Alter Ego
I saw the new Batman Begins movie earlier this week with my wife and a few friends. First off, let me say that while I thought the Michael Keaton films were OK, I have never been crazy about them. They were entertaining escapism, but not much more than cool gadgetry and special effects. Of course, the last couple films (Batman Forever and Batman and Robin) aren't even worth mentioning, they are so bad. So I didn't regard the new film with much expectation, and might not have went unless a couple friends recommended it. I'm not going to write a review (you can read plenty of them at Rotten Tomatoes), but this movie is great. Excellent story, acting, and cinematography. I loved it.
And as a bonus to being entertained, something in the movie got me thinking about a slightly deeper topic. Like pretty much any super-hero story, Batman deals with the idea of alter-ego. Just as Superman is Clark Kent, and Spiderman is Peter Parker, Batman is Bruce Wayne. It seems that those who would save the world on a regular basis also need a day job. And this always leads to a necessary question for the central hero: "who gets to know who I really am?". Usually the love interest either knows the truth or at least is suspicious (how Lois Lane could be fooled by the glasses I will never know). And if the bad guys find out, they usually die before they can call the local newspaper.
Director Christopher Nolan does something interesting in his version of Batman that I hadn't noticed before. He makes Bruce Wayne a jerk. This is different from your typical Clark Kent or Peter Parker. They are nice guys, and people don't suspect them because they are clumsy or shy or whatever. But they are likeable people. Not so with Bruce. When he is in public, he plays the part of the spoiled, shallow, egotistic, womanizing millionaire to perfection. He feels its necessary, but that doesn't mean he likes it. At one point, he runs into his childhood sweetheart when he is making a fool of himself. In his embarassment, he tries to tell her that he isn't really like that on the inside. "It's not who you underneath," she says, "but what you do that defines you."
The nature of the alter ego in super-hero stories is obviously exaggerated. But the basic phenomenon is very true to life. We all have levels of our personality that we choose to hide or reveal in different situations. Who I am at work is different from who I am when I am with my family. Who I am at church is different than who I am when I am drinking a beer with the guys. Who I am at a football game is different from who I am when I go to a Broadway show.
Have you ever noticed it can sometimes be strange when you mix different groups of friends? Like when a friend from college goes home with you for the weekend to stay with the family. You are joking around with each other and using your college lingo, and your parents are thinking to themselves "what the heck are you saying to each other?". Then you go to hang out with your old highschool friends and you slip into your familiar topics while your college buddy is wondering why you have never talked about those things before. Those situations feel weird and I think it's because we're feeling the pull of alter egos.
This is why it is easier for me to pass out gospel literature in Central Park than mention Christ to the guy in the cube next to me at work. I have my work identity already and it's hard to say something like "oh yeah, you might not know it, but I'm a co-heir with Christ." It's not that I'm trying to be deceptive, hypocritical, or two-faced. But we would rather be like Bruce Wayne. We would rather not mention the fact that when we aren't at work we are out trying to save the world from the devil. Or at least helping with AWANA.
Paul came down pretty hard on Peter and company for this kind of attitude. More honesty and fewer personas is a good thing to strive for. But then I wonder about whether there is also wisdom in not putting everything out there all the time either. There seemed to be aspects of Jesus that He only revealed to his disciples. When the crowds went away He sat and answered their questions about the parables and let them know what He was really saying. By the same token, we all have parts of ourselves that we will only reveal to those who are closest to us.
Or to everyone on the web.
And as a bonus to being entertained, something in the movie got me thinking about a slightly deeper topic. Like pretty much any super-hero story, Batman deals with the idea of alter-ego. Just as Superman is Clark Kent, and Spiderman is Peter Parker, Batman is Bruce Wayne. It seems that those who would save the world on a regular basis also need a day job. And this always leads to a necessary question for the central hero: "who gets to know who I really am?". Usually the love interest either knows the truth or at least is suspicious (how Lois Lane could be fooled by the glasses I will never know). And if the bad guys find out, they usually die before they can call the local newspaper.
Director Christopher Nolan does something interesting in his version of Batman that I hadn't noticed before. He makes Bruce Wayne a jerk. This is different from your typical Clark Kent or Peter Parker. They are nice guys, and people don't suspect them because they are clumsy or shy or whatever. But they are likeable people. Not so with Bruce. When he is in public, he plays the part of the spoiled, shallow, egotistic, womanizing millionaire to perfection. He feels its necessary, but that doesn't mean he likes it. At one point, he runs into his childhood sweetheart when he is making a fool of himself. In his embarassment, he tries to tell her that he isn't really like that on the inside. "It's not who you underneath," she says, "but what you do that defines you."
The nature of the alter ego in super-hero stories is obviously exaggerated. But the basic phenomenon is very true to life. We all have levels of our personality that we choose to hide or reveal in different situations. Who I am at work is different from who I am when I am with my family. Who I am at church is different than who I am when I am drinking a beer with the guys. Who I am at a football game is different from who I am when I go to a Broadway show.
Have you ever noticed it can sometimes be strange when you mix different groups of friends? Like when a friend from college goes home with you for the weekend to stay with the family. You are joking around with each other and using your college lingo, and your parents are thinking to themselves "what the heck are you saying to each other?". Then you go to hang out with your old highschool friends and you slip into your familiar topics while your college buddy is wondering why you have never talked about those things before. Those situations feel weird and I think it's because we're feeling the pull of alter egos.
This is why it is easier for me to pass out gospel literature in Central Park than mention Christ to the guy in the cube next to me at work. I have my work identity already and it's hard to say something like "oh yeah, you might not know it, but I'm a co-heir with Christ." It's not that I'm trying to be deceptive, hypocritical, or two-faced. But we would rather be like Bruce Wayne. We would rather not mention the fact that when we aren't at work we are out trying to save the world from the devil. Or at least helping with AWANA.
Paul came down pretty hard on Peter and company for this kind of attitude. More honesty and fewer personas is a good thing to strive for. But then I wonder about whether there is also wisdom in not putting everything out there all the time either. There seemed to be aspects of Jesus that He only revealed to his disciples. When the crowds went away He sat and answered their questions about the parables and let them know what He was really saying. By the same token, we all have parts of ourselves that we will only reveal to those who are closest to us.
Or to everyone on the web.
posted by Alan at 12:08 PM
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