Author Archives: Kevin Hillman

About Kevin Hillman

Kevin Hillman works in television and is equally capable of discussing 19th century tax law and Pokemon battle tactics. He lives on Planet Coruscant with an Ewok named Moo.

WrestleMania XXX takes its place in pop culture

70,000 screaming people fill an arena to see two men pretend to fight each other for a fictional championship. They cheer and boo and let the men in the ring know when they do something awesome. It’s a crazy concept, and impossible to explain to those who don’t consider themselves fans of professional wrestling.

But fans know that the 30th edition of the biggest event on the pro wrestling calendar, WWE’s WrestleMania, takes place tonight. The show will be held live at 7 p.m. at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La.. Fans across the world can tune in via pay-per-view and, for the first time ever, on the WWE Network.

Fans of professional wrestling often find themselves infuriated by this sport that they supposedly enjoy. It evokes emotions more akin to a football game than a television show, yet it is similar to both. The fans select their guy and cheer for him unrelentingly until he pulls off the big victory or, ultimately, falls to defeat. It’s an art form, one that fans shouldn’t have to justify enjoying to non-fans, and WrestleMania is its ultimate spectacle.

WrestleMania is called the Super Bowl or World Series of professional wrestling. However, that undercuts what makes WrestleMania special. It shouldn’t need to be compared to other sporting events. It is important in its own right.

To the uninitiated, WrestleMania is the annual wrestling supercard in which the WWE brings together its biggest stars, as well as stars from other media, to compete in the biggest matches that people — at least in theory — will want to pay to see. WrestleMania is the one show each year that is supposed to be can’t-miss, and reverberates across popular culture even for people who have never seen a wrestling match.

WrestleMania was first broadcast in 1985 by WWE, then called the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), as part of the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling pop culture push of WWF owner Vince McMahon. The marketing scheme was designed to push the WWF into the mainstream. It has been stated on numerous occasions that the first WrestleMania was a huge gamble that easily could have broken the bank for McMahon. The owner of the WWF paid big money to bring in the biggest celebrities to make WrestleMania into a mainstream entertainment attraction. Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper, Muhammad Ali, Billy Martin, Liberace, and the Rockettes all appeared on that first WrestleMania in the mecca of pro wrestling, Madison Square Garden. Obviously, the gamble paid off, and McMahon’s WWF became a pop culture powerhouse.

Celebrity involvement has continued to have a huge impact on WrestleMania and has kept the Show of Shows in the public consciousness year after year. Real moments that transcend professional wrestling have occurred inside WrestleMania rings. Morton Downey Jr. was on the receiving end of a fire extinguisher, courtesy of Rowdy Roddy Piper. Mike Tyson marked down one more knockout when he threw a fist at Shawn Michaels. And Floyd Mayweather defended his undefeated streak against the seven-foot-tall Big Show.

WrestleMania also creates its own moments within the context of professional wrestling that are remembered fondly for years. Hulk Hogan drew in the power of his Hulkamaniacs and gained the strength to body slam Andre the Giant. Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart fought for an hour before Shawn was able to gain victory and attain his boyhood dream of being WWF Champion. Steve Austin, refusing to quit, passed out from blood loss in an epic battle with Hart. Hogan later remembered his days as a hero and Hulkamania came back to life with thousands of screaming Hulk fans cheering him on. Ric Flair’s unbelievable career came to a sad but powerful and appropriate end when Shawn Michaels delivered his finishing blow after saying, “I’m sorry. I love you.”

These are incredible moments hardly achieved in movies, and they take on new meaning when put into the context of the semi-real environment of professional wrestling. Those screaming fans are real. I was one of them when John Cena gained his redemption by defeating The Rock last year. It’s live theater that thrives on its audience and tells stories that are still somewhat real. Flair really was retiring. Hogan really was returning to his roots. Austin’s never-say-die attitude really was winning over fans across the country.

Anyone who doubts that professional wrestling is an art form needs only to watch any of Shawn Michaels’ 17 WrestleMania matches. They tell stories, cause your jaw to drop, and always leave you guessing. As a fan, Michaels’ matches allowed me to live vicariously through a young man trying to achieve his dream, an older man trying to prove he could still go with the best of them, and a loving man, wrestling with his idol and friend in a match played out better than any Rocky movie. Michaels’ career even ended in a most amazing story, with the Heartbreak Kid’s certitude in his abilities getting the better of him as he tried desperately to end professional wrestling’s greatest winning streak.

The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak is itself a storytelling device. The Undertaker is, on the surface, an anachronism of a very silly time in professional wrestling. When Mark Calaway first debuted as the western mortician character with zombie characteristics, the WWF was going through a living cartoon phase, with wrestlers taking on the personalities of clowns, tax collectors, repo men, and so much worse. Yet even after these characters faded into oblivion, the Undertaker remained, and he achieved legendary status.

The Undertaker has become such a fact of professional wrestling that even when he is preparing to enter the ring with a legitimate UFC champion, no one bothers to question the realism of the character. The Undertaker has, in the 23 years since his debut, become an unbeatable superhero to fans of all ages, and his WrestleMania matches thrive off of the feeling of watching an epic blockbuster movie.

Speaking of superheroes, Cena and Hogan are the epitome of the Superman character in professional wrestling. Starting at the first WrestleMania, the Hulkster was the ultimate hero to kids growing up in the 1980s and early 1990s. No matter how large the challenge, Hulkamania was able to overcome. For the past decade, Cena has thrived off of the same type of fan support, defeating the best men in the business in WrestleMania main event after main event.

It is WrestleMania that draws in new and old fans every year. The spectacle is too much to ignore. The mainstream hype is too strong to miss. The iconic battles between legendary wrestlers makes the show worth the money, and the climax of feuds brings a sense of third-act closure to the year-long movie of professional wrestling.

Whether we watch for our superheroes like Hogan, Cena, or the Undertaker, rock stars like Edge, Chris Jericho, or the Hardy Boys, or for the working class heroes struggling to achieve greatness, like Daniel Bryan, Austin, CM Punk, or Mick Foley, we can all find something appealing about the WrestleMania experience. It is the most unique spectacle in sports and entertainment.

Why is Captain America still relevant?

Captain America returns to the silver screen Friday, and in honor of this comic book icon, let us take a look back at the character’s history.

It was 1941. World War II was raging in Europe and the Pacific. Men and women were dying to protect their homelands from invading armies. Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito were guiding their nations toward new world empires. And the United States was enjoying its status as a neutral nation, content with being the Arsenal of Democracy. Some Americans, however, saw that entry into the war was inevitable, and it was important that we be on the right side.

