Running Head: THE CULUTRE OF BATMAN 1

The Culture of Batman

Christopher Wooten
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
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Abstract

This paper focuses on the question what do superhero movies, specifically the Batman movies

say about the culture they were made in. Specifically analyzing the 1966 Adam West movie,

1989 Michael Keaton movie, 1995 Val Kilmer movie and the 2005/2008/2012 Christian Bale

trilogy. The movies are starkly different especially for all being centered around the same

character. The only thing that really changes besides actors and visuals in these movies is the

culture during which they where made and this has a drastic impact on their presentation. 1966

Batman movie countered the culture of fear the cold war had cultivated with a comedic tale full

of hopeful comments and corny one liners. The movies of the early to mid-90’s still commented

on the effects of the cold war but adopted a darker tone than the previous adaptation. While

certainly darker the Batman movies of the 90’s like Batman Forever illustrated the bright and

eccentric fashion that was popular during the time. Finally, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist

attack the Christian Bale Batman trilogy seemed to be greatly inspired by the mood felt during

the 2000’s.
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Ever since the birth of the film industry in the late 1700’s movies have given viewers a

chance to explore cultures never before possible all the while providing them a reflection of their

own. Movies have only gotten more popular since then with many having multimillion dollar

budgets and none have taken over the entertainment industry more than superhero movies. There

was a time when superheroes only live on the pages of comics catering to a very niche group of

people, but within the past few decades have grown exponentially more popular. It may seem

strange that this genre of what many consider children’s entertainment has become so prevalent

in today’s culture, but ever since the first Batman movie released in 1966 the superhero genre

has been loved by children and adults alike. Superhero movies have the ability to tell a brilliant

story full of values and life lessons to children while also providing its own take on political

events popular at that time. It is likely only later in life one will come to realize this which is why

I have found it so interesting to re-watch many of my childhood favorite superhero movies. Only

now do I fully understand the social commentary made by many of the directors behind these

movies and am now able to recognize how these movies reflect the culture of that time. This is

why I am so interested in analyzing some of my favorite Batman movies and exploring what they

say about the time they were made in. I believe Batman movies like those played by Adam West

in 1966, Michael Keaton in 1989, Val Kilmer in 1995, and Christian Bale in 2005-2012 are great

reflections of the culture during the time they were made and that by looking at the trends of the

influence culture has had on past Batman movies I can predict where this current series will go.

The 1960’s was a time not too unlike our own plagued by fear and pollical unrest due to a

great many reasons. The decade was off to a rough start to say the least with the 1962 Cuban

missile crisis causing a state panic never before seen in the United States (The Sixties, 2015).

Then once the crisis was averted President John F Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a
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motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas (CNN, 2017). Finally, only a year later the United

States declared war on the Vietcong of Northern Vietnam in an attempt to suppress the spread of

communism (The Sixties, 2015). Through all this despair a symbol of justice brought a hope for

a better tomorrow that the people of America rallied behind. This icon became known as Batman

and while the world stood still frozen in fear actors Adam West and Burt Ward brought a

message of hope twice a week to the screens of families across the nation. This fun-loving pair

continued there show until 1968 and even took part in a movie which while staying true to the

show the fans loves provided social commentary on many current issues. For example, the movie

illustrated the nations distrust of Russian foreigners by having Catwoman go undercover as a

soviet journalist in order to spy on Bruce Wayne. This sends a message to the audience that

soviet spy’s can come in all different shapes and sizes, but none of them can be trusted. Batman

and Robin also tease The United States government when they call the pentagon asking if

they’ve sold anyone nuclear weapons and they carelessly reply “yes” without realizing the man

they sold them too didn’t even provide a full name. This is more of a light-hearted jab at the way

many Americans of that time probably felt about the way The United States had handled the

Cuban Missile Crisis. There are many more instances like these such as Batman saying

“Somedays you just can’t get rid of a bomb” or when they say the Russians are always in a

hurry, referencing the race to the moon between The United States and The Soviet Union

(Martinson,1966). While the 1960’s were a time full of fear Batman and Robin provided much

needed comedic relief and will be remembered forever as symbols of hope in a truly dark period

of American history.

The 90’s were a time of peace and prosperity after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and

the cold war officially ending in 1991 the decade was looking promising for The United States.
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With this new era of innovation came an age of superhero movies never seen before. Gone were

the days of Adam West’s lighthearted loveable Batman being replaced by a new brand of hero.

This era Batman was characterized by an emphasis on the darker sides of his character and the

tragedy of his childhood. It also placed a lot more on the character of Bruce Wayne humanizing

him in a way that previous iterations failed to accomplish. Movies in this era emphasized

different aspects of the 90’s like the 1989 Batman movie centering around the joker poisoning

many popular cosmetic products emphasizing the eccentric consumerism of the 90’s (Leane,

2014). Another example of this is when the joker rides down the street in a carnival parade

throwing money to people while saying “money, money, money, who do you trust” (Burton,

1989). These people were willing to overlook the psychotic nature of the joker because he was

the one giving them money. I think this speaks to the desire to have the newest thing and in an

age of innovation this desire was rampant among Americas youth. Then in 1995 came Batman

Forever which while still utilizing the darker side of Batman traded in the grim colors of Burtons

Batman for a much livelier color palate. With characters like the Riddler and even Two Face

wearing such over the top costumes they looked like they were torn off the pages of the latest

fashion magazine. This further serves to illustrate the eccentric fashion craze of the 90’s and it’s

no surprise that in a time as prosperous as the 90’s even a character like Batman would reflect it.

