By
Laura McKnight, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
The Times-Picayune
on December 03, 2012 at 10:48 AM, updated December 03, 2012 at 10:53 AM
Brought to you by
Batman may struggle with childhood trauma, but the Dark Knight shouldn’t seek a Gotham City psychiatrist just yet, a speaker told crowds Sunday afternoon at Wizard World Comic Con in New Orleans.
Christian Bale gets ready to roll as Batman in 'The Dark Knight Rises,' the conclusion to director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.
Batman without the “edge” created by witnessing his parents’ murders would not be a good Batman, said Travis Langley, psychology professor at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark., and author of “Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight.”
As the only self-made superhero (he’s the superhero without any superpowers), Batman’s mental condition proves uniquely important, Langley said.
“The psychology of Batman makes Batman,” Langley said. “He is a superhero because of his psychology.”
Driven by the desire to avenge his parents’ deaths, Bruce Wayne built himself into a superhero through sheer willpower, Langley said.
“He is super because he decided to become more than a hero,” he said, in contrast with Spiderman and Superman, who “are heroes because of their psychology but super because they rocketed to Earth and got bitten by a radioactive spider.”
“What we love about Batman is his humanity,” Langley said.
Dwelling on his parents’ murders may detract from his happiness, but the relived trauma forms a critical part of Batman’s psychology, he said.
“Therapy would reduce his effectiveness,” Langley said.
The author, who earned his doctorate in psychology from Tulane University, offered this conclusion after giving audience members an analysis of Batman’s mental health and that of his enemies.
Langley explores these topics in his book, which addresses a range of psychology-related questions about the Dark Knight. Langley has also taught a college course, called simply “Batman,” on the psychology of the superhero.
“I did not call it ‘Psychology of Nocturnal Vigilance,’” Langley told Comic Con attendees. “Only students who want ‘Batman’ on their transcript can take my class.”
Some might consider the course silly, but Langley said such classes – the math of baseball, for another example – can help students learn by tapping into their interests. The course can also help students by presenting information about real-life horrors in a less-horrifying format than, say, documentaries about real serial killers.
“I’m using a filter of fiction to look at some of the worst things in the world,” Langley said.
When discussing Batman’s particular mental condition, fans often focus on the possibility of post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.
The superhero’s life story certainly includes the trauma required for such a diagnosis – witnessing the violent deaths of one’s parents taps into some of our most primal fears, Langley said.
But does Batman avoid things reminiscent of that trauma? No, Langley said. Batman does the opposite by dedicating his life to the fight against the kind of “dastardly criminals” who killed his parents.
Batman could appear to be hyper-vigilant, another major symptom of PTSD, but not when taking into account the life Batman leads, Langley said. Like police officers, Batman has cause to be more alert than the average person, he said.
“We’ve got to accept that he lives in a world where it makes some kind of sense for somebody to do this,” Langley said, describing the dark, bizarre land of Gotham City.
“There’s a bit more corruption than anything we have in this world – and I know this city’s reputation,” he said, referring to New Orleans.
Batman does not exhibit enough symptoms to be diagnosed with PTSD, Langley concluded.
Langley also discussed Batman’s enemies, who like the Dark Knight, are driven more by psychological issues than superpowers.
“They distort and reflect aspects of Batman which fascinates us,” Langley said.
The villains include a maniacal clown, an egotist who compulsively sends riddles, a social-chameleon psychiatrist with “shared psychosis” sprung by her love for a madman and a narcissist with a Napoleon complex and an odd thing for birds.
Fans often wonder about The Joker in particular: Is he psychotic?
“The Joker defies diagnosis,” Langley said. “We don’t know what’s going on in his head.”
Batman also seems to defy diagnosis.
If not PTSD, does the Dark Knight struggle with some other mental illness?
“I don’t have a specific diagnosis,” Langley said, adding that Batman “doesn’t quite fit” any of the disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
So he’s a loner with obvious childhood trauma and a weird interest in bats, which makes him quirky and perhaps troubled, but not necessarily a mental-health case.
“Is Batman crazy?” Langley said. “Not for the world in which he lives. He lives in a really crazy place.”
Related Stories
'Star Trek' actors entertain crowd questions with character at Comic Con
Comic Con 2012, high-priced comic books, zombies and swordplay
Open all references in tabs: [1 - 4]