Fantasy For Our Time: Caped Crusaders and the Common Good

Should we avoid violence in media? Are certain portrayals of violence in media better for us than others?

This week I continue our discussion on violence as I examine Mat Reeves’ The Batman. Every iteration of Batman is an expression of very different eras of American history, from the campy, sometimes silly Batman of the 60’s to the bleak and, dare I say, hopeless Batman of 2022.

We live in a very strange time, and Reeves’ depiction of Batman directly reflects the zeitgeist in which we find ourselves. A loss of institutions, social capital, and shared stories has left us with a dark reality; however, as we see, any kind of encounter with the darkness cannot be successfully overcome, except by an act of self-sacrifice.

Perhaps there is hope after all.