheroes as real. The events of 9/11, and the frightened American culture that followed, increasingly reflected our desire to indulge in fantasy and nostalgia, making the classical Marvel superheroes a perfect cache for the executives at Universal and Warner Brothers. What has become most popular is the idea of superhero realism; characters and situations mimic life to a degree unheard of in past generations.
“The Dark Knight” is a perfect example. Heath Ledger’s Joker is sneering, unfathomable, chaotic, and all around undefeatable. The Joker is the apotheosis of contemporary American fears: a madman who cannot be caught, defined, or killed, he stands as isolated and impenetrable as a disguised terrorist in the New York populace.
Likewise, Batman has become increasingly human. He has abandoned the stage makeup and cheesy leotards and adorned himself in battle-gear and bulletproof vests. His code of ethics has grown only more stringent and bold, a necessary defense in a world that becomes more chaotic by the day. He reflects the degree to which the American public fear for their lives; he is that great protector who is necessary in times of peril.
His necessity, then, defines the degree to which we, as an audience, humanize him. He is a reflection of our own desire to be safe. Seeking patterns in the forms Batman takes, the public need look no further than their own fear.
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This article has 14 comments.
Impressive work, and there's no doubt that Batman is all about humanity and the contrast therein, but I think The Dark Knight handled it too clumsily.
Every line was written expressly for some sort of character analysis, and it got exhausting. What I think the Tim Burton films did better than the Nolan entries is leave the thinking to the audience rather than thinking for them. Characters shouldn't be analyzing themselves, that's the job of the audience, to dig into the narrative for themselves.
I saw The Dark Knight five times and I loved it, but what was it that made it so commercially successful while simultaneously being critically acclaimed? Was it the spectacular special effects that really made you feel like you were about to plummet into the mechanized depths of Hong-Kong? Was it the cinematography that had you holding your breath as the two-ton truck hung motionless in midair as it was being flipped over? Was it the veteran cast and their snappy but often thought-provoking dialogue? Was it...was it...was it...the list goes on and on.
I think what really did it was possibly the most intriguing villain in cinema since Hannibal Lecter: The Joker. Heath Ledger, whose acting ability I will never underestimate again, achieved what other actors only dream of in his portrayal of the character that will never again seem comical and cartoonish. Clearly Ledger and the screen-writers were familiar with the ideas of Sigmund Freud, because watching it I wondered what it would be like if the great psychologist were sitting next to me in the theater. He'd point to the screen when the Joker appeared and explain to me in rapid, excited German that his lip-licking indicated an oral fixation which in turn showed a sinister relationship with his mother. His references to an abusive childhood and self-mutilation would also be highly relevant, along with his suicidal tendencies. ("Come on, I want you do it, I want you to do it, come on, hit me! Hit me!") This movie has the frightening power to make a DC comic fan out of anyone.
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