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Out of Frame - S03 Ep09 "Batman and the Individual"
SCENE HEADING
OoF montage
SEAN
(VO)
Welcome to a very special episode of
Out of Frame.
For over a year and a half, this
series has been made possible in part
through the hard work and talent of
our fabulous editor, Arash Ayrom.
Each month, after I write and record
the script, Arash helps me find just
the right imagery and content to make
these videos as good as they are. We
work on the editing together, but his
ideas are essential and he rarely
gets enough credit for his
contributions.
A while back, Arash told me a story.
It was a story about his childhood
growing up in Iran and his experience
immigrating to the United States. And
about Batman. And it was exactly the
kind of intersection between art and
ideas that I love talking about on
Out of Frame…
So, today, I’m going to turn over the
reins to Arash and let him tell you
this story in his own words.
ARASH
Thanks Sean!
Let’s hop in our time machines and
take a ride back to the dark ages…
1988.
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Going back in time
[something Batman themed?]
Way before the “internet” was really
a thing, when phones had wires that
anchored them to walls, and the
Nintendo Entertainment System ruled
the living room in all its 8-bit
glory, I was in my teens, living in
San Diego with my family. We had
immigrated to the US as political
refugees a decade earlier from Iran.
Vintage computers, telephones
Personal photos - San Diego
One day on a whim, I found myself in
one of those hipster stores that sold
vinyl records, whacky Japanese toys,
and comics. I hadn’t read a comic
book in years, but out of nostalgia,
I picked up a childhood favorite, the
latest Batman, issue #426, which
started the story arc, “A Death in
the Family” by Jim Starlin.
Photo - store in Hillcrest
Simpsons: Jack Black comic store episode
Batman #426
It was dark. So different than any
Batman I had ever read before. The
Joker was an actual, visceral menace
and… spoilers… he killed Robin. He
tortures and beats Robin to an inch
of his life with a crowbar, and then
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blows him up alongside his birth
mother...
It was shocking and disturbing.
That unspoken element that always
saved the heroes from certain doom
had dissipated into the ether. This
didn’t feel like something for kids.
It was a bridge to the real world
where heroes could actually die.
But there was another part of the
story that affected me even more.
In “A Death in the Family,” the Joker
becomes the UN ambassador for Iran,
my homeland that my family and I had
to escape from in 1979, and he meets
Ayatollah Khomeini, the new “supreme
leader” who had seized power in a
bloody coup and turned my world
upside down.
Khomeini was a zealous Islamic cleric
who had been exiled in the 1960s for
fomenting unrest against the Shah’s
reforms, but who returned as the
spearhead of the so-called “Iranian
Revolution.” He and his cohorts are
responsible for tens of thousands of
deaths in Iran, and he’s infamously
remembered for the fatwa he issued
against author Salman Rushdie for
perceived insults against Islam in
his book, “The Satanic Verses.”
The Joker, having never met anyone
more deranged than himself, is
rendered speechless at their first
meeting.
To say that I got some deep,
cathartic satisfaction to see a
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fictional evil character meet his
match in a real-life evil figure, one
of the architects of the misery
heaped upon my countrymen, would be
an understatement.
But it also clicked that if the evil
we see in comic books can be real, so
can the good.
It sparked to life my own history
with the character of Batman, what he
meant to me and my philosophical
journey in life, and my discovery of
the value of the individual.
"Joker" winning Venice top prize
Iran in the news
With "Joker" hitting the screens to
widespread critical acclaim, and the
Islamic Republic of Iran all over the
news, it seemed like a good time to
tell my story.
By the way… There won’t be any
spoilers for “Joker.” I haven’t seen
it yet, though we will be talking
about some plot points in older comic
books.
This dark turn in mainstream comics
and graphic novels has always been
fascinating to me.
After reading “A Death in the
Family,” I went back and found Frank
Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns,”
which came out a couple of years
earlier in 1986. Then I read Alan
Moore’s “The Killing Joke” and Grant
Morrison’s “Arkham Asylum,” all
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titles that were so different than
what I had read as a kid.
These were heavy, psychological books
that put the Joker on equal footing
with Batman. The good guy wasn’t
always going to win anymore.
