Themes in The Batman (2022)
(1,540 words)
(1,540 words)
Intro to The Batman:
The new Gotham city, presented by director Matt Reeves and inhabited/stalked by Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne, is gothic and atmospheric. The first time (of two viewings) I saw the film, I found myself so enamored by the backgrounds and music I was less than focused on the dialogue. Not merely a backdrop to where events take place, Gotham is brought to life, almost a character in its own right. Bruce Wayne's "Batcave" is an abandoned subway station beneath Wayne Tower, which also houses his gothic-styled manor.
Dystopian while beautiful, Gotham City come into its own. There is a scene where Bruce is riding his motorcycle through a “Time Square” styled part of the city, with a curved road not found in the grid of Midtown. Bruce leans into the corner, a bit of counter steer, revving as the bike straightens out, it’s a new touchstone in film cityscapes.
Dystopian while beautiful, Gotham City come into its own. There is a scene where Bruce is riding his motorcycle through a “Time Square” styled part of the city, with a curved road not found in the grid of Midtown. Bruce leans into the corner, a bit of counter steer, revving as the bike straightens out, it’s a new touchstone in film cityscapes.
Penguin's club on the docks, Gotham Square, and even the Corner Diner all come to life more authentic than I've seen before. Cities very much have a personality and feel to them, and you can feel Gotham in The Batman.
If you're familiar with the 1995 film Se7en, you might notice some similarities. Everything was darker in the movie, visually and thematically. Elements of horror films were used from the early scenes where a set of eyes appear from the shadows to Waterphone sound effects in the old orphanage.
Racial Themes in The Batman:
With that, let's talk racialism in The Batman. The first sense of race in Gotham I noticed was a gang riding the subway wearing face paint. A new member is going through initiation. Only half of his face is painted in the gang's Halloween-styled makeup. They terrorize Gotham by finding victims, playing "the knockout game" with them while filming it, and uploading the video to the internet. Immediately I noticed something you would only see in Hollywood; the gang is mixed-race. Whites with blacks and what looked to be a mixed teenager being initiated into the gang. The symbolism here could be any number of things. The group's youngest member being mixed-race could signify a new racial direction for Gotham's youth. "Diversity" is finally being achieved in human form, belonging not to either group but a new one entirely. An Asian man is the would-be victim of the gang’s knockout game.
Gotham City Police Department is racially integrated, as most police forces in big cities are. A young detective, Martinez, is a very light-skinned, affable character. One of the good guys.
Detective Jim Gordon, a longtime staple in Batman, is played by a black actor, Jeffrey Wright, the first time the role has gone to a black person in live-action. The other notable casting choice is Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman. Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry, and Anne Hathaway have played the character on film before Kravitz.
As far as I'm concerned, the choice to diversify the cast was carried out oddly. The reason is that both Wright's Jim Gordon and Kravitz's Catwoman were exceedingly white presenting. These are two characters with deep roots in the world of Batman. Wright's voice in the film was reminiscent of Batman: The Animated Series from the mid-1990s, which I enjoyed immensely as a kid. This Gordon felt familiar. His demeanor, tone, mannerisms, vocabulary, temperament, everything came across as very white. Similarly, Catwoman, from her choice of clothing and style, the motorcycle she rode, her sense of loyalty and justice, the way she presented herself, never once seemed like a person of mixed Jewish and black ancestry. Even her habit of adopting stray cats felt almost stereotypically white.
This presentation of characters is both good and bad. Good because I could watch the near three-hour movie, where Gordon and Catwoman have significant screen time, without feeling like diversity is pushed on me. And it's bad for the same reason. The subtly of replacing historic white characters with those who are not white was so soft it managed to not even offend me, somebody who is hypersensitive to these deliberate casting choices. My fear is that the "normal" audience will see this very seamless transition on-screen as an indication that transferring to a less-white society will be equally well ordered in the real world.
There was a line about white privilege during a dialogue between Batman and Catwoman. A single line in the almost three-hour-long film. It felt hamfisted and out of place. Nowhere in Gotham is "white privilege" on display. An entirely black presenting character, Bella Reàl, wins the mayoral race. Perhaps not an indication of pervasive white privilege in Gotham, but a sign that a new regime is underway, similar to the gang member being initiated. I believe the symbolism was deliberate and connected.
