Let me start off by saying, I'm not really a Batman kind of guy, but I was having a look at the 'Now Showing' of my local theatre's website, and I did pause on this one. I wanted take this post to explore some thoughts - and hopefully the discursive process will help me think about what it is I thought - bare with me.
A quick Google search of 'Batman films' leads me to this snapshot. There is something of an embedded power structure within the films, which the 2022 film poster seems to perpetuate.
Going back to 1989 - the poster featured a bat cut out in a yellow disc. The image is iconic now, and it evoked an animalistic understanding of who and what Batman was. Like a bat, we came to associate him with the dark - and he took on almost a sinister quality. These associations were enhanced in the film, as the citizens of Gotham did not universally embrace him. The film poster itself is interesting because it promotes a concept, not an individual figure.
That shifted in 1992 with 'Batman Returns' - where a totem of heads are depicted on the poster. The hero at the top, the villain below, and the woman in between - She is above 'The Penguin', yet the positioning in the poster implies she doesn't have the same significance of power of the character in the upper third of the image. Indeed, the angles of the cutout in her mark point upwards - and draw our eyes up to Batman, and away from her. Similarly, her jaw points us to the male below her. Batman has a different colouring, and this leaves him as the focal figure. What role does the female play in this poster? Not much really -
- It evokes the concept of the Elizabethan Chain of Being - the woman is above the animals, but below the man in regards to importance in the world. 400 Years after that concept is grounded, it continued to hold relevance.
1997 rolled around, I remember it well when this film came out. It was made for a very different demographic than the first two feature films, playing with colour, rather than dark landscapes - yet, the film poster still reinforces concepts of power through the positioning of the five characters on the poster. It is a rule in the construction of images that the least important elements are in the bottom third. This is where we locate both women. Yet, when we do locate them, our attention isn't kept - instead, the green and purple lines become vectors which draw our gaze to the male characters above. Even the red of Poison Ivy's hair seems to blend into the red behind Robin and she can't maintain our focus.
From there, women seem to disappear from the advertising posters. Yet, Batman is constantly seen in position of power. Consider the low angle looking up at Batman in the 2012 The Dark Knight Rises, positioning him over the audience, while the red colours behind him suggest masculinity and power. This colour symbolism became a significant feature of the 2005 poster, 'Batman Begins' - which shows Batman in the foreground of the image, again, positioning his prominence and importance. The 2008 'The Dark Knight' seemed to be the blend of those two - making use of the burning reds, while the camera looks up at the eponymous figure.
It's been a while then, since we've seen Batman on a film poster. And I do wonder what we should make of this one. The name Robert Pattinson stands out to me - and I think I would struggle with this one, always thinking of him as the Twilight vampire, and never Batman. (Fun fact, did you know a very young Robert Pattinson was in Harry Potter?).
So, let's talk power. In this shot, we don't have the low angle looking up - but power is still communicated through the positioning of the characters. Batman is in the foreground of the image, and visually, he occupies the most space on the poster - dominating the image in black. The burning reds of the previous film posters again transition into this image, connoting a sense of danger and power - again though, this is a colour associated with masculinity - as is black. At a symbolic level, the entire visual promotes a masculine power - and indeed, Batman is shot looking down to Catman. This implies a standing over and in inequality between the pair.
Going back only six years, in the 2016 film Batman vs Superman - you'll notice both characters are equal in height, and equal in stature, and equal in the space they occupy on the poster. The dominant colours in the image draw on the red of Batman, and the blue of Superman in equal measure. There is a respect offered to both male characters.
It raises the question then, about the worth attributed to Catwoman. Something else, however, is at play in the film poster. If you were to look at Catwoman, she is shrouded in red glow - again, the colour we've come to associate with Batman. However, the way she has been positioned allows her chest to be outlined against the sky behind her. It raises the question as to the purpose of the shot - which would seem to be to sexually objectify the character, assuming as a 'lesser' figure, her value is in her womanly figure, rather than the cultural value she's developed in and external to the DC world. Is her power solely located in her sexuality?
If this is where her power is located in 2022, it seems that we're still hanging out in 2004! The below still is from the 2004 film 'Catwoman' starring Halle Berry. It appears she had a particular function as a character in that film too. Who thought we might have moved on from this, particularly given the social movements of the last couple of years.
Thanks for taking the time to join me in this post. CineTV is one of my favourite communities, and I'd encourage you to stop by and have a look around.