Batmania
Burton's "Batman"
A year later, in 1989, Batmania
seized the world when Tim Burton’s
vision of the Dark Knight going toe
to toe with the Clown Prince of Crime
arrived in cinemas.
I was there opening night, and it’s
one of the only films I've been to
see multiple times.
Jokers thru time; Laughing box from Joker's death scene in
1989 Batman is creepy AF. Worth playing off of here, and
maybe overdubbing that on top of something classic from
Heath Ledger or Mark Hamill?
When the Joker was played by Cesar
Romero in the ‘60s, there was an
exaggerated aspect to him. That crazy
laugh and the outrageous outfits and
unnerving makeup became more sinister
in the cinematic rebirth of the
character, whether depicted by Jack
Nicholson, Mark Hamill or Heath
Ledger.
Joker trailer; Sean will help find Scott Snyder run that is
influence on film
Now, Joaquin Phoenix's interpretation
seems to take the Joker in a new
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direction, not as a psychotic madman,
but as a downtrodden anti-hero.
Early Joker
During the time when the Comics Code
Authority dictated what could and
couldn’t be included in comic books,
the Joker was just another whacky,
colorful bad guy amid a rogue’s
gallery of bizarre villains. Back
then, DC Comics had two superheroes
who dominated people’s imaginations,
even though they couldn’t be further
apart as characters.
Superman from various media
There’s the god-like Man of Steel, an
alien visitor from another planet and
the mightiest being on Earth,
possessing the power of flight,
invulnerability to nearly everything,
and bonus stuff like x-ray and heat
vision, super hearing, and even super
breath.
Superman.
Apocalypse: GL to BM: "You're just a guy in a cape?" / Other
good moments from film
And then there’s the Dark Knight, a
human with no super powers who fights
crime through his sheer force of
will, combined with ingenuity and
skills gained from years of dedicated
training.
Batman and Superman are friends, an
“odd couple” of sorts, while other
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times they’re pitted against each
other because of their different
moral compasses and viewpoints of the
world.
There’s a natural comparison to make
between them: immortal vs mortal;
bright-colors and sunshine vs dark
and lurking in the shadows;
indefatigably cheery, in the best
incarnations, vs sullen and reluctant
to talk.
Young Justice: Clark orders apple pie, Bruce orders devil's
food in diner
Sean probably won’t agree with this
take on Superman, but…
SEAN
True. I don’t. But continue…
ARASH
As I was saying… When someone who is
nigh-invulnerable steps in front of
a runaway train or a hail of bullets,
how impressive is it really? If he
can’t get hurt, what risk did he
actually take?
SEAN
Not the point of Superman, but
whatever. Go on.
ARASH
Thank you. But contrast Clark Kent
with a regular, albeit tall and
good-looking, man.
When Bruce Wayne puts himself in the
same danger to rescue others, it’s
way more impressive. The risks
involved could severely injure him or
even end his life.
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Last Temptation cover
In his controversial book, The Last
Temptation of Christ, Nikos
Kazantzakis argued much the same
thing: that if Jesus Christ were a
regular man, his ultimate sacrifice
for humanity would have been more
meaningful than that of the immortal
Son of God.
From my vantage point, the real hero
to aspire to is easily Batman. Plus,
he’s a much more relatable character
because he’s human.
When confronted by a system that let
him down, he discards the rules and
creates his own code as he makes his
way to becoming a force for good.
Ultimately, Batman represents, to me,
the ideal of individualism.
Graphic
"Individualism" is a philosophy that
recognizes the moral worth and value
of every individual person. It's the
principle of being independent and
self-reliant. And it’s an idea that
supports the freedom for everyone to
make their own decisions, benefiting
from their successes and taking
responsibility for their failures, as
long as they don't prevent others
from doing the same.
Individualism is the opposite of
collectivism, which sees the group
someone belongs to as more important
than they are... Collectivism favors
collective or state control over
individual people's actions.
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I know what collectivism looks like
firsthand.
As a little kid in Tehran in the
'70s, I grew up learning English
alongside my native tongue of Farsi.
Maybe you’ve seen photographs of what
life was like in those days in Iran,
but it was a pretty free and
prosperous place, especially compared
to the country it is today. Iranians
could travel the world without
restriction, exchanging culture and
ideas, and trade freely. Many studied
abroad, including here in the United
States.
