Bruce Wayne and Redemption Theory
By Mike Thomas
Motive is a key word in film and in life as we know it. Each
person changes paths or switches train tracks in some way when
a tragic life event occurs. This change can be mental, emotional
or acted out physically creating a sort of visual sign rather
than symptom. When I was young my biological mother who
already had nine children leaned on and put her confidence in a
close female friend of hers to adopt me. My biological mother
died soon after from a drug overdose. While this thought
created much anger in my life it also instilled in me a level of
gratitude far beyond what I believed other children and men walk
around with. A sense of vengeance came over me when thinking
about my birth mother and a sense of deep debt shadows over me
still with the thought of my adoptive mother (mom) saving my life
in a way. While I was fortunate enough not to see an act of
murder in front of my eyes as Bruce Wayne did, the anger and
guilt that is involved with my early life event has driven my
actions in the past and once in awhile shines through in the
present. In adulthood I have learned to stick up for those who
need it and feel less of strong need to prove myself. The above
are my reasons for choosing the film “Batman Begins” as tie in to
Burkes Redemption Theory. On a lighter note, some people say I
have a similar voice to the Bat.
“Dramatism”. This was Kenneth Burke’s favorite word to
describe interaction between people. Burke believed that life is
drama and along with this he could see a sort of dance of
attitudes taking place between two or more people in
communication. Being a critic, Kenneth Burke witnessed heavy
symbolism which consists of physical and verbal. Burke is quoted
as saying “Verbal symbols are meaningful acts from which
motives are derived” and from this we start to picture a bat
symbol and acts of good carried out within a troubled city
called Gotham in this case. Even though Burke never received a
College Degree he taught at Bennington College for 15 years in
Vermont and was a man of many resources and utilized
philosophy, literature, psychology, linguistics, sociology and
most important and applicable, communication. With these tools
in hand he was able to create, through writing, some of the
theories I will have the opportunity to delve into through my own
writing. Kenneth Burke died in 1993 at the age of 96.
When speaking of Bruce Wayne and his own personal path,
many words come to mind but through communication the word
redemption is most important. Bruce Wayne, like many men, did not
plan on becoming Batman. Bruce had a scary experience as a
child, falling down a well near his house and being stuck with
bats flying all around him for an uncomfortable extended period
of time. One evening while seeing a play with his parents, a scene
occurred that utilized bats in it s choreography. This prompted
young Bruce to beg his parents to leave because of the
everlasting impression that these scary creatures made on him.
Outside the theater his parents were mugged and both shot in the
process. This sparked the guilt that would follow him and he
felt that if it weren’t for his own fear of bats, his parents would
never have been in that situation. Many of Bruce’s experiences
and endeavors run parallel to Kenneth Burkes theory’s that he
breaks down into what he called the Guilt Redemption Cycle.
Burke used guilt as a primary term to describe many feelings
including tension, anxiety, embarrassment, shame, disgust and all
branches of these emotions.
Like Bruce to the Bat, Burke acknowledges our animal
nature. In addition to doing good deeds Bruce Wayne and his
balance that was Batman showed us what negative effects the
pursuit of perfection can have on a person. Burke called this
“perspective incongruity”. In the beginning of the film “Batman
Begins”, we see Bruce as a young man waiting in the courtroom
for his parents killer to stand up so that he may shoot him with a
revolver that he has hidden in his jacket hence avenging his
parents, in his mind. His killers face served as symbol that if he
was physically rid of it (through murder) he may be at piece with
his parents death. Bruce backed down from the act of killing the
nobody of a criminal and this was a stepping stone as well. The
feeling that he overcame ties well into the “Victimage” that Burke
describes. Victimage according to Burke is a very common human
feeling of scape goating. We can all think of a time when we
named an external enemy that is responsible for our personal
hardship or the hardships of all humanity for that matter.
Batman decided in his mind to become a criminal to better
understand the viscous underworld and in doing this he believed
he could use his knowledge to shut down crime in Gotham with
the feeling of redemption driving him.
The city of Gotham soon relied on Batman. In today’s world
we become reliant on one or a few heroes so to speak. We have in
politics a president who is supposed to make the tough calls and
decisions and keep us safe. In politics there are speeches given
and a sort of promotion through communication happens. Terms
like “hero” are evolved through speech. Kenneth Burke referred
to these use of words as “God Terms” .We closely relate enemies
to the devil in today’s world and Burke labeled this a “devil
term”. A devil term embodies all things evil or wrong and creates
a comfort zone by summing up all bad things associated with
wrongdoing. The devil in “Batman Begins” could be the face of
the Joker. Devil and God terms are prevalent in many speech’s
which is why they tie so heavily into communication. The
interesting thing about Batman is that he can be perceived as
both Devil and God because he holds a certain vigilante status
according to the city of Gotham.
Batman’s story has been changed and twisted throughout
time. Christopher Nolan was the director for the film Batman
begins. For Christopher Nolan he was basically handed a huge
franchise that he could have chosen to do anything he liked with.
Considered an Auteur Director, Nolan had the resources and the
know how to create Batman in any light but his choosing to
showcase Batman’s story in a gritty and real way showed his
understanding and appreciation for the Psychology of Batman.
His modern interpretation of the well-known character received
great praise in the film world as it should. Christopher Nolan
also studied English literature in college which was one of
Kenneth Burkes many tools in his own endeavors.
My perspective on human communication grew healthier as I
delved into the film “Batman Begins” I think that Kenneth Burke
was onto something with his Guile Redemption Theory and his
work helped me to greater understand myself as well. The GR
cycle not only helps to analyze literature and speech but it
helps in understanding the motive and origin of ones actions in
any given situation. The thought that life is drama brings a
certain comfort to me after studying Burkes work and in a sense I
feel relieved knowing that the manipulation of the drama that is
life IS also, somewhat, in our control. Studying Burke I find a
sense of empowerment in my own personal writings as well
because dramatic or not, I hope anyone who reads my own work
learns something as well. Like Batman we all feel guilt but it is
how we use it and our awareness of it that can make or break us.
We can also rise above it.
“We not only interpret the character of events... we may
also interpret our interpretations.”
~ Kenneth Burke ~
Work Cited
A First Look at Communication, Em Griffin, PG 299-304
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/k/kenneth
_burke.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0634240/