Discussing our "parade batman"

(originally published in Coffee)

It's time to seriously discuss this new national syndrome, this belief that the solution to our problems lies in the emergence of superheroes.

Fernando Brito, editor of the blog Tijolaço, wrote today Regarding our Batman at the march. I felt sorry for the guy. I have the impression that he's a good person, a simple guy from the Rio suburbs, full of good intentions, but who, in fact, is just another fool dominated by celebrity culture.

He doesn't even grasp the meaning of his own fantasy: a private avenger, a billionaire heir, seeking to take justice into his own hands. 

The poor, the worker, cannot fall into this trap of understanding justice as a private sphere. They must believe in democracy and unite with their equals. Want to get involved in politics? Organize yourself, within a party or not, but participate in the debate using your head, convincing and listening to others, expressing ideas with conviction, passion, and seriousness.

And no one should fight social ills with a spirit of vengeance, as Batman does. Incidentally, we have another character also called "Batman" in Brazil, a reactionary judge who doesn't seem to care much about the rights of the people he judges…

However, it's silly to engage in ideological proselytizing with Batman. I myself am a fan of the Dark Knight, precisely because I don't think about whether Batman is left-wing or right-wing. I don't watch Hollywood canned goods thinking about politics. It's entertainment, fun. But since some people are confusing fiction with reality, then let's go.

Batman is an ultra-conservative and ultra-capitalist hero. It's no coincidence that he was created in the 40s, at the height of the Cold War. He's not an idiot, however. He's a tormented human being, extremely self-critical. In The Dark Knight (2008), for example, Bruce Wayne (the hero's secret identity) understands that the solution to crime and corruption in Gotham City should be through republican means, that is, it should be led by the new district attorney, Harvey Dent. He plans, therefore, to retire the superhero.

But Bruce makes a mistake in placing all his hopes on Dent, that is, in betting, once again, on a kind of avenger, this time with the backing of the State. Batman should instead believe in democracy, investing more in debates about public policies.

Ironically, it is the Joker who will believe in democracy, handing a bomb to the crew of two boats, with either crew supposed to detonate the bomb to blow up the other boat and save their own. But the Joker is unlucky. On one of the boats, packed with prisoners, it is precisely a handcuffed criminal who decides to throw the bomb device out the window, saving the other boat.

On the other boat, no one has the courage to detonate the bomb to blow up the other boat. The same democracy that defeated Bruce Wayne, by failing to protect his parents, killed in a robbery, also defeats the Joker.

In short, Batman offers political reflections far beyond the simplistic ideas of our marching Batman. The real Batman, the one from the film, never glorifies himself, as our hero from Marshal Hermes does. He never exposes himself unnecessarily. He is, deliberately, a character of the shadows. His fantasy has no political objective; on the contrary, it was specifically designed to instill fear. Batman didn't come to debate, to build, to bring democratic solutions. He is merely a spirit of vengeance. A social catharsis, not only against crime, but against the bureaucracy of the democratic state, which prefers to combat crime with public policies, much more time-consuming, instead of simply hunting criminals in the streets. But public policies are the only way to reduce crime in the medium and long term. And the state doesn't always have the unlimited financial resources that Wayne seems to have.

The great contradiction, which the film doesn't hide, although it doesn't problematize it, is that Bruce Wayne's own disproportionate wealth may be at the root of the violence that corrodes Gotham City.

Let's go to Fernando's article.

*

Batman needs an analyst, poor guy…

By Fernando Brito, in brick.

Bernardo de Mello Franco's article, today, in SheetThis shows, poor thing, the state of psychological fragility of that young man who became known as the "Batman" of the protests.

"I have superhero syndrome," says the silly boy (Change the vowels to your liking.) to say that "he can't stand by and do nothing when he sees an injustice".

The "Bruce Wayne" of Rio de Janeiro is 32 years old. Could it be that he simply couldn't remain silent in the face of injustice over the last six or seven months?

Or was there no injustice in Brazil before June?

Twelve or thirteen years ago, when he was already of legal age, there is no record of him parading his costumes in protests against wage cuts, against handing over public assets to private groups, against the demands of the IMF…

The clown in the cape and mask is just another idiot in the sub-celebrity culture that the media has been building for a long time in this country.

It doesn't matter how or why, the important thing is to show up.

Be a "brother," a watermelon woman, or a flying priest hanging from gas balloons.

Our Batman is just a poor wretch who never grew up and who, I believe, only has a sick interpretation of that idea of ​​fame, which doesn't come from work, effort, ability, or talent: it comes only from ridicule.

And it also translates, like the other character with emotional disorders who has been called Batman around here, that Olympian contempt for the people and their capabilities, because it believes that this exact type of "hero" is needed to save them.

Something like Bruce Wayne from the series, a bored and resentful rich kid who emerges at night to "avenge" the underprivileged.

Our Batman dons his tight-fitting clothes like a child dons a cape to live out a fantasy typical of their immaturity.

And "Aunt Media," as we say here in Rio, "claps for the madman to dance" without any ceremony.

But Eron de Melo is not a child, he is 32 years old.

He should reflect on and resolve his problems privately, instead of contributing to conflicts, breakdowns, and, above all, seeking his "15 minutes of fame."

Enjoy the fantasy at the upcoming Carnival, boy, and if you want, come and debate like the adult you should be.

Write what you think, present your ideas, and expose yourself to political debate.

Otherwise, you'll just be a person with problems who likes their own little world, where they're only appreciated for being "different."

We prefer the opposite: we want people to be more equal.

And happy being themselves, without needing to dress up.

- See more at: http://www.ocafezinho.com/2014/02/02/discutindo-nosso-batman-de-passeata/#sthash.Itso214Y.dpuf