The Way of the Bat

So I keep throwing myself into hopeless conversations on tumblr--it's not a platform that's made for conversations anyway--and this one was about Batman the rich fascist who beats up poor people. It got me thinking about two things, one Batman related and one more general, and I’ll talk about the Batman part here first. It’s not that I don't think there's a lot of gross things you get when you seriously examine the whole premise of Batman? But I just think it's sloppy and inaccurate to dismiss the character that way, especially if you're going to take any corrections about social programs etc. as rabid defense of the character.

But I think it's also just that I don't look at Batman as some sort of world savior or a symbol of what the world really needs? He's not a political character for me at all. He doesn't represent vigilantism being good or being tough on crime being good. He's not a symbol for anyone of "what we should be" in terms of how he spends his money or how he chooses to "do good" in the world. To me the Way of the Bat, for lack of a better name, isn't a political thing or a hero thing...it's a religion. No, not a religion for me, not something I believe in or follow in my life, but a fictional religion about whose small collection of followers I read. I haven't really said this ever because it sounds really weird, but for me this analogy makes the most sense of the story. ( So what is the Way of the Bat? )

The Way of the Bat

So I keep throwing myself into hopeless conversations on tumblr--it's not a platform that's made for conversations anyway--and this one was about Batman the rich fascist who beats up poor people. It got me thinking about two things, one Batman related and one more general, and I’ll talk about the Batman part here first. It’s not that I don't think there's a lot of gross things you get when you seriously examine the whole premise of Batman? But I just think it's sloppy and inaccurate to dismiss the character that way, especially if you're going to take any corrections about social programs etc. as rabid defense of the character.

But I think it's also just that I don't look at Batman as some sort of world savior or a symbol of what the world really needs? He's not a political character for me at all. He doesn't represent vigilantism being good or being tough on crime being good. He's not a symbol for anyone of "what we should be" in terms of how he spends his money or how he chooses to "do good" in the world. To me the Way of the Bat, for lack of a better name, isn't a political thing or a hero thing...it's a religion. No, not a religion for me, not something I believe in or follow in my life, but a fictional religion about whose small collection of followers I read. I haven't really said this ever because it sounds really weird, but for me this analogy makes the most sense of the story. ( So what is the Way of the Bat? )