In light of the recent Colorado shootings, I'd like to say A few things in defense of Batman. Is 'The Dark Knight Rises' A dark, and gritty movie? Yes, but it portrays Batman as A hero none the less, and in no way should be blamed for the tragic shooting. The shooter, himself is to blame, and must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Having said that, I thought I'd give A brief history of Batman. Created in 1939 by Bobe Kane, The Caped Crusader has been A part of American pop culture in many forms outside of comics. Perhaps he's best known by many baby boomers through the 60's TV show starring Adam West, and Burt Ward. Campy, and silly, yes, but it was how alot of people were introduced to the character. After the series ended, the culture changed, and so did Batman. At least in the comics. In pop culture, people's image of Batman was still immortalized by Adam West's campy depiction from TV. All that changed with Tim Burtons' 'Batman' movie from 1989. Which made A dark, serious Batman more acceptable in mainstream pop culture. This lead to A few more movies, and A critically acclaimed animated series that revolutionized action cartoons.
After A tarnished reputation by Joel Schumacher's 'Batman & Robin', Batman was rescued from the clutches of camp by Christopher Nolan with three movies. One of which had A depiction of The Joker portrayed by the late Heath Ledger that has been the subject of this tragic shooting with the gunman dressed up as said character. Batman has been open to many different interpretations, and that's how he's survived as A character. Weather he's depicted as gritty, or campy, he's always been A hero born of tragedy to become A symbol of hope.
While the media is filled with violence, and immorality, this has also been A year of heroes arising from the Hollywood sewers, and aspiring greatness in our multiplexes. This trend started, in my eyes, with 'The Hunger Games'. An adaptation of Suzzanne Collin's series of 'young adult' novels set in A dystopian future that's A haunting commentary of reality television's dominance, and government tyranny that features A great heroine for young girls. Katniss Everdeen, who sacrifices herself to partake in these games in order to save her young sister, is A much more substantial role model than 'Twilight's Bella Swan, or the rest of the Hollywood ***** that pollute the pop culture landscape. Then there's 'The Avengers'. An epic adventure featuring Marvel Comic's most iconic super heroes, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and The Incredible Hulk fighting alien invaders, has so far become the highest grossing movie of the year, and A movie that everyone can enjoy.
So, you see, we need heroes now more than ever, but government intervention is not the answer, and might lead it A dystopian future of our own. Bottom line is, these heroes have shown that there are better people to look up to than the glorified criminals, reality show brats, and glittering vampires polluting our pop culture. That's not only my defense on Batman, but A commentary on the emergence of heroes making A difference in our movies. If Katniss, Batman, and The Avengers taught us anything this year, it's that out of tyranny, adversity, or even tragedy can come greatness.
If we make ourselves more than what we are, we become something greater. We have no idea the effect we can have. Let's all be greater.
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Originally Posted by SCB