Catwoman complains to Batman the city is run by “white privileged assholes” who face no accountability. She states this after correctly assuming that Batman “grew up rich.” The line was so odd and out of place it nearly felt like the fourth wall was broken. As if Kravitz turned to the camera mid-scene, stopped, dropped character, and said, "oh, did you think you could go see a movie and escape anti-white politics? For an entire three hours? I don't think so."
Almost as if there is some Hollywood "checkbox" that must be marked before production can be finalized and distributed.
Let's talk white privilege in Gotham. The major players in corruption and drug production are all white, as presented in the film. Falcone, Maroni, DA Colson, “the Penguin,” and Mayor Mitchell are among the key players in corruption in Gotham, all white men. However, their victims are also primarily portrayed as whites. The disappearance of a young blonde cocktail waitress, Annika, who is Catwoman’s roommate, is the nexus of her involvement in the first place. The Riddler, the primary antagonist of the plot, also white, is somebody who felt deeply wronged by the system of corruption at the highest levels of Gotham. The Riddler grew up an orphan in what sounded to be horrific conditions, turned into a forensic accountant, and eventually vigilante / super-villain due to witnessing the corruption firsthand and it harming his own life.
There was undoubtedly an element of class privilege present. Ideas that there are inner circles in the political world where one can be beyond the reaches of the justice system. Perhaps this film's line and society have deemed that concept of "white privilege," but I think if that's the case, it dramatically misses the mark. And beyond any class privilege that may exist, you still need to be an "insider." Bruce Wayne, despite his wealth, was never privy to the inner workings of the city's corruption.
Themes of Fringe Movements and Justice:
Throughout the film, The Riddler communicates with 500 social media followers, who are described as "real fringe types." His followers are also troubled with the status of corruption and decay permeating Gotham City, and like Riddler, they want something to be done about it. They, of course, cheer on Riddler as he goes about dismantling the criminal underworld, corrupt police officers, all while revealing some of Gotham's dark secrets.
As far as I could tell, Batman and The Riddler had the same goals. They want Gotham to be a friendly, safe, high trust, and well-functioning city. A place people could be proud to call him, not a haven for corruption and good people being victimized at every turn.
Batman himself is derided as a "freak" by some in law enforcement while seen as a welcomed addition by others. This theme plays out in Nolan's trilogy as well, as it does through the entire canon of Batman. In The Dark Knight (2008), The Joker tells Batman, "You're just a FREAK. Like me."
After meeting The Riddler, upon hearing how he sees Batman as a kindred spirit and fellow traveler, Batman is repulsed and calls The Riddler a freak.
Throughout the history of Batman, the idea that the line of justice is very blurry is common. As is the dialectical nature of Batman and the villains, who are often similarly motivated, interested in similar ends perhaps, but disagree on the proper way to arrive at the destination.
Both Batman and The Riddler are so disgusted by the city's corruption that they are willing to give up their lives to pursue a better Gotham. At the corrupt Mayor Mitchell's funeral, we even see a group of citizens gathering to support The Riddler's activism. The film wants us to think they are lunatics with fringe views and wants us to support Batman and Jim Gordon, but I struggled personally to see the internal rationale or consistency of the writers. It has to be beyond vague appeals to the "justice process." By the very nature of Batman, a masked vigilante, the justice process is being shirked, with one man acting as judge, jury, and hangman.
Conclusion:
In all, the film was beautiful. The gothic architecture and styling were immersive. The split-window Corvette replacing Bale's Bruce Wayne's Lamborghini was a perfect fit for the start of the new, darker Batman film series. The music was sullen and well placed.
Finally, Bruce Wayne's monologues come from his daily journaling. It was a great touch, filled with several interesting insights relatable to people like us. We are privy to the reclusive thoughts of the billionaire orphan trying to fix the only city he has ever called home. Bruce is filled with doubt that anything he can do will matter. He has little faith his efforts are anything but in vain, yet he carries on night after night.
/r.h.
well this hit home - "He has little faith his efforts are anything but in vain, yet he carries on night after night.". Yeah, you keep fighting regardless, Last Samurai has Algren encouraging the despairing Katsumoto with "A man does what he can until his destiny is revealed to him".