Popular Culture Review Vol. 3, No. 2, August 1992 | Page 41

Batman: Americana with a Twist

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around him. He is socially aware, one of the people, an established
force of the good and the right Nonetheless, rich and independent as
he is, Wayne also has power to do what he knows, and in this the
final danger of democracy lies. Joker, remember, is intelligent, and an
artist. Would Plato let either be king?
Justice in Gotham is baroque and unworkable, as it is in the
world dimly visible beyond Gotham. The fictional premises of the
film matches a widespread general perception--not always
inaccurate—that a democratic society is paralyzed by a theoretical
justice that traps the innocent while making it easy for the guilty to
escape. For us as viewers. Batman's violence relieves our frustration
and diffuses our need to be violent. We can watch the film and feel
that justice has been served-if not actually "met." Having seen the
film we can return more or less agreeably to the many injustices that
constitute our life. Batman offers another look at the "American
Pastoral," and demands a reexamination of the utopic vision of the
Declaration of Independence. In the pursuit of happiness, indeed, has
a countiy taken leave of its soul? Has the United States ɕ