Joe Simon and the legendary Jack Kirby were two such men. These comic book visionaries saw an opportunity to voice their politics and make a few dollars on the way. Captain America, a living symbol of the United States itself, was introduced in Captain America Comics #1, in March 1941 — a rare situation where the publishers had such faith in a character that they debuted him in his own book. The attacks on Pearl Harbor were still 9 months away, yet the debut issue saw Cap socking Adolf Hitler in an illustration still satisfying today. Simon and Kirby, both of Jewish families, used the comic to voice their concerns against the Third Reich. Even if America was officially neutral, Simon and Kirby knew Hitler was a real-life supervillain, and Captain America could stop him.

Captain America is a stunning character. Despite his genesis as wartime propaganda, the character has survived and flourished to this day. How is it that a character so defined by a long-passed era in history is still so relevant in the age of the smart phone?

Captain America does not necessarily evolve like Batman but is not as much of a static symbol as Superman. While both heroes represent the American ideal, Steve Rogers has a much more unique character compared to the Man of Steel, whose character is more defined by brute strength than cunning and tactical mastery.

Steve Rogers was a regular man. He had been a scrawny, naive boy who just wanted to fight for his country, and fight for what he believed was right. Steve was willing to do anything, even undergo a dangerous and untested experiment, to make himself strong enough to fight the Nazis. He represents the person we wish we could be and know we can become.

The Super Soldier serum gave Rogers near-perfect capabilities. Captain America is not impervious to bullets or faster than the speed of light, but is as fast and strong as any human can conceivably become. He is a character who is only as capable as any of us can be.

Cap remained popular throughout World War II, but became an anachronism when the patriotic fervor of wartime died down. As a result, the hero faded away from publications.

Nearly 20 years later, the hero was revived to head up a super-team, the Avengers. In Avengers #4, the old hero was found, frozen in suspended animation. When revived, Cap became a new, more intriguing character. No longer was he simply a symbol of America in a time of war. He was now the living anachronism, a man out of time, a man haunted by the death of his sidekick, with memories of the worst time in human history, trying to adjust to the world of the 1960s.

Cap was the perfect man to lead the Avengers. A team full of hot-headed individuals like Thor, Iron Man, and Ant-Man needed a uniting symbol to rally the troops. Cap was a hero to the heroes, and a warrior of honor to be respected and revered.

Captain America became the traditional leader of the Avengers through most incarnations of the team. His tactical abilities make him an invaluable member of the group, even if his strength and speed can’t compete with his teammates like Thor and Quicksilver. Cap’s abilities are so valued that, even in a rare crossover comic featuring the stars of Marvel’s Avengers and DC’s Justice League, JLA/Avengers, Rogers was asked by Superman to lead the joint effort to bring down the supervillain Krona with no objections made by any of the other heroes.

Captain America’s status as a symbol has allowed him to tackle some of the United States’ most difficult and controversial topics over the decades. The first African-American superhero in mainstream comics, the Falcon, was introduced in Captain America #117 in 1969. The Watergate scandal was handled by Cap, with the hero becoming so disillusioned with his government that he abandoned his longtime moniker in favor of “The Nomad,” to denote his status as a man without a country. Rogers eventually re-assumed the identity of Captain America, deciding he should act as the symbol of the American ideal, not the American government.

In the 1980s, Cap was placed into an impressively progressive story arc. Rogers found his best friend from childhood, Arnie Roth, still alive after all these years. Arnie is, without ever explicitly stating it, obviously gay. This revelation doesn’t phase Cap in the least. Captain America accepted his friend for who he was without ever questioning Arnie or himself. Rogers continued to be emblematic of Americans at our best.

It was only a matter of time before one of America’s icons made a successful venture onto the big screen. Seventy years after his debut, Captain America: The First Avenger did a magnificent job of telling the essential origin story for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first superhero. Cap was shown in his element, punching Hitler, fighting Nazis wielding super-weapons, and inspiring his troops to follow his example. He saved the world from nuclear-level catastrophe and sacrificed himself in the process. His actions would reverberate across the Marvel world and inspire generations of heroes.

In the deleted scenes to Marvel’s masterpiece work, The Avengers, Chris Evans’ Rogers character is shown adapting to a world no longer his own. Unlike in the comics, in which Cap was revived after only 20 years, the cinematic Rogers was revived after nearly 70 years and was introduced to a world far beyond his comprehension. It’s a shame these scenes did not make the final cut, as Evans’ acting ability is on full display when he portrays Captain America as a lost soul trying to find his way in a new world. The subtlety in his expressions brings the inner turmoil to light remarkably well.

The success of The Avengers was unparalleled for a movie based on a comic book property, but it is the success of the Captain America standalone movie that is truly astounding. Pulling in $370 million worldwide and receiving a 79 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Captain America proved that Cap is a hero for all ages. But how?

In a world full of cynics and overwhelming use of irony, Captain America seems quaint and ridiculous — an odd relic from a more black-and-white time in which good and evil could be easily defined. Perhaps we yearn for that level of simplicity and can relate to Cap’s struggle to understand a world of deeper conflict. Maybe Captain America speaks to the more innocent times all of us experienced in our lives. He acts as a reminder of our idealism and the world we wish to see. Or maybe we can all relate to the scrawny kid who just wanted to do good. Captain America has always been a man who speaks to what we want to be and is the appropriate surrogate for when times get tough. We may not be able to stop Hitler, but Cap can travel to Germany and sock him on the jaw for us.

When Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes to theaters Friday, we will see the return of Cap, Black Widow, and Nick Fury, along with the introduction of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The movie promises to examine government overreach and the military-industrial complex. Cap will again fill the role of the common man working to fix the mistakes of our world. Winter Soldier looks to be a movie that will challenge our view of the world and ourselves — and will look really cool when doing it.

Last episode creates real-life HIMYM experience

How I Met Your Mother has ended after nine long years. It was a crazy journey, and one that ended quite controversially.

The show has gone down a windy road full of situations that were relatable and situations that seemed completely implausible. For every tragic moment about the loss of a loved one, there were several moments involving robots fighting wrestlers. But sometimes, even the craziest moments of our favorite shows can come to life.

In the most amazing instance of life imitating art, I found myself in the role of the gang in the season 2 episode, “Monday Night Football.”

In the episode, the gang realizes at the last minute that they will be unable to watch the Super Bowl live. Still, they all want to experience the game as everyone else did: with all of the thrill and uncertainty of a live viewing. To accomplish this, the entire gang had to find ways to avoid every spoiler that could come their way. No news, no talking to anyone, and no televisions that might give away the results.