Western culture was celebrated openly
alongside our own, and in my spare
time, I read what a lot of kids read:
comic books.
Beyond the standard DC and Marvel
fare of Aquaman, Spider-man, Doctor
Strange, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, I
also devoured European comics like
the adventures of Tintin and Milou,
Asterix and Obelix, Lucky Luke, and I
read Mad Magazine, although a lot of
the satire flew right over my head.
Shows mentioned
I even watched a lot of the same TV
as kids in America: Star Trek,
Hanna-Barbera cartoons, Sesame
Street, Sid and Marty Krofft shows
like H.R. Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos,
and another favorite, Zorro.
Batman cartoons, toys, Adam West tv show
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But beyond a shadow of a doubt, my
absolute favorite character was the
Caped Crusader, whether in comics,
toys, or even the campy stuff!
Childhood photo, add hand drawn Batman costume on top
Sadly, the photo, along with many
others, were lost when we fled Iran,
but one Halloween, my mom made an
incredible Batman costume for me. It
wasn’t like one of those plastic
outfits you get at Walmart. It was
mostly velour with little cardboard
inserts to make the ears stand up,
and completely handmade. I loved it.
I was a 6 year old Batman!
Unfortunately, that happy moment
wouldn’t last.
Two years later, when I was 8 years
old, Islamic extremists working with
Soviet-backed Marxists, violently
took over my country in what came to
be known as the Iranian Revolution.
My family was forced to leave
everything behind in order to escape
the chaos and crumbling liberty with
our lives.
Overnight, we became political
refugees, adrift in the world, and
through circumstance and
perseverance, we made it to America.
We were the lucky ones.
When I was 9, visiting family in
Florida, I remember reading about the
state of the “revolution” in Iran,
and seeing photos that haunt me to
this day.
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Entire families attacked by mobs…
Bodies hanging from cranes…
If we hadn’t escaped, that would have
been me. Not “could have been,” but
“would have been.”
Just a few days after we left, our
home in Tehran was raided by agents
of this new, barbaric government. Had
my father not acted and gotten us out
when he did… If instead he’d waited
for the police or the army to protect
us… I would have been one of the
bodies in that image.
(beat)
How did we change from a country of
peaceful Iranians to one ruled by
mobs and violence?
How did people living in a prosperous
country somehow become fooled into
believing they weren’t free?
I’ve thought about this question over
and over.
CLIP: The Joker pits people trapped on boats
against each other in “The Dark Knight” -- or some
other clip showing Joker creating discord.
I think it begins with sowing
discord.
For most of the 20th century, the
USSR wanted to take over Iran and
gain control over the Middle East.
Part of this plan involved the KGB
training and sending agents across
the border to create problems and
convince people they were shackled
slaves.
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The coup d’état in 1979 was an unholy
alliance of leftist, communist
sympathizers and Islamic zealots.
Unsurprisingly, after gaining control
of the country, the Islamists turned
on their former allies, imprisoning,
torturing and killing many of them.
CLIP: Alfred, “Some people want to watch the world
burn…”
There was no Superman to save us from
the gathering mobs with his fantastic
powers… And there never would be.
Heroes like Superman can’t exist.
Nor can Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the
Flash, or any of the other characters
with out-of-this-world powers and
abilities.
Show Green Lantern Corps doing something big
But Batman doesn't depend on that
kind of power.
Beyond the cowl and cape, he’s just a
guy who pursued his potential and
trained himself to be self-reliant.
He turned the tragedy, pain, and
anguish of losing his parents into a
singular motivation to take control
of his life -- to become better, more
skilled, and a formidable force
against crime.
Various Jokers
The Joker’s various origin stories
are also tragic… Whether he’s a
mobster that falls into a vat of
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chemicals and goes mad, or a failed
comedian who can’t fit in and make
ends meet.
But instead of becoming motivated to
improve himself and his society,
Joker finds nothing but nihilism and
victimhood in his pain, and decides
to make the world pay.
I want to be clear and say that I
don’t see Joker’s “madness” as an
actual mental illness, something that
people can’t control. There are even
interpretations of Batman as
compulsive and not in control of
himself, but I don’t subscribe to
these views.
