Thursday, January 31, 2013

Lennox- Catwoman: the Beauty or the Beast


When Batman sees and saves the nervous and timid Selina Kyle for the first time, he does not seem that interested, but when Bruce Wayne sees the confident Kyle for the first time, he is immediately attracted to her looks and attitude.

Batman is entranced by Catwoman. He lets her get too close and does not push her away as he would a normal villain. Maybe it’s her seductive voice, the tight leathery suit or the thrill of the thrill of the chase. Batman becomes a normal human male when he sees this sexy woman. He stops thinking with his brain and can become easily distracted and manipulated by the feline female.

Bruce Wayne knows that Max Shreck is full of bull, so seeing a woman like Kyle working for that selfish monster might have caused him to think she needed saving. He can give her a large house, a nice car and all the love she desires. When Wayne learns of her second identity, he believes he has found his perfect match. He rips off his mask in front of Shreck and pleas with Kyle to just turn him in and they could live happily ever after. He does not care about Batman anymore, he cares about finding the companionship he had lost long ago.

Even after knowing that Catwoman has worked with the Penguin, after she assisted in the murder of an innocent woman, after she stuck her claws in his side and has fought him on several occasions, Batman/Bruce Wayne is still willing to love someone who is not much different from himself: someone who does not want two identities: someone who would not be themselves without a double identity. Catwoman is the female version of Batman. Kyle shows Bruce that he is not the only one with issues that can’t be easily solved.  

If Catwoman wanted to bring Batman down, she probably could. Batman foolishly loses himself in her presence. If Catwoman were to stick around, it would be destructive for Batman. Their relationship is too complex. Bruce Wayne wants a princess; Selina Kyle only needs herself.    


2 comments:

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  2. First off I just want to say I love the way you write so expressively, and secondly I really enjoy the way you analyzed Batman/Bruce Wayne. Without the mask he has nothing to hide behind and his true feelings become exposed like you mentioned. His mask gives him something to hold on to and is, in a way, like a safety blanket for him that is until he reveals him alter ego’s identity to Selina. Also I never noticed, but you articulated quite clearly that with or without Bruce Wayne, Selina will go her own way and if there’s a man involved, great, and if not then she could not care less. Selina herself is like a cat in that she is a strong and independent woman by the end of the film who seeks to assert herself in a way that not only attracts Bruce Wayne/Batman, but also scares him because his feelings for her scare himself. The mask acts an shield of invincibility and when Selina/Catwoman comes along, he realizes that his mask and himself are not all that invincible after all.

    -Tara Malay

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