Replace the Super Bowl with the series finale of How I Met Your Mother, and you will understand my Monday night experience.

I was called in to work at 8:30 p.m. on the night of the finale. With How I Met Your Mother running from 8 to 9, there was no way I could catch the show. Even worse, I work at a CBS affiliate.

Prior obligations held me up until 8 p.m., and immediately upon arriving at CBS, I had to keep myself occupied and away from television for half an hour. That’s pretty much impossible inside a television station. Then, when the finale was over, I had to preface every conversation with, “No spoilers!”

Co-workers had tears in their eyes and wanted so much to talk about the finale. All social media was off-limits until after I could finally watch the show. And to top off the wonderful humor of my night, the news did a segment on the How I Met Your Mother finale.

In a scene practically identical to Robin’s in “Monday Night Football,” hearing that How I Met Your Mother was in our rundown caused me immediate panic. I begged the producers not to run the story, but with no such luck. I fell just short of putting hands over my ears and shouting nonsense to drown out the sound of spoilers.

Luckily, the conversation on-air remained vague, and I was able to make it home, spoiler-free, to watch the finale of a show that took me on a journey: a show that made me feel wonderful and terrible — that was relatable to me, while still reminding me of the sitcoms of my childhood.

The final episode of How I Met Your Mother was difficult for many of us to watch. All shows naturally have a difficult time wrapping up all of their stories in a way that is acceptable to the fan base. The creators of How I Met Your Mother made the task even more difficult by using the finale as an epilogue of sorts, to show where every member of the gang would end up. Unfortunately for this fan, their journeys were unsatisfying. Spoilers ahead.

An entire season was built around the wedding of Barney and Robin. After years of development and tremendous growth, these characters finally felt like they were gaining a measure of happiness and closure. Barney and Robin were each other’s perfect foils: a man and woman who loved each other, warts and all, and brought out the best in each other. The last two seasons of the show were dedicated to showing fans why Barney and Robin deserved to be together. But that doesn’t matter anymore, because they will only be together for three unhappy years.

Ted’s journey has always been the center narrative of the show. The final season was dedicated to the tragedy of Ted and Robin. Ted had spent years imagining a world in which, against all odds, he and Robin would somehow end up together. The idea that he was wrong, and his need to find love was so strong that it was distorting his judgment, made the show better than any other traditional sitcom of the day. Ted’s difficulty in moving on from an unhealthy and unhappy relationship was something every one of us could relate to. But he had to move on because there was still something better out there for him. There was someone waiting for him who would love his calligraphy hobby, his long-winded stories, and the way he pronounced “renaissance” faire. It was a lesson in patience and self-respect. By not settling for a poor match, Ted was able to finally find a woman who wasn’t perfect, but was perfect for him. Ted was able to accept the love he deserved.

But that doesn’t matter anymore because they will only be together for 10 years. Robin is the happy ending. By shifting to the ending that saw Ted and Robin back together, the show abruptly changed from one about false hope and overcoming preconceived ideas about our future to one that said, “Yeah, you totally will end up back together.” Was Tracy, The Mother, just a consolation prize? And is Ted going to spend the rest of his life with a woman who doesn’t even appreciate his interests?

Despite my misgivings, I am thankful for what Carter Bays and Craig Thomas gave to us. Even when the show was not at its peak, it was still enjoyable. The creators of How I Met Your Mother created a television classic that was unafraid to take risks, a show that knew how to play with the classic sitcom formula in a way that felt both familiar and unique. I may not be happy with the ending of the show or its final message, but that is only because I am able to relate to it so well. We’ve all had a Robin in our lives that we just can’t shake. And we all hope one day to find our Tracy. We need to appreciate every single second we get with those we love and remember why they were so special even after they’re gone.

How I Met Your Mother reminded us that love stories are often messy, and happy endings are only a matter of when the story cuts off. If nothing else, the show will always be relatable, even in the most obscure and seemingly impossible situations.

After all, I never thought I would ever need the Sensory Deprivator 5000, but it certainly would have made last night a lot easier.

HIMYM favorite episodes: ‘Slap Bet’

After nine seasons, the final episode of How I Met Your Mother airs in the United States on Monday, March 31. Curiata.com is reliving the series this week by looking back at our favorites of the 208 episodes.

Chuck Cunningham and Judy Winslow vanished. Cory Matthews aged three years in one season. Jerry and Elaine dated for one episode and it was never mentioned again. Sitcoms are notorious for shaky continuity. Perhaps the writers believe these fictional characters only exist to make us laugh, so continuity should be no issue.

But How I Met Your Mother shows us why continuity is important. Besides creating an amazing narrative story that transcends the simple sitcom formula, it also creates a web of jokes that make the show appreciably better to longtime fans. Many shows make callback jokes, but rarely does a show dedicate an entire episode of its final season to a gag started seven years prior. And no show has done it in a way that feels relevant quite like How I Met Your Mother.

The perfect example of this is the season 2 episode, alternately called “Slap Bet” or “Robin Sparkles,” the second title originally being dropped to withhold the secret reveal. The two different titles give away exactly why the episode is so important. It created two strong running jokes that would be referenced straight through to the finale.

Spoiler alert! Robin Scherbatsky was a Canadian pop star in the 90s. And an awesome one at that. She even rapped.

The Robin Sparkles reveal is one of the funniest moments in any sitcom. “Let’s Go to The Mall” was my ringtone for a time. And who can forget all of the later jokes this reveal spawned? There was the time when Robin Sparkles made mathematics quite erotic. Alan Thicke certainly enjoyed it. Then there was the absolute classic Behind the Music joke about Robin as Alanis Morissette, including, surprisingly, the first Full House reference, when Dave Coulier made his always-awesome “cut it out” joke. None of these late series jokes would have been possible without the foundation laid out in season 2.

Then, of course, there is the Slap Bet. After a series of events involving a wager over Robin’s past, Marshall gained the right to slap Barney five times, any time, for the rest of their lives. After gaining three at a later date, Marshall ended up with eight slaps, often doled out in episodes dedicated entirely to the impending slap. Remember “Slapsgiving”? Or “Slapsgiving 2”? Or “Slappointment in Slapmarra” from the final season? Maybe it’s best we don’t remember much from the final season, except for the final slap, delivered to Barney at the altar on his wedding day.

Even without acknowledging the later impact of this episode on the series, the episode is fantastic in its own right. The episode showcases the comedic gold-mine combination of Marshall and Barney, while going far in establishing who Ted and Robin are as individuals and as a couple. Robin’s reserve conflicts harshly with Ted’s openness about who he is. It’s difficult for Ted to accept the secrets Robin wants to keep, though his goodhearted side ultimately wins out, and he accepts her decision. Robin, too, grows, deciding that her past should be known by the people she loves, no matter how terrible, or bubblegum pop-ish, it is.