The Joker is such a good antagonist
for Batman because he is his mirror
opposite. Where Batman found meaning
and empowerment in tragedy, Joker
just wants to wreck other people’s
lives and laugh at the destruction.
Why didn’t I go down that path? So
many people do.
There’s a common misunderstanding of
“individualism” that defines it as
the opposite of “groups” or
“society,” as if anyone who supports
an individualist philosophy is
selfishly turning their back on
others.
But that’s not right at all.
Individualism is about believing that
everyone should have the right to
make their own choices. It’s about
rejecting the collective that wants
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to control you and your destiny,
usually for its own benefit...
When Ayatollah Khomeini returned to
Iran, one of his decrees could even
be seen as inspiration for the Joker
beating a young boy to death...
During his war with Iraq in the early
1980s, Khomeini would send thousands
of young boys running out in waves
across minefields to clear the path
for soldiers with their lives…
Those boys were told that they’d be
martyrs in Heaven, that they were
doing something great for their
religion and for their country.
They weren’t.
This isn’t to say that self-sacrifice
is never right.
Heroism is a beautiful thing, but
only when it’s your choice and done
voluntarily.
When an unknown man, without regard
for his own safety, marched out in
front of the Chinese government’s
tanks during the Tiananmen Square
massacre in 1989, his actions were
echoed around the world, and even
sparked the destruction of the Berlin
Wall, bringing freedom to millions.
That’s not an invincible superhero
standing in front of a tank, but the
indestructible spirit of Batman.
We now live in a time of prosperity
unequalled in human history. People
are able to more freely pursue their
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goals and passions, to be individuals
creating solutions for society and
their compatriots.
We’re seeing an individualistic,
entrepreneurial transformation spread
across the globe.
And yet, especially here in the
United States, people are protesting
that they’re not free.
That they’re oppressed.
That they’re victims.
They gleefully tear down their fellow
man in service of a collectivist
ideal in a country that was founded
upon, and succeeded because of
Individualism.
I’ve lived through this before.
It may seem a bit self-aggrandizing,
but like Batman using the sensors
built into his mask, I can see past
these false illusions and promises of
“the greater good.”
I can see that being tricked into
thinking the other side is your enemy
could mean destroying everything .
Is the US perfect? No, of course not.
Neither was Iran before the
“revolution,” but it was a much
better place than it is today. We
have to see the good for what it is
and where it’s heading.
There are brave people, especially
the women in my homeland, standing up
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to the government despite being
unarmed. They’re calling for a return
to the Iran we used to have.
Some have suffered for their courage,
but they have inspired more and more
people to fight for freedom.
War won’t break their shackles, and I
don’t want my homeland to be a proxy
battlefield for superpowered nations,
but we can support their struggle by
understanding they’re not just
“Iranians,” but individuals.
The potential in a single person is
immeasurable, and it’s what scares
corrupt powers the most.
There is a Batman inside each and
every one of us, wanting to push us
to be our absolute best, and to bring
more good into the world, but not at
the cost of the liberty of others.
But there’s also a Joker, looking to
exploit moments of defeat and doubt
to create chaos with false promises
and by tearing down ideals.
I truly hope that we all want to be
Batman.
[OUTRO - SEAN]
Hey everybody. Thanks for watching this episode
of Out of Frame.
If you want to know more about Arash’s story,
check out some of the links in the description
or leave a comment and we'll try to get back to
you.
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About this show
Video essays that explore the intersection of art, culture, and big ideas written & produced by FEE's Director of Media, Sean W. Malone.
The Joker, Nihilism, and One Iranian Boy
October 3, 2019
NO SPOILERS FOR THE JOKER MOVIE
For a young kid growing up in Tehran, Batman's never-ending battle with the Joker became a symbol for what was happening around him, as his once-prosperous world began to collapse under the weight of nihilism, discord, and senseless violence. Monsters like the Joker exist, but even without super-powers, we can defeat them by believing in the spirit of Batman.
CREDITS: Produced by Sean W. Malone Written by Arash Ayrom & Sean W. Malone Edited by Arash Ayrom & Sean W. Malone
Popular YouTube host Kevin Lieber (VSauce2) hosts this informative and entertaining video series designed to introduce key concepts of economics to younger audiences through credible arguments, comedy... And puppets!