you Have Ever Danced with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight?
If I asked someone who his favorite superhero was, I would most likely hear either Batman or Superman. While the current comic book industry has waned in the past decade, the love of timeless characters like Batman and Superman has not. But what makes these characters, specifically Batman, so classic that they have the ability to transcend generations? While mass media has certainly helped, the industry cannot do it alone (although it certainly tries sometimes). There is something more to Batman, and to Tim Burton's movie. Batman is a timeless character because the film represents a broad range of American conflicting ideals. Batman deals with the classic arguments of brain versus brawn, material versus spiritual wealth, and duty towards versus doubt of the legal system, and it is these arguments that cause viewers to connect with Batman, thus rendering him timeless. It's clear throughout the movie that Batman is pretty bad-ass (for lack of a better term). Constantly throwing thugs out of his way as if they were flies, Batman is pretty damn tough. Our first image of him in the movie (as well as for the criminals in Gotham) is a bat silhouette flying down from the sky, gracefully landing after a fifty foot drop, and taking machine gun rounds off his chest at point blank range. Stories begin swirling about Batman, with reporter Alexander Knox serving as a catalyst. Batman is played of as a strong brute with immense strength. He is pure brawn. But when our culture thinks about brawn, the term "Meathead" often goes hand in hand with it. We don't see people with immense brawn having brains as well. When I sit down and watch World's Strongest Man, I don't expect to see the winner hoisting a chess championship above his head the
next week. But Batman covers all bases and represents both sides of the brain versus brawn argument. Batman's success with thwarting criminals is a result of his intelligence as well as his physical might. One of his greatest weapons is his manipulation his enemies' minds so they are legitimately frightened, which causes them to fight poorly. This psychological use of fear is a very important aspect of Batman's effectiveness, and is not seen in many other superheros' strategies of defeating enemies. Batman shows his knowledge of the human psyche by exploiting his enemies' fears and capitalizing on them. It's what allows him to defeat multiple enemies wielding automatic weapons at the same time. Batman's use of his utility belt is also a sign of his intelligence. He knows what to use and when. Batman has carefully planned out his equipment so that he is ready for every situation. Besides, not every superhero has the perception to create and wear bulletproof armor, and have armor on his arms to deflect swords. Batman's uncanny ability to combine brains and brawn contradicts the common perception that they cannot co-exist, and this has caused Batman to become one of the more interesting characters in superhero lore. As well as the classic argument of brains versus brawn, Batman confronts the idea of spiritual versus material wealth. Batman's wealth as Bruce Wayne is an important power that allows him to afford the expensive equipment uses, he but at the same time his lack of spiritual wealth is a vulnerability. Batman may be the richest man in Gotham, as seen through his incredible mansion, but this wealth is mocked by Vicki Vale and Knox when they're looking at his strange artifacts in his armory. They make judgments about him, saying that he must be insecure about himself to have such extravagant objects. This
is a direct poke at Batman's lack of spiritual wealth. Because he is lacking friends, parents, and basic spiritual needs, he extravagantly spends on other things to fill this void. Another comical example of this is when Batman is eating dinner with Vicki Vale at his immense table, and he has to stand up and walk the salt across the room to give it to Vicki. Vale and Knox's observations represent many American's views towards the wealthy: that they just spend because of a lack of spiritual wealth. Batman is a classic example of the argument regarding the age old question: "would you rather be rich and depressed, or poor and happy?" Just as the brain versus brawn argument does, the money versus happiness argument tickles our minds and causes us to think about Batman more than most superheroes. Another classic argument in American culture regards the law. How often do we see someone driving recklessly on the road and say "Where are the cops now!?" Many Americans doubt the law enforcement system when they see things like the Rodney King beating, and acts of terrorism. Just as cowboy movies stimulate our interests in vigilante justice, Batman causes us to think about the ability of the justice system. But while cowboys and other vigilantes work outside the law, Batman is an example of a synthesis between the two with the Bat Signal serving as the connection between Batman and the police department so they can work together to defeat evil. Batman represents the doubt in the legal system: his parents were killed and now he preys on those who prey on the innocent because he knows the police won't. Yet, he also shows confidence in the legal system by giving them a signal so they can call him whenever he is needed. No where else in American society can this connection between the doubt and confidence in the
legal system be seen. It's this contradiction, along with the other ones that cause people to be interested in Batman. A character cannot become timeless without the interest of the mass media. Batman holds Americans' interest again and again because he brings into question basic everyday contradictions: brain versus brawn, money versus happiness, and doubt versus confidence in law enforcement. One of the classic lines in Tim Burton's movie is "Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?" Even this represents a basic American conflict--dancing with the Devil seems absurd and dangerous, but yet we have normal people doing crazy stunts like jumping out of perfectly good airplanes (also known as sky-diving). More than most superheroes, Batman represents multiple American ideologies, and it is because of this representation that people from all walks of life connect with and love Batman. These simple contradictions, more than anything else, have made Batman a timeless character in American culture.