Continuity is difficult to maintain, but when done right, it can create a rich history to build upon and add anticipation to the big moments of the show. How I Met Your Mother has mastered this craft and I’m sure the finale will show us why it’s been worth the ride.

Best Line:
Ted: You’re afraid of the seven dwarfs?
Robin: Just Doc. He’s creepy. I mean, he’s got a medical degree. Why is he hanging around a bunch of coal miners?

Best Cutaway:

Mother Lore: None.

Butler, Fruitvale Station snubs show prejudice

In the past 20 years, 120 films have received Academy Awards nominations for Best Picture. Of those nominees, only 17 featured nonwhite leads, and those characters were primarily athletes, entertainers, and criminals.

Is this evidence that a movie starring a white man is inherently better?

Do this year’s nominations mean there was only one good movie made by a black director in 2013?

Can the Academy only nominate one movie with a black star each year?

The answer to the first two questions is obviously, “No,” but digging deeper into that third question may uncover a real problem.

2013 was a good year for movies about the black experience, but it has not translated into Oscars recognition. 12 Years a Slave is likely to win the award for Best Picture tonight, but it is the only nominee in the category featuring any nonwhite lead. Many movie buffs were left shocked at the lack of nominations for two strong films with black lead actors: Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Fruitvale Station were completely shut out by the Academy.

Many argue that the oversight was simply due to the films’ midyear releases. Others, myself included, worry it may be something more. It would appear the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is suffering from the same problem as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which generated anger by awarding a Grammy to Macklemore over a collection of black artists. In response to the lack of recognition by both academies, some fans of the artists on the short end have cried “racism.”

I disagree. What’s at play here is not a matter of racism. To be racist is to knowingly bear resentment against a person for their ethnicity or the color of their skin. The Academy’s lack of recognition for The Butler and Fruitvale Station is not a malicious action to deny the artistic value of these works, but rather a subconscious prejudice against movies that are harder for these voters to relate to.

To be prejudiced is not to be racist. To have prejudice is not blatant or malicious. Every one of us has some kind of prejudice. The Academy has a prejudice, too. It suffers from a lack of understanding different cultures — a problem that is unavoidable in such an homogenous body: the members of the Academy are 94 percent white. (12 Years a Slave managed to overcome this prejudice, in part, because of its strong white supporting cast.)

Perhaps this is why Fruitvale Station received no love from the Academy. The old, rich, white folks who make up the voting body simply cannot relate to the everyday challenges in the life of Oscar Grant. The film, starring Michael B. Jordan as Grant, was hard for me, a white male, to get into at first. Grant, a 22-year-old man who was believed to have been a victim of police brutality, is shown unknowingly living his last day on Earth. Writer and director Ryan Coogler artfully tells Grant’s story in a raw and real way, showing the everyday life of a good, if flawed, man.

Fruitvale Station is just not the type of movie that I would typically enjoy. It felt almost too real, at times too mundane, and Grant was a man with whom it was difficult to sympathize at first. However, it wasn’t long before I found myself questioning the prejudice that plagued my view of the movie. As a regular movie viewer, I’ve become conditioned to expect certain things in my movies even as I profess to oppose that mentality. It took some time before I was able to look past the fact that the sets were dirty and the people weren’t all beautiful — that the world the characters lived in was my own, and that this story was not going to have a happy ending.

Our prejudice influences our immersion into movies. It’s only natural that we try to latch onto the character who is most like us when watching a film. We like to see ourselves as Captain Phillips or Dr. Ryan Stone as we wonder how we would handle the difficult circumstances these characters face. We find it easier to live vicariously through Jordan Belfort as he behaves extravagantly because it’s what any one of us would love to do if there were no consequences.

It is harder, though, to become engrossed in a film that is about a real life, not like our own: a tragedy, out of our hands, depicting someone who might not look like us. Perhaps it’s more difficult to watch when we realize the unthinkable story of Fruitvale Station took place as recently as 2009. Maybe watching that film made members of the Academy uncomfortable, unwilling to nominate it for a major award.

The Butler, however, had all the benchmarks of the type of movie the Academy would regularly reward. With beautiful cinematography, an all-star cast of actors both black and white, social commentary on the 1960s and 70s, and a true story about mistakes made by white people set right again by more white people. So why did Lee Daniels get snubbed?

My prejudice was no factor in thoroughly enjoying The Butler from beginning to end. Based very loosely on a true story, much like American Hustle, The Butler tells the story of Cecil Gaines, a White House domestic servant, as he leads his life and family through the tumultuous 20th century and the early years of the 21st.

Unfortunately for history fans, the most intriguing angle of The Butler was a complete Hollywood concoction. In order to show the changing social conditions in the United States from the 1950s to the current millennium, the movie also follows the story of Cecil’s son, Louis, as he joins the Civil Rights movement, the Black Panthers, and later, the Democratic Party as a nominee for Congress. Unfortunately, Louis Gaines was never a real person.

Eugene Allen, the man upon whom Cecil was based, was an actual White House butler for over 34 years. But unlike Cecil, Allen only had one son, who fought in and survived Vietnam. The character of Cecil is the father of two children, with the younger boy leaving to fight in Vietnam during the course of the movie. Still, these sorts of liberties are taken in many movies and can’t possibly be held up as an excuse for snubbing the film when American Hustle followed the same formula.

Obviously, not every movie can be nominated for Best Picture. Still, it seems like a slight against these two magnificent movies that neither was nominated when realistic stories about white men, like Nebraska and Captain Phillips, received their recognition from the Academy.

I am not arguing that either Lee Daniels’ The Butler or Fruitvale Station deserves to be awarded Best Picture. Neither was on the same level as 12 Years a Slave. Both movies, however, certainly deserve to be recognized ahead of some of the other Best Picture nominees.

While I don’t believe the Academy made malicious, racist decisions, I have to conclude that the slights given to these two movies were based on a subconscious prejudice that influences all of us. The diverse perspectives that can be brought together when a group of about 6,000 people vote on the best films of the year should counterbalance those prejudices. But that outcome is impossible when the Academy is 94 percent white, 77 percent male, and very old.

Catching Fire exemplifies faithful adaptation

Welcome to Kansas: Gays need not apply

I don’t have a problem with homophobes. Some of my friends are homophobes. And while I don’t agree with their lifestyle choice, it’s not my place to judge others, even if what they’re doing is an affront to everything I believe in. As far as I’m concerned, they can hate whomever they want as long as they don’t try any of that with me.

