It is impossible to pinpoint exactly what makes a person read a text the way
they do. Each interpretation is the result of years of experiences and thoughts
which have gradually been built up and formed in each individual\u2019s mind. As a
result, no person reads a certain text the same way as anyone else \u2013 the elements
that each privilege and marginalize vary significantly. These interpretations are by
no means set in stone, however, as numerous events or gains in knowledge can
radically affect one\u2019s interpretation of a text. For years, Batman has been respected
and imitated by kids \u2013 and fans of all ages \u2013 due to his infallible desire for justice
and seemingly amazing crime-fighting abilities. As the years have gone by,
especially as a result of recent world events, the context in which Batman is
interpreted has changed drastically, certainly at least for me. What I\u2019ve learned
about life and the way justice is enacted in the real world has altered how I see
Batman and his tactics. To me, Batman\u2019s methods have been revealed as morally
dubious and overly violent, changing the way I view heroes and the concept of
justice in our society today.

As a young child, Batman was without a doubt my role model and what I
wanted to be when I grew up. Mesmerized by his undying determination and
relentless motivation, I would sit and watch Batman on TV whenever I could and
surrounded myself with Batman memorabilia, whether it was toys, costumes, books,
or cereal bowls (which I still have). I can remember numerous instances where I
would run around the house in full regalia with my mock \u201cBatarang\u201d, swinging the

sharp object dangerously over my head and attempting to climb the plastic
playhouse outside. Clearly, I had a thing for Batman. Essentially what defined my
view as a child was the idea that \u201cseeing comes before words. The child looks and
recognizes before it can speak\u201d. When I was still young, I placed the Batman series
in a completely different context than I did later in life, resulting in a radically
altered interpretation (Berger 105-6). At that time, I associated the signs of
\u201cBatman\u201d and \u201chero\u201d with the signified being the idea of someone incredible and
essentially perfect who could only do good. The way I interpreted texts, especially
that of Batman shows and comics, was rather black-and-white, in that I wasn\u2019t able
to really grasp the concept of ambiguity or see the gray area that exists in almost
every single idea or debate. By seeing Batman the way I did, I was in a way
authoring an entirely new text. As Barthes wrote, \u201cAs soon as a fact is narrated no
longer with a view to act directly by intransitively\u2026the voice loses its origin, the
author enters into his own death, writing begins\u201d (Barthes 77). As soon as a text
leaves an author and is read by others, its meaning is up for grabs \u2013 I simply took
what knowledge I had and applied it to make my own meaning. What I saw when I
read or watched Batman stories was the near-perfect Bruce Wayne, a rich
philanthropist playboy, taking it upon himself to protect Gotham City by dressing up
as Batman and becoming a great superhero. Nothing wrong with that at all, right?
Nothing weird about being incredibly rich and risking your life every day to dress up
in rather uncomfortable-looking tights stop a few robberies. I privileged the
concepts of justice and the importance of heroes, which allowed me to see no faults