Batman: Through the Years
The Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne, these are all aliases for an enigmatic character in popular culture most commonly known as Batman. While having his humble origins in the pulp magazines of the late 1930’s, over the span of his existence, he has expanded into a full-blown franchise. There have been 3 TV shows on him, 4 movies (1 more still in the making), various videogames, and over 20 comic book series that currently feature his name. Even after 60 years of being in print, it was a Batman issue that was the highest selling comic book of the last week of November, 2004. It is the aim of this project to explore the reasons why this one particular comic book superhero has managed to keep his relevance where so many others have faltered, with a focused look into how Batman artwork has changed over the sixty years of his existence.
Who is Batman to you?
Almost everybody knows something about Batman, from my Sunday school teacher (who confiscated my Batman comic book calling him ‘devilish’ and ‘violent’) to my little cousins who play the new Batman videogame incessantly. What many people fail to realize though is that the character of Batman has always been evolving, always being modified to fit the purposes of both the medium and the audience.
Take for example the Batman television series that lasted from 1966 till 1968. Adam West as Batman, a little lumpy in his Batsuit, would fight crime accompanied by his faithful sidekick, Robin (Burt Ward). They would awkwardly beat up their enemies, (Listen to the classic soundtrack)accompanied by the classic POW! BIFF! WHAM! sound effects and use goofy phrases like, “…if two plus two equals four…Quick Robin, to the Batmobile!” In all t...
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...ewer is interested in; Bruce Wayne is an after thought. But with a movie, the viewer is forced to see the Bruce Wayne character and on a sub-conscious level is forced to connect that character with the traits one already has of the actor from previous experience, which reduces the mystery of the Batman character.
Concluding Thoughts:
While the Batman character grown into an international franchise, many of his fellow superhero peers have fallen by the proverbial road side. Riding on his mysterious and dark persona, he is one of the most famous fictional characters of modern times. It is a unique blend of super-hero fantasy and realism that has allowed him to be accepted by such a wide audience, and it is to the credit of his producers that they have been able to mould the character the character to fit their needs while capitalizing on the character’s essence.
What were the unintended consequences of alcohol prohibition in the United States in the 1920’s? In this investigation, the focus will be on the time frame 1920 to 1933, from when the 18th amendment was passed to when alcohol prohibition was repealed. The pros and cons of national prohibition of alcohol in the aspects of health, financial, and social results will be weighed. This will be done through the interpretation of statistics from before and after prohibition, insights of those who lived through the time period, and apparent reasons for the repeal of the amendment. The main type of source used was secondary source journal articles authored by scholars concerning the outcome of prohibition.
Enacting prohibition in a culture so immersed in alcohol as America was not easy. American had long been a nation of strong social drinkers with a strong feeling towards personal freedom. As Okrent remarks, “George Washington had a still on his farm. James Madison downed a pint of whiskey a day”. This was an era when drinking liquor on ships was far safer than the stale scummy water aboard, and it was common fo...
The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with an insight into the Super Hero Series Batman. This crime fighter originally appeared in Detective Comics issue #27 in 1939. It later became a comic book series, a TV series and a movie series. The character Batman is second only to Superman as a Super Hero. Amazingly Batman has no super powers, but he does have a lot of neat crime fighting gadgets. In this paper, we will explore the creation of Batman, his supporting cast of characters both good and bad and the gadgets he used.
Aaron, Paul and Musto, David, Temperance and Prohibition in America: A Historical Overview. In: Moore, Mark H., and Gerstain, Dean R. (eds) Alcohol and Public Policy: Beyond the Shadow of Prohibition. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1981. Pp 127-181.
Have you ever wondered who the man is under the dark knight mask? Bruce Wayne, is a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and owner of Wayne Enterprises, who after witnessing the murder of his parents Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne as a child, he swore vengeance against criminals, an oath tempered by a sense of justice. Bruce Wayne trains himself physically and intellectually and crafts a bat-inspired persona to fight crime. But the man riddle to this amazing “Cape Crusader” is brought along with many interesting facts about this dynamic crime fighter, such as, while Bruce was growing up, he learn he had an older brother, or that Batman is actually afraid of something, how about Bruce Wayne’s no drinking alcohol diet, or even batman’s
Contrary to popular belief, prohibition did not prohibit the consumption of alcohol. This singular and often misunderstood fact about this time period is one of the key elements in what helps to cast prohibition in a positive light. No part of this 18th Amendment expressly forbid individuals from imbibing in alcoholic beverages, it only forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of these types of drinks. This distinction in the law is crucial. By distinguishing the law in such a way, it can be see...