And please, just don’t do it in public. I don’t want to have to explain to my (theoretical) kids why you are behaving in such a disgraceful way.

I understand it’s tough to be a homophobe in this day and age. It seems like the world is against you, constantly telling you how your way of thinking is immoral and wrong. You are being persistently attacked for feelings that are beyond your control when all you are trying to do is exercise your Constitutional right to express those feelings.

And now you have to worry about these anti-homophobic laws that are making their ways through legislatures across the world. Will you be legally persecuted just for being anti-gay? Certainly, we can’t have that in America.

Well, fear not, my friend. Kansas has heard your cry and the representatives of the people have taken steps to create a safe haven for other homophobes like you. The state’s House of Representatives last week passed a bill that would allow you and your business to express your views by denying services to the gays who offend your delicate sensibilities. If you see two men together and find yourself feeling uncontrollable feelings, you can simply tell these men to stop acting without concern for other people and kick them out.

I understand. You are the victim. Your rights to freedom of expression need to be upheld. No one should be allowed to prevent you from being who you are. It’s just a good thing you were able to stop this before Big Government started passing laws like the Nazis, preventing you from being served at public places or from getting good jobs because of who you are and what you believe. I mean, seriously, that would be just about the most authoritarian, fascistic, Hitler-esque thing one could do.

***

Satire aside, I do know people I honestly consider to be friends who might object to this message because they don’t agree with marriage equality or a military that does not discriminate based on sexual orientation, and that’s fine. I’m never going to change their minds, and I respect their right to hold to their positions. I even accept that some folks whom I genuinely esteem believe being gay is a sin. I disagree, but I can appreciate our differences.

The problem I have is with the victim mentality. People who disagree about marriage equality can have a civil debate. But to say that there exists some kind of nefarious homosexual agenda that aims to subjugate good Christians is an absurd lie. Many people who are gay, including friends of mine, are Christians themselves, and would never want to see their faiths harmed. They are also American and love our country because it allows them to be who they are without having to worry about government-sponsored actions detrimental to their well-being.

Most Americans, no matter where they fall on the left-right spectrum, can agree on a basic principle: we should be allowed as many freedoms and liberties as possible without hindering the rights of other human beings. Your right to call someone a demon or subhuman is just as valid as my right to say you have beautiful eyes. However, your right to kill is not more important than someone else’s right to live.

This precept holds true in civil rights as well. You have every right to hate me for being different than you, but you have no right to hurt me because of that hatred. Your problems with people who are different from you are your own and cannot be legislated — and certainly not under the guise of “religious liberty” that only applies to your own interpretation of religion.

Stop fearing the “gay agenda.” The only agenda anyone is pushing is for civil rights. Nothing that is being advocated by the LGBT community and its allies will infringe on your rights in any way. You will still have the right to hate whomever you want, and you will still have the right to be treated like a human wherever you go.

The anti-gay agenda, however, is about taking away rights, not granting them. And Republicans in the Kansas House tried to take a huge step in advancing that restrictive agenda. Thankfully, the president of the Kansas Senate has put the bill on ice. If she had not, men and women who are gay would be treated differently for who they are and whom they love. That would be someone’s “right” to hate trumping another person’s right to live, and that is wrong.

A law like the one proposed in Kansas cannot stand and would not pass even simple Constitutional scrutiny, despite what Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would inevitably say. State law cannot violate the U.S. Constitution. In the end, a discriminatory law like this would prove a huge favor to gay rights advocates; its striking-down would set a precedent to be called upon in all future cases.

Some of you will disagree with me. I’m glad you will. We all need to have our views challenged. I welcome the debate, and I look forward to hearing from you.

RoboCop reboot? I’d buy that for a dollar!

Sequels, prequels, adaptations, reboots, and spinoffs. That seems to be all Hollywood knows how to make. But is that necessarily bad?

Movie studios saw a seven-year fall in home video sales alongside the rise of Internet streaming and illegal downloading. In order to combat that loss of revenue, studios have invested most of their resources into franchises they can bet on.

And we hand over our money, so it can’t possibly be all that bad. These cinematic retreads are part of our culture now, and even if they aren’t the same as the original, they are often quite good. Maybe we should give these movies a fair shake.

Outside of Footloose and The Amazing Spider-Man, no reboot has received as much criticism before its release as RoboCop, which opened in American theaters this week. José Padilha’s attempt at telling the tale of the first robotic police officer was hardly even announced when fans of the 1987 original began denouncing the film. The original is a classic, they argue. And perhaps they are right. However, the original is older than I am, and it should be acceptable for a story to be retold for every generation.

Even if you disagree with repeating old stories, fear not: the new RoboCop flick is a completely different movie, with the only similarities to the original being tons of satire and lots of shooting.

The 2014 edition begins with a look into a near future that seems far too real. The United States has grown excessively belligerent in its foreign policy and has morphed its unmanned drone program into one of full humanoid robots. These machines operate brilliantly, being able to assess threats in seconds before taking action. The robots are shown “keeping the peace” in Tehran, where it is evident the United States has finally decided to invade.

From the beginning, it becomes clear the filmmakers are not glorifying the advanced drone program. The robot warriors, manufactured by OmniCorps, are promoted heavily by an obnoxious, biased political pundit, played by Samuel L. Jackson, despite the drones causing more problems than they are solving.

The robots are initially shown to be efficient and infallible, but events quickly go awry. Iranian freedom fighters try to fight off the invading mechanical army and, in a heartbreaking scene, one of the robots sees a child wielding a knife, determines he is a threat, and fires on the young boy. The message is clear: without a human element, drones cannot be trusted to implement fair and merciful policy.

Public sentiment against the robots causes OmniCorp’s CEO, Raymond Sellars, to issue a new directive: put a human in the machine. Alex Murphy, a Detroit police officer looking to root out corruption in his department, is chosen for the procedure. Murphy, played by Joel Kinnaman, is left with only his original brain, lungs, and right hand as he becomes the RoboCop. Again the message is obvious: regardless of how much of the RoboCop is machine, a human hand is still pulling the trigger.

The rest of the movie raises questions about the morality of drones and the distance being placed between the American public and American wars. The film also warns of a future when drones could be used on American soil — a future for which Jackon’s character lobbies hard.

Setting aside the scathing satire, the movie’s MVPs are two Batman veterans: Sellars is played by Michael Keaton, the man who originally brought the crime fighter in black to the silver screen; and Gotham’s Commissioner Gordon, Gary Oldman, portrays Dr. Dennett Norton. Both men play their roles to perfection.

