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Modern Heroism
By Mark Carrigan
In 1986, DC Comics published
a four issue mini-series called
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
While few would have
predicted it prior to its publication,
this work of Frank Miller was soon
regarded as one of the touchstones
for the medium and, through commercial
success and critical controversy,
almost single-handedly
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reinvigorated a moribund character.
Time magazine suggested the
portrayal of a ‘semiretired Batman
[who] drinks too much and is unsure
about his crime-fighting abilities’
was an example of trying to appeal
to ‘today’s sceptical readers’.
Regardless of the criticism which
the series received in some quarters,
it undoubtedly did appeal to
readers and the manner in which its
‘dark’ and ‘adult’ approach were progressively
taken up by other comics
points to the ‘scepticism’ of those
readers being a widespread condition
rather than the aberrant property
of a cynical minority. The same
dark approach lay behind the critical
and commercial success which
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark
Knight enjoyed at the box office in
the summer of 2008. Why is this
kind of approach so popular? What
explains its manifest resonance
amongst vast swathes of the cinema-going
and comic-buying public?
Perhaps the answers lies towards the
end of the film when Batman and
Jim Gordon attempt to make sense
of Harvey Dent’s actions, as the
brave and virtuous district attorney
was driven to attempted murder by
the cruel machinations of the joker.
The public regards Bent as a hero,
but the public face of heroism becomes
a fiction, crafted by powerful
men in midnight schemes, because
the masses could not countenance
that the grim truth and social order
necessitates the illusion. The heroism
of Harvey Bent becomes a cruel
joke, which Batman, alter ego of the
billionaire Bruce Wayne, attempts to
hide in the best interests of the public.
If it was not for his own personal
biography, as a man forever damaged
by the murder of his parents
as a child, he might have channelled
this patrician impulse into philanthropy.
As it is stands, he rushes
off into the night, chased by police
and dogs, taking the blame for the
crimes that Bent committed. His
parting words sum up the ethos of
the exchange: ‘You either die a hero
or live long enough to see yourself
become the villain’. This is the bitter
truth which the public must be protected
from at all costs. The closest
thing to heroism which The Dark
Knight portrays is the attempted
deception of the public towards this
end.
Compare this critically-lauded portrayal
of heroism within that of another
popular film series. While The
Dark Knight was an enormous critical
success, the Rocky films were,
with the partial exceptions of the
first and the sixth, critically panned.
Yet both, in a sense, portray heroism.
Once you look beyond the
crass jingoism that frames large aspects
of the Rocky series, a rather
earnest narrative about heroism and
virtue soon comes into focus. Each
of the films follows the same format,
as constancy and courage enable
Rocky Balboa to triumph over adversity.
The virtues the films portray
have a long moral history in western
culture and yet for most of us, the
narrative that portrays them is one
we struggle to take seriously. While
the moralisation of professional
boxing probably takes some blame
for this, it is by no means the whole
story.
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BABAYLAN, CHARLENE D.
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BAIÑO, JULIUS F.
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BANDIBAS, JO-ANN C.
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CADUYAG, JECKEY
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CALIBUGAR, SHERYL B.
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DAL, AIZA F.
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ENDIG, AILYN R.
ENOPEÑA, CHOYIN LINRYX B.
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ESMA, SANDY M.
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GALVADORES, ALLENE F.
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GUIBONE, PAMELA B.
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GULLE, LOUIEVY JOY B.
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GUZMANA, DARLENE A.
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MACABAYAO, NORIMA D.
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MONTIL, DONNA JAY S.
NISPEROS, JAY R.
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PEDROSA, HAROLD C.
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PLAZA, MATEL D.
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PONTIMAR, ROSELLE MAE M.
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RODRIGUEZ, DOBBIE LOVE A.
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SANO, CRISTINE MAE M.
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TAGAB, VANESSA MAE P.
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TRINQUITE, JANECIE R.
VICENTE, LILIBETH JOY M.
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