The particular emphasis and theme of this paper will focus on delivering an understanding as to why the eighteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States of America, ratified into law in January 1920, outlawing the manufacture, distribution and sale of intoxicating alcohol, was always predestined to fail. In order to fully understand why this ‘Nobel Experiment’ was doomed from the start, the paper must first look back at the historic connection between the American people and alcohol. In order to set some context as to where alcohol sat in American society, this essay will give a passing glance at figures like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but more importantly, it will examine the intrinsic connection between alcohol and the wider population. The essay will look at how this sometimes destructive rapport people had with alcohol, turned into the great social experiment, Prohibition. The paper will look at the anxiety held, by mostly protestant American’s, that alcohol was at the heart of all evils in society and how this lead to the emergence of a myriad of different groups like the Washingtonians, the Women’s Temperance movements’ and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union; and how all of these were over shadowed by the emergence of the Anti-Saloon league. The paper will pay particular attention to how the arrival of the most powerful and influential, single issue lobby group ever to have emerged on the American political stage, painstakingly paved the way for the introduction of the eighteenth amendment. The essay will also looking at the influence the Anti-Saloon league had in drafting the Volstead Act, the law designed to enforce prohibition, and how the subsequent exploitable loopholes turn millions of Ame...
The theme of power in prevalent in John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice And Men’ and is presented and developed in many different ways. Power is first established in the title, which introduces the recurring wrath of fate implying that men, like beast, are helplessly fated to live a disempowered and isolated life. Some however seek comfort in their powerful dreams, and companionship in their romanticised fraternal bonds, most notably that of Lennie and George, whose unconditional love for another leaves the reader with questions regarding their own morality. Steinbeck’s powerful prose, a strong single plot line over a short time span drives the tragic events forward, and his depiction of the foreshadowing natural world gives the novella a certain aspect of duality.
After the American Revolution, drinking was on the rise. To combat this, a number of societies were organized as part of a new Temperance movement which attempted to dissuade people from becoming intoxicated. At first, these organizations pushed moderation, but after several decades, the movement's focus changed to complete prohibition of alcohol consumption. (Brayton)
The Prohibition Era, also known as “The Great Experiment” had the purpose of cleansing the American society of it’s evils by outlawing all alcoholic beverages. From the beginning of colonial times, groups of people in the United States viewed the consumption of alcohol to be sinful and an extreme hazard to one’s health. Due to the fact that alcohol was exceptionally cheap to buy and make, it was accessible to everyone, whether they were rich or poor. As the use of alcohol rose and became a part of the general population’s daily life; crime, violence and death rates grew, too. The high rates gave the people who saw the use of alcohol to be morally wrong, the excuse to blame the public’s problems on li...
On 12:01 a.m. on July 16, 1920 the 18th Amendment went into effect, marking the beginning of a thirteen-year period of national Prohibition in the United States. The movement had existed for decades, but it was not until President Wilson and his southern Democrats came to Washington did it get national momentum, (Parrish, 96). Those who were in favor of Prohibition were collectively known as “the drys.” The group was generally composed of members of two sub-groups: the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the Anti-Saloon League. The Anti-Saloon League considered themselves “an army of the Lord to wipe out the curse of drink,” (Sann, 26). A large majority of the prohibitionists were church-going, Protestant women from small-towns. The divide in opinion between the cities and the rural and suburban areas was so great that the passage of the 18th Amendment was considered a major cultural victory over large cities (Parrish, 97).
In the earliest 1940 's superhero films started to become popular on the big screens. One of these popular films is known as Batman, which came out first as a comic book called "The Killing Joke". Batman is considered to be a superhero possessing great talents and for being a true example of hope towards Gotham city. Although these superheroes are one of the main characters in movies, they also have enemies to confront with which are also known as super villains. In this case, the Joker known for his criminal mastermind plays an important role as a villain. Having a huge impact through films, film viewers have had the chance to appreciate different versions of the Batman 's movies. The Joker, being one of the most classical villains in DC Universe is portrayed in different aspects. Analyzing Tim Burton 's Batman (1989) and Christopher Nolan 's The Dark Knight (2008), viewers can assimilate but also differentiate the Joker in couple ways.
In the 1600's and 1700's, the American colonists drank large quantities of beer, rum, wine, and hard cider. These alcoholic beverages were often safer to drink than impure water or unpasteurized milk and also less expensive than coffee or tea. By the 1820's, people in the United States were drinking, on the average, the equivalent of 7 gallons of pure alcohol per person each year (“drinkingprohibition” 1). As early as the seventeenth century, America was showing interest towards prohibition. Some people, including physicians and ministers, became concerned about the extent of alcohol use (“There was one...” 1). They believed that drinking alcohol damaged people's health and moral behavior, and promoted poverty. People concerned about alcohol use u...
But that all changed when a different type of director by the name of Tim Burton became inspired by Frank Miller’s comics and decided to relaunch the whole Batman franchise. The story became darker than ever shown by the deaths of numerous people such as when the Joker gassed the museum and parade. This has tie ins with the wars and disputes with the middle east creating a more destructive outlook of the world in film. Batman is also more modern, now having advanced technology and equipment which represents the new found wealth of the 80s and how Batman is a bit materialistic with his
It was widely known that “drunkenness, and the related loss of self-control, was associated with the lower classes” and therefore had negative connotations (Harding Victorians and Alcohol). Spirits, a popular hard liquor, “had become the everyday drink for less wealthy people” and “laborers commonly used spirits to flee from their desolate everyday lives” (Harding Victorians and Alcohol). The awful working and living conditions of the working class contributed to their “hard, controlled, and monotonous life, [leading] to excessive drinking of hard liquor” (Harding Victorians and Alcohol). This excessive drinking would sometimes result in public intoxication which was “regarded as anti-s...