Keaton is the prototypical evil CEO character, determined to make money no matter the cost in human lives and suffering. While Sellars is a bit of a shallow character, Keaton still shines when using his fake sincerity to manipulate everyone around him. Still, I found myself wondering if OmniCorps’s CEO was actually guilty of committing any crimes. The most chilling aspects of this movie were how possible all of it is, and how legal culpability does not always line up with moral responsibility.

Giving another tremendous performance, Oldman continues to prove his worth. (Hopefully, Lucasfilm is taking notes and the rumors will prove true about Oldman being cast in Star Wars 7.) Oldman’s Dr. Norton character is easily the best-written of the movie. A man who obviously began work in robotics to give second chances to the suffering, Norton is the embodiment of the slippery slope argument. At first, Norton is concerned about the morality of OmniCorp’s actions. Then, Norton gradually consents to worse and worse actions, slowly removing more and more of Murphy’s humanity until the officer of the law becomes more machine than man.

The 2014 RoboCop is a movie that would benefit from having a unique identity to avoid drawing comparisons to the original. However, Hollywood needs familiar names tagged onto big releases to feel safe in taking the financial risk. That doesn’t mean there is a lack of artistic risk in new movies; it just means we are more likely to see that fresh perspective pasted on a rehashed character.

The original RoboCop, released 27 years ago, was an entirely different work from the current version. The film, starring Peter Weller, was a thematic portrayal of Reagan-era America and all of its associated problems. Showcasing the fears of liberals and conservatives alike, this dystopian Detroit is riddled with white-collar and blue-collar crime that are both terribly out of hand, requiring a new type of hero to rein in the trouble.

Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop antagonists were almost cartoonishly evil people, leaving no room for audience sympathy. When Murphy’s robotic hands pulls the trigger, you are never left wondering if the criminal’s gruesome demise was justified.

The original and the reboot both tackle the problems inherent in defense contracting and privatization of public services. The original goes much further in showing the profit-over-morality mentality of Omni Consumer Products, with a board member blatantly stating the company’s goal to profit off “markets traditionally regarded as non-profit: hospitals, prisons, space exploration.”

Both movies have fun taking shots at the media. In the 1987 movie, news anchors casually discuss terrible tragedies with no regard for the human suffering. Today, Jackson’s Pat Novak character is a perfect stand-in for Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity as the modern news pundit demanding that the world change to adhere to his beliefs. Jackson, of course, kills it, with his over-the-top anger that would look perfectly at home on the Fox News Channel.

Fans of the original movie will immediately notice a distinct lack of blood in the reboot. Many would argue that’s a good thing, but aren’t we all a little nostalgic for a simpler time, when movies were filled with eviscerations and exploding body parts?

Padilha did a good job creating a compelling satire of the military-industrial complex and U.S. drone policy that is more relevant to 2014 audiences than the 1987 baddies are. At times, the satire is a bit heavy-handed, but that is the case in the original as well. Ultimately, RoboCop is a reflection of the times, which is necessary for any successful story, especially when it’s being retold in a fresh perspective.

In that respect, 2014’s RoboCop movie is a success. Still, don’t feel the need to rush to your nearest theater. A nice DVD rental should suffice.

Valentine’s Day a sham; no one really likes it

Does anyone really enjoy Valentine’s Day? Sure, you may think you do, and you may remember some amazing moments in the past, but did any one of those moments surpass your hopes?

If you answered yes, then you are certainly in the minority, because despite what we all want to believe, very few people — married, dating, or single — end up happy at the end of February 14.

Let’s start with the obvious. Single people hate Valentine’s Day. This day that is supposed to be celebrating the martyrdom of a Catholic Saint has turned into a greeting card holiday about expressing your undying love for that “one person” in your life. To single folks, that means a stark reminder once a year that you are alone and no one loves you. Great.

Single Valentine’s Days are the worst. If you are recently single, the day reminds you of your lost opportunities. You sit alone, watching you ex’s favorite romantic comedy, eating Ben and Jerry’s, wondering what you could have done better.

If you’ve been single for a while, like I have, you spend the entire day trying to figure out how your life got so sad that you spend your nights watching anime, hoping the kung fu god and the demon-hunting vampire will finally get together. You are left with a crushing feeling of emptiness as you wonder what it is about you that just is not good enough, while you know that plenty of the worst kinds of people are out for steak dinners and wine.

This feeling of self-doubt is usually a bogus one, too. If you love who you are and where you are in life, why does it matter if no one else sees what makes you great?

People often tell me that I need to lower my standards. Why? I’m not looking for a rocket scientist/supermodel with an encyclopedic knowledge of Batman stories. But what is so wrong with wanting a person who understands me and accepts me and is attractive to me? We should not have to settle for somebody who doesn’t make us happy.

So, if you are spending Valentine’s Day alone, drinking Captain Morgan and watching Clerks 2, just remember that it’s better than being out with someone you don’t like, trying desperately to make him or her happy, even though you know deep in your heart that you just don’t care.

I have been single for the past four Valentine’s Days. Obviously, that must say something about me. I get it. I can be pretty abrasive and very self-assured. But that certainly wasn’t always the case.

There was a time when my smugness was just an outer shell, and I was looking for someone with whom I could share the world. Valentine’s Day was the day every year when all I wanted was to be with someone and to show her how much I cared. Of course, that doesn’t make any sense. Why would I want to be with someone just so I could tell her how much she mattered on one particular day each year? Doesn’t it make more sense to actually fall in love with someone and spend a day of your choosing devoted to showing that person how special he or she is to you? Valentine’s Day acts as a constraint for some relationships in order to fulfill some false sense of what should be.

And then there are the couples. While I’m sure millions of couples have sweet Valentine’s dates with each other, how many of those dates have at least one person wondering, “Is this it?” Do these sweet dates of restaurants and movies ever truly measure up to what we expect when February 14 rolls around?

One of the few times I was actually in a relationship on Valentine’s Day, my then-girlfriend asked me what I wanted for the holiday. I, of course, trying to be sweet, answered that all I wanted was time with her. My girlfriend, sarcastic human being that she is, got me a clock and a picture of her. Time. With her. Just what I asked for.

It was brilliant. It was funny. It was completely clever and I was so frustrated by it. Not because I wanted a gift or because I didn’t laugh, but because I actually just wanted to spend time with this girl. Unfortunately, we were busy people and we really were unable to spend any time together for the holiday, so I spent the day angry.

A lot of people share stories of disappointment with Cupid’s favorite day. The problem is that we all have ridiculous hopes for what is supposed to happen, our realities shattered by John Hughes movies and every season finale of Glee. Even those among us who know not to expect much will still hold out hope that, somehow, things will change and our own romantic comedy will begin.

