The Batman

Saturday, March 12, 2022

For the past 67-years, I have always known Batman in one way or another. I was an early comic book reader and was devoted to the 1960s era Batman comic books and the Adam West Batman on TV. Also, I had an early interest in movie serials from the 1930s/1940s, and I remember being intrigued by seeing images of the 1943 15-part serial Batman. At the time, I couldn't see Batman. Still, once in a while, I could see either a chapter or an edited version of this serial over the decade or years, primarily due to the popularity of the Batman TV series.

Visually, the movie poster for the serial is more pleasing than the actual serial. There were publications published in the 1960s/1970s that focused on the nostalgia of the Golden Cinema years, and I would hunt down images or get obscure and mysterious information. I was always fascinated with the idea of a man or woman wearing a mask. A mask represents a secret, and I was attracted to the thought that we do have secrets, and they must be hidden from prying eyes. In the imagination of my youth, I have felt that I had a secret identity as well. Little “Tosh” was a character of my design. When despair comes upon me, I usually imagine myself as a masked figure in my dreams or bed asleep.

Due to a family situation, I had to leave America and move to Japan in 1989, where I had to stay at the very least for a year. My only regret or concern about going to Japan is missing Tim Burton’s Batman. I read every article or track down every photo of the Burton shoot. This, being in 1989, was before the Internet. So most of the information came through newspapers or magazines that focused on popular cinema. Tim Burton’s Batman arrived in Japan six months later, where I saw the film with Japanese subtitles. Meanwhile, within that six months, I had to beg friends in Los Angeles to send me the anthologies of Batman comics that were released to jump on the Burton film—getting these comics packages while I was in the hot tropics of Kyushu island.

My passion for Batman died down, but still, I was compelled to go to the movie theater to see every new Batman film. And even today, I still go, but more out of duty to the memory of my youth. There is no such thing as a bad Batman movie with that in thought. Of course, some were better than others, but as long as the character is named Bruce Wayne and wears a mask once in a while, there is no possibility of it being a terrible film.

What is, and still powerful presence for me is, The Batman’s Batcave. To this day, I have dreams where I have a secret place to go to. A location where I and I alone can go and hide from the world. Here, I have my art collection, library, and rare vinyl albums, hidden from prying eyes. There is also a sense of sexuality in such close quarters. You don’t have to share something with the outside world, but those who do come into your lare will know why they are there.

The Matt Reeves film The Batman is my favorite version of the comic book legend, and it is very surreal, almost like watching a Georges Franju film. The Reeves version of Batman is very much a public figure who wanders around the public or even with the Police. Something is jarring of seeing a costumed mask figure among the unsettling Police. It is almost as if everyone can see and share the ghost in the room. For that reason, I find the scene where Batman knocks on the door to the nightclub and is escorted in to see The Penguin. Usually, Batman appears out of nowhere in a room or disappears in a Ninja manner. Here he wanders through the club as an outsider who will never be an insider.

My memory of The Batman is faint, I think due to the anxiety within me, and therefore life moves in a dream-like continuance. Robert Pattinson is the perfect Batman because he is somewhat a Phantom. Although his character is comfortable wearing a mask, Bruce still wears a mask ‘unmasked.’ Bruce Wayne is trauma as practiced, and I recognize that trait.