While the character of Batman besides Adam West’s iteration has always been one of the

darker heroes, but the Nolan trilogy does something none before ever managed. Nolan’s Trilogy

was able to match the darkness of Batman’s character to the world around him. Each movie in

the trilogy gets progressively darker from the tragic beginning to the frim finale the movies

progress through the 2000’s with a mood of darkness that mirrors the culture around it, just as

the world around Batman darkens so too does the character himself. This ever-darkening mood is
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seen throughout the movies starting with Batman Begins in 2005. Following the tragic events of

9/11 just four years prior the movie was sympathetic to the feelings many held during that time.

With quotes like “Why do we fall?.. so we can learn to pick ourselves up” from Thomas Wayne

speaking to the devastation our nation endured during the darkest day in American history

(Nolan, 2005). For the first time In the existence of The United States we experienced a terrorist

attack within our own borders and with the fall of the twin towers went the previous feeling of

near invulnerability I believe our nation held. Just as Bruce used the tragedy he experienced to

become a symbol of hope for the good and fear for those who wished his city harm so too did

America. Terrorist thought they could break America by attacking the heart of our nation, but in

reality, they only made us stronger by unifying its people against a single enemy. In the years to

follow this attack we became a symbol of hope for countries in need and fear for those who once

opposed us. This sentiment is at the heart of the Nolan universe as it can be seen throughout the

whole series from character such as Harvey Dent who says “The night is darkest just before the

dawn” and The Joker when he tells Batman “They’re only as good as the world allows them”

(Nolan, 2008). Harvey Dent represents the best Gotham has to offer holding the belief that even

in our darkest hours we must have hope that tomorrow will be better. This belief is what I

believe got many Americans through the events of 9/11 because like Harvey they believed in a

better tomorrow. This belief is juxtaposed by The Jokers theory that people are only as good as

the world allows them and that given the right circumstances anyone can become a “monster”

(Nolan, 2008). He further promotes this idea when he says that he isn’t a monster he’s simply

ahead of the curve. The joker represents the cynicism that perpetuates our culture while granted

his beliefs likely make up a vast minority of the population I still find reason to believe that there

are disturbed individuals who truly believe he is right. Heath Ledger’s joker represents the idea
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that one bad day is all it takes to turn a good man evil, but Batman believes that while tragedy is

inevitable in a world like ours people are capable of withstanding it. This concept is proven in

The Dark Knight rises when Bane attacks Gotham with a nuclear bomb designed to blow up if

anyone leaves and imposes martial law. He expects the people to cower in fear after he beat

Batman, but the people citizens rise up against the terrorist. The citizens work with the police to

defeat the terrorist and Batman returns to fight Bane sacrificing himself to save the city. This

illustrates how America rose up against the terrorist of 9/11 and came together as a nation just

like Gotham did during its darkest hour.

I believe that the immediate future of Batman movies will continue this trend of darker

themes but not for too much longer. It will never go back the days of Adam West or anything

that extreme, but I believe if you look at the current superhero genre people are preferring more

lighthearted comedic tales. While personally I much prefer a dark and gritty Batman like the one

Ben Affleck portrays the rest of the world appears to desire a Batman that while still grim isn’t

afraid to crack some jokes and have some fun. This desire for a change in the portrayal of

characters like Batman reflects a blooming culture of prosperity and hope that I think now exist

in America.
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References

Burton, T. (1989). Batman. Warner Brothers.

John F. Kennedy Assassination Fast Facts. Retrieved from

https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/28/us/john-f-kennedy-assassination-fast-facts/index.html[

Leane, R. (2018). Batman movies in the 80s and 90s: the hero we deserved?. Den of Geek.

Retrieved 17 April 2018, from http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/batman/29458/batman-

movies-in-the-80s-and-90s-the-hero-we-deserved

Martinson, L. (1966). Batman:The Movie.

Nolan, C. (2005). Batman Begins. Warner Brothers.

Nolan, C. (2008). The Dark Knight. Warner Brothers.

Nolan, C. (2012). The Dark Knight Rises. Warner Brothers.

Schumacher, J. (1995). Batman Forever. Warner Brothers.

The Sixties . Timeline . Text Version | PBS. (2018). Pbs.org. Retrieved 17 April 2018, from

http://www.pbs.org/opb/thesixties/timeline/timeline_text.html
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Reflection
While the initial stages of this paper where a little rough trying to figure out exactly what

I wanted my inquiry question to be once I got started writing it was not very difficult. Talking

with you in our conference really helped me situate my argument on the ways in which

superhero movies comment on the culture in which they where made. I feel like this is a very

interesting idea because it caused me to take movies I had seen many times growing up and look

at them in a new light. This process of critically analyzing the Batman movies really opened my

eyes to how even things like the tone and mood of a movie can be greatly impacted by the time it

was made in. Examples of this where the differences in the campy Adam West Batman movie

and the darker Christian Bale movies. I feel like as a result of this project I will be looking for

the ways in which not just movies, but the film industry as a whole is affected by current culture

in everything I watch.
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