For those of you who are married, I first offer my respect. Marriage is difficult and requires a lot of sacrifice. But for wedded couples who are in a rut, Valentine’s Day is a painful reminder of a love whose romance has waned after years of living together, paying bills and raising kids. Sure, there are always exceptions, but I have to believe they are rare.

Marriage is obviously a different animal than young love. Marriage, when done right, is an evolving love, uniting two partners whose shared experiences will forever bind them even if their romantic feelings fade into oblivion. And for 364 days a year, that evolving love is enough. However, Valentine’s Day is the one day each year when even the happiest couples are left wanting more. They want to have a romantic dinner and a memorable night ending with fireworks and lovemaking like neither has never experienced. That won’t happen. That doesn’t happen.

In theory, Valentine’s Day is a wonderful thing. We should take a moment to tell our significant others how much we love them. Perhaps designating one day a year to this task is helpful for the aloof among us.

The problem with this holiday is only in the heightened expectations, driven by works of fiction, that destroy the beauty of those true moments of actual love between two individuals. We see so many last-minute confessions and public displays of affection that simply lying on a couch holding each other is not enough on the most romantic holiday of the year. And those of us who spend the day alone just wish we had someone to hold.

If you have someone to spend Valentine’s Day with this year, I hope you enjoy yourself. Treat each other well, and make sure you remember that this is the real world and not a Nicholas Sparks novel. Love each other for who you are, not what you want your partner to be.

Those of us who are likely to spend the day alone will be sad. But don’t worry about us. There’s always Netflix.

Batman has endured, evolved for 75 years

When it comes to iconic American characters, there can be no doubt that Batman is among the best. Created in 1939, “the Batman” has endured across seven and a half decades of vast social change, surviving innumerable reboots and interpretations to become a fascinating, well-crafted character who is both relatable and legendary.

Fans of Batman have always appreciated the character for being remarkably unique. The Dark Knight, however, began as a ripoff of every character his creator had ever heard of.

Origins of the Bat-Man

The idea for a the vigilante hero came about as a money-making scheme. Bob Kane, a comic book artist at the time, was looking to make the same kind of money as Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Kane promised to bring National Periodicals, today’s DC Comics, a new superhero to publish alongside the Man of Tomorrow.

Kane began sketching his ideas for a Bat-Man, drawing a character similar to Superman, in a bright red suit, but with wings like a bat. Kane took his proposal to his writer friend, Bill Finger, who offered ideas to modify the outfit for the bat-themed hero. Finger proposed getting rid of the domino mask and replacing it with Batman’s signature cowl to give the hero the appearance of his namesake mammal. Instead of large wings, Batman would wear a cape that could be made to simulate the appearance of wings. Finger also suggested that Kane replace the red suit that was too similar to Superman’s bright colors with darker shades befitting a nighttime vigilante.

Despite his contributions, Finger never received much recognition in his lifetime, and is largely viewed as the uncredited co-creator of Batman.

Under Kane and Finger’s direction, Batman began to take on traits of several popular characters. Kane often cited being inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, the swashbuckling Zorro, and Leonardo da Vinci’s flying machine. Kane and Finger have also acknowledged the heavy influences of The Phantom, Doc Savage, The Shadow, and Sherlock Holmes. The Bat-Man made his debut in Detective Comics #27 in “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.”

Developing the Story

To explain why a millionaire like Bruce Wayne would dress in a bat costume to fight crime in dark alleys, the writers concocted a tragic story that would traumatize any young boy. The story has remained almost exactly the same across numerous genres and retellings.

As presented in Detective Comics #33, young Bruce Wayne witnessed the cold-blooded murder of both his mother and father after a trip to the theater. The shock of this senseless crime caused the boy to make a vow. He would not only swear vengeance against the criminal who killed his parents, but against crime itself. It is this vow, even more than the death of his parents, that is the central tragedy of the Batman mythology.

Robin joins the team in Detective Comics #38

Almost immediately, the Caped Crusader’s supporting cast filled out. Commissioner Gordon, Batman’s liaison in the Gotham City Police Department, was introduced in the same issue as the Dark Knight himself. The character has endured across the ages as another Gotham hero, including his most recent portrayal on film by Gary Oldman.

Only a year into his run as a hero, Batman took on a sidekick, sparking a new trend in comics of underage boys fighting monsters and dangerous criminals. Robin was introduced as a writing device, decreasing the number of thought balloons on a given page by giving Bruce a friend with whom to discuss his plans.

The Boy Wonder became an adopted son to the chronically lonely Bruce Wayne, adding a new layer to Batman’s character. Dick Grayson, the original Robin, evolved over the years into a hero in his own right, called Nightwing, creating a second iconic character out of the Bat mythos.

The Dark Side of the Dark Knight

In the early years, Batman was not opposed to killing or simply letting his opponents die. Longtime fans of the Bat would be aghast to see their hero breaking necks of bad guys and firing a gun when necessary.

In Batman #1, which saw the introduction of perennial villains The Joker and Catwoman, Wayne used guns to slay monstrous giants. The violent imagery led the editor to decree the end of guns and killing in the Bat comics. Bruce Wayne’s aversion to firearms and killing was retconned, explained as stemming from the loss of his parents. Batman’s refusal to kill has become one of his most defining traits.

The Comics Code Authority stemmed from a political backlash against violence marketed to children.

The desire to make money and gain notoriety almost killed Batman in the same way that led to his creation. In 1954, Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham linked teenage delinquency to comic books, usually citing the violent and gruesome nature and imagery of horror comics.

As expected, the sensational book, which offered little in the way of verifiable science, sparked an outcry exaggerated by a politician looking for an issue to get his name in the news. Estes Kefauver was a Democrat with his eye on the Presidential nomination. Seduction of the Innocent would give him his issue and his media attention.

While Kefauver never became President of the United States, he did force the comic book industry to create a self-censoring body known as the Comics Code Authority. The CCA established numerous rules which led to the death of innumerable superhero properties and forced change upon those that survived.

Batman became a deputy of the Gotham Police Force who fought crime in the daytime. His stories took on elements of the fanciful and the science fiction genre. DC introduced new characters into the Bat mythos, Batwoman and an early version of Batgirl, likely to curb Wertham’s charges of homosexuality in the Bat world.

Entering a new medium

Adam West as Batman in the 1960s television series

By 1966, Batman comics were close to cancelation. Swooping in at the last second to save the day, the ABC television network picked up the Batman character for a new TV series. Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward, became a national sensation, offering a campy take on the character that was actually quite faithful to the comics of the time. The show employed a brilliant tactic: appeal to audiences of all ages. For the kids, Batman was a serious adventure story about the Caped Crusader. To adults, it was a humorous take on the absurdist nature of the superhero genre.

