The Parable of Batman
I know, I know.
It’s been almost 20 years, but I finally got around to watching the Batman Trilogy by Christopher Nolan.
I grew up watching the original 1966 edition of Batman, played by Adam West . . .
The Tim Burton movie series with Batman played by Michael Keaton did not resonate with me. In fact, Tim Burton killed any further desire I had to watch Hollywood’s portrayal of my favorite superhero . . .
Until this last week.
I have always had a great love of the Batman superhero . . .
Because, to me, as a young boy, Batman was himself a parable.
He is unlike most of the other costumed superheroes . . .
For example, Superman is an alien from outer-space, and that is the source of his super-human power.
Spiderman was bitten by a radioactive spider.
Wonder Woman was originally depicted in 1941 as a demi-god sculpted out of clay by her mother, Queen Hippolyta of the Amazonians and gifted super powers by the Greek gods. Later her story was changed to be the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta.
Most superheroes come from distant planets, are gifted powers by unworldly beings (i.e. – the magic ring gifted to Green Lantern) or they are science experiments/accidents gone wrong like Spiderman.
Few of those in the Marvel or DC worlds have no superpowers at all, but simply decide to make themselves into a superhero . . .
The Batman is a creature created entirely from Bruce Wayne’s decision. If the genealogy of such things is of interest to you, then the predecessor closest to Batman is The Shadow from the 1930s.
Further, Batman intentionally made himself into a master detective, an extraordinary athlete, master martial artist, fighter and all-around intimidating personality.
To quote one of Batman’s initial mentors, Henri Ducard, “To conquer fear, you must become fear. You must bask in the fear of other men. Men fear most what they cannot see.”
Batman is a parable about the human capacity to overcome anxiety and fear. It is that premise upon which Batman resonated with me as a young boy.
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight brought back my love of Batman, again, this week.
I watched the 3rd and final film, The Dark Knight Rises, and though it was disappointing as a movie, the parable was still there with a message of impossible hope.
There is a tall tower carved out of rock that rises several stories high above the surface of a prison. Prisoners held at the bottom of the tower can see the blue sky as they look straight up. Prisoners are free to attempt to climb up and out of their prison as they desire. The climb is not easy and is very difficult to navigate. Many of the prisoners attempt it from time to time with a rope they tie around their waist to catch them bungee-style before they hit the rock floor, falling to their death.
The legend, known to all the prisoners suffering in this prison, passed from one generation to the next, is that the only person to ever succeed at escaping was a child.
It is in this subterranean hell that the crippled Batman, Bruce Wayne, has been left to die. After a brutally difficult and primitively managed rehabilitation, Bruce Wayne attempts and fails at this escape, not once but twice.
At the point he is about to surrender the remainder of his life to this prison, an aged prisoner who befriended him tells him the secret of the child who successfully climbed up and out of the tower. He is reminded that he cannot escape the tower because of fear. Fear limits the capacity of the physical body; fear limits the capacity of the spirit. The rope that each climber wears represents the fear of death. And that rope gets increasingly heavier the higher the person climbs. The secret to the child’s success was that he climbed without the rope. He climbed without the increasing burden of fear – the fear of death.
The increasing weight of the rope as one climbed, in addition to the embedded thought of falling by wearing the rope is just enough of a burden to ensure failure every single time. The old prisoner tells Bruce that the only way he will have a chance is that he “must climb as the child, without the rope.”
Few people watching this film will see the parable buried within the story . . .
Most people try to achieve lofty ambitions in life and in health – perhaps the greatest ambition is freedom, longevity of life and autonomy – while still dragging the convention of day-to-day norms, counterproductive beliefs, slothful behavior, dietary ease, etc. These all represent the heavy rope.
The higher you and I try to climb while tied in to the harness, the heavier the burden of the rope.
“But, Doctor Nally, I’m Italian and I have to eat pasta . . . “
“But, Doc, I’m Chinese and rice is part of our culture . . .”
“But, Doc, how will I be able to socialize with my friends if I don’t eat and drink with them . . .?”
“But, Doc, the hospital told me I have to take this cholesterol pill . . .”
“But, Doc, fruit and vegetables are good for you, aren’t they . . . ?”
Successful health and longevity require you and I to sever our ties to all the ordinary ideas, and the acceptable behaviors of society and the sick, fat, and fatigued masses of majority.
You must climb without the rope. . .
There is probably a rope tied around your waist. Maybe you’ve thinned it some, maybe it is just a loop of twine. Or, maybe it is thicker and heavier like the ropes tied to steamship anchors. You should tug and pull on it. Check to see what it is actually tied to.
Shedding dead weight eases and speeds your journey dramatically . . .
The heaviest dead weight is never things or people . . .
The heaviest dead weight is thought and belief.
You have lofty ambitions. You desire to achieve great things.
Whether in business, marriage, life or health, time and time again I see people barred from success because of their own thoughts, beliefs and actions.
It’s those little things compounding over time that add up to big heavy things.
Luckily for you, I’ve created my VIP Concierge Platinum Membership. It’s the whole health and longevity enchilada without the carbs . . . the premier comprehensive lifestyle program with me, guiding you every step of the way.
Dedicated to your health and longevity,
Adam Nally, DO
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