Bruce Wayne has two truths to himself because he really is both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Batman is not just a costume Bruce puts on or a hobby he has in his spare time; Batman and Bruce are equal parts of one human being. Something I find interesting about Bruce/Batman and Selina/Cat Woman is you see aspects of both sides or "truths" in each personality. Batman's suit is a symbol of the darkness within him. Bats and the color black are often associated with the night or darkness which are often associated with feelings of fear and uncertainty. However, Batman is not the dark personality of the pair; he is a vigilante who does whatever he can to keep the city of Gotham safe. As I talked about in my last post, though Batman seems to have the best of intentions, he also has lingering desires of revenge for the criminals like those who killed his parents. We see this in Batman with his use of violence, but we see it in Bruce as well. I would argue his sometimes "obsessive" behavior with fighting crime is motivated by his desire for revenge. Alfred comments on Bruce's inability to let go of Penguin; he continues to pursue the Penguin's case even though he has no proof of Penguin having any evil intentions. Bruce rationalizes his actions by believing his crime fighting will eliminate his feelings of guilt towards his parent's deaths, and will bring vengeance on those who took their lives and many others. His motives are not completely pure, for he does not fight crime just for the hope of bettering Gotham. In many ways, his idea to stop crime in Gotham was a bit selfish, for he hopes to ease the guilt and angry he feels.Similar to Bruce/Batman, we see characteristics of both "characters" in Selina and Cat Woman. When Selina returns to work after her accident, she embodies the charismatic and sultry Cat Woman. She still, however, is drawn to her old self. Bruce finds her looking at dollhouses after she had destroyed all the doll houses in her apartment that she had once loved. Pieces of the shy and awkward Selina are still there even with her new confidence from Cat Woman.
Penguin is an intriguing villain because I do not find him to be truly evil. Like Batman, he was damaged by the cruel world and he wishes to find his identify, but he also has much anger towards the city that ran him away. Unlike Batman and Cat Woman, he does not have a more "human" side, but he does, however, have two truths. One truth is the Penguin who wishes to punish every first born son in Gotham by rounding them up and dumping them into the chemically altered water out of jealousy for the childhood he never had. The other truth is the lost Penguin looking for his parents and his true name. His only family is the circus performers and his penguins, and the only home he has really ever had is the sewer. I think this makes him very vulnerable, and because of this vulnerability his anger towards his parents and his abandonment is able to come forward, which pushes him into the arms of maliciousness.
I really like your point about how you see the "truths" of each characters personality in their dual persona. I agree with your point about how Batman is not the dark side of Bruce Waynes personality, but Batman himself has a lighter side and a darker side, which harbors the need for revenge against criminals due to the fact that criminals murdered his parents in front of him. I definitely agree that his obsession with fighting crime is based on that need for revenge. Your point about how Batman fighting crime in Gotham is selfish as opposed to selfless was interesting, based on the way you presented your argument I have to agree with you. It’s definitely more to make himself feel better than it is about bettering Gotham. Your point about how Selina still retained parts of her old self and aspects of her Catwoman personality after her dramatic change was well thought out and really strengthens the "truths" argument of each characters personality. However, I have to disagree with your opinion that Penguin is not truly evil. I don’t believe that anyone who could order his minions to go out and claim the lives of hundreds of babies could be considered anything but evil, but i do get the point you are trying to make about how it was the city that filled him with anger and rage by turning him away. Noah Feltes
ReplyDeleteI love how you brought up the point that Batman and Bruce Wayne are not two separate people, rather they are both the same person. I agree with this point and I like the way you wrote it. Although within your writing I didn't really agree with the point you made that Batman is not the dark one of the pair. To me, I see Catwoman and Batman to have equal amounts of darkness if anything. Batman is fueled by his incredibly dark past of watching his parents get murdered and Catwoman is fueled by how she was treated as an adult. They may be two different types of darkness for different reasons, but I don't particularly see Batman as being less dark than Catwoman. This was a difficult statement for me to follow also due to the fact that you brought up how even his suit is a symbol of darkness and Bats are associated with night, fear, and uncertainty as well. Overall I really liked your blog post, but I found that one part hard to agree with and a bit contradictory. Anna Hasty
ReplyDeleteThis blog made me consider its points in regards to each of us, as individuals. Jump sees aspects of both “truths” in Bruce Wayne and Batman. I wondered how many of us have more than one truth. How many people put on a mask in their daily lives as Batman does to hide their true life or feelings?
ReplyDeleteEach of us have feelings of fear and uncertainty at some time in our life, if not often. Do we all have a dark side? What makes Batman choose to protect as opposed to creating harm? One feels empathy for Penguin when his circumstances are examined. However, he chooses to be a villain.
If terrible circumstances were placed upon any one of us, can we really say how we would react? What are the circumstances that makes a person choose one way or the other? Is it their upbringing, their circumstances in life, their education, their character, an inner knowledge of right and wrong, the feeling of being loved, or is it simply choice?