Unfortunately for Bat-fans, the show only lasted three years before being canceled due to declining ratings. Still, the show has had an enduring impact, being referenced to this day: Adam West regularly makes appearances to parody his most famous role in shows such as Family Guy and The Fairly Oddparents.

Batman on TV created a new generation of fans, but for some dedicated to the franchise, the hero portrayed on ABC was no Dark Knight. Comic book writers and artists did not want to see another generation of fans grow up believing that Batman was the goofy master of onomatopoeia.

Ra's al Ghul comes on the scene in Batman #233

Artist Neal Adams and writer Denny O’Neil led the charge, taking over the Batman comics in 1969. Looking to add real-world issues into the formerly extravagant comic, Adams and O’Neil introduced the terrorist character Ra’s al Ghul. Ra’s represented a change in Batman stories from exclusively flamboyant supervillains with increasingly convoluted evil plots, to more realistic stories and more relatable villains. Unlike the numerous Bat-villains that preceded him, Ra’s aimed for a seemingly noble goal. He wished to save the world’s environment. The only problem: it would require the death of humanity.

Despite these changes, Batman comics continued to decrease in sales until 1986, when a bold new writer, known for his dark work on Marvel’s Daredevil, was given the opportunity to write the definitive Batman story.

The Bleak Reality

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller tells the story of a 55-year-old Batman, 10 years after retiring, returning to his crusade against crime in a Reagan-Era Gotham City. Miller’s Batman is, in several ways, a departure from the Batman of mercy, born of his parents’ tragic murder. Instead, Batman is a terrifying brute, certain of what is right and willing to permanently injure those in the wrong.

“I want you to remember Clark, in all the years to come, in your most private moments, I want you to remember my hand at your throat, I want you to remember the one man who beat you.”
Batman, in The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

This Dark Knight appears to have a death wish, constantly challenging himself to greater fights, until finally the Batman takes on a stand-in for God himself: Superman. In Miller’s bleak reality, Ronald Reagan nearly sparks nuclear war. With Superman by his side, the president believes the United States to be invincible, and he is willing to use its power belligerently, knowing that the Man of Steel is fast enough to stop a nuclear strike from the Soviet Union. As Reagan’s stooge, Superman is brought in to take down Batman. The Dark Knight, always prepared, welcomes Clark Kent’s arrival and enacts a plan to bring the Man of Tomorrow down.

Alan Moore's lasting contribution to the Batman canon

Miller’s Batman defined the hero for a generation as a brutal, unforgiving, genius man, capable of striking fear into the gods themselves.

Following the success of Dark Knight Returns, Miller was asked to rewrite the origin story of the Caped Crusader. Setting his story in a Gotham City controlled by organized crime, Batman: Year One follows the early years of Gordon in the GCPD and Wayne’s attempts to become greater than just a man. Year One asks a question later addressed in the Christopher Nolan film trilogy: Is Batman to blame for the rise in theatrical supervillains?

Adding a new dimension to the Batman character was Alan Moore and his classic work The Killing Joke. That installment follows the Joker’s attempts to corrupt Batman and Gordon. Joker is meant to act as the mirror image of the Dark Knight, a man who was changed by only “one bad day.” In an attempt to prove that one bad day is the only difference between men like Gordon and himself, the Joker sets out to ruin the Commissioner’s life by shooting and torturing his daughter, Barbara Gordon.

Jason Todd meets his demise in 'Batman: A Death in the Family.'

The Killing Joke is one of the most philosophically challenging Batman stories ever written. Is Batman, by not killing the Joker, responsible for the deaths the Joker causes? Since the editorial decision following Batman #1, the Gotham City hero has been known for his deontological stance on killing. Moore had the Joker challenge Bruce Wayne’s convictions, and some fans believe the Joker was actually successful in breaking Batman’s will.

Batman stories continued through the realm of darkness, culminating in a showcase of the danger of kids fighting crime. In A Death in the Family, the second man to don the Robin costume, Jason Todd, is beaten to the point of death by the Joker. The decision about Todd’s fate was left up to fans of the Batman comics, and they chose to allow Todd to die.

On to the Silver Screen

Jack Nicholson (The Joker) and Michael Keaton (Batman) brought the Caped Crusader to Hollywood

In 1989, the Bat achieved new levels of popularity with the release of Tim Burton’s Batman movie. Inspired by The Killing Joke, Burton’s Batman is a single-minded crusader who is often aloof when not seeking out Gotham’s criminals. Burton and actor Michael Keaton returned to Gotham City with Batman Returns. This second installment in the series saw a much more absurdist city, perhaps changed by the appearance of the Batman and the Joker. After Burton left the series, Warner Brothers continued the franchise by handing over the reins to Joel Schumacher. These movies are so universally panned that it’s better just to say nothing.

In 2005, Batman returned to the big screen under the direction of Christopher Nolan. Batman Begins drew its inspiration from Year One, retelling the famous origin story of the Caped Crusader while adding chapters about his time spent traveling the globe to acquire the skills necessary for an urban war.

Following the success of Batman Begins, Warner Brothers released The Dark Knight, starring a returning Christian Bale as the title character, with Heath Ledger redefining the Joker. Ledger’s portrayal of the maniacal clown earned universal praise and a posthumous Academy Award. The Dark Knight and its sequel are currently among the highest grossing films of all time.

“Oh, you. You just couldn’t let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren’t you? Huh? You won’t kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won’t kill you because you’re just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”
The Joker, in The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

Batman can be found in dozens of ongoing DC comics and is returning to theaters in 2016’s tentatively titled Batman vs. Superman.

An Enduring Legacy

Batman has become a cornerstone of American culture. With successful movies and comics, an upcoming television show based on Gotham City, and 75 years of mythology to draw from and build on, the Dark Knight will likely be with us for a long time.

Bruce Wayne, as a man among gods, inspires us to achieve greatness. Despite being only human, Batman has faced down the likes of alien demigods Superman and Darkseid and has always come out on top. Batman reminds us of the strength of one person to do tremendous good.

And if you ever doubt the inspiring nature of Gotham’s greatest hero, just remember the Batkid.

All Batman comics are the property of DC Comics. Thank you to comicvine.com for archiving these images.

The author recommends the following resources for more information on Batman:

Batman and Psychology
Batman and Philosophy
Batman: Year One
The Long Halloween
Death in the Family
The Killing Joke
Hush
The Dark Knight Returns

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