- Sep 22, 2013
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When is crime horrific (e.g., Manson Family Murders) and when is crime romanticized (e.g., Bonnie and Clyde)?
Americans like to immortalize daring and courage, so tales of great feats performed in 'defiance' against the 'system' such as Depression-era bank-robbery (e.g., Bonnie and Clyde) are turned into myths and even romanticized (even when there's unlawful killing of policemen involved!).
If a crime is very graphic or violent (e.g., Manson Family Murders), we tend to label (rather easily) the criminal(s) as 'psychotic' but acts of graphic terrorism (e.g., 9/11) are often 'shrouded/clouded' in the confusing 'veil' of politics (in this case, Israel-Palestine).
So when we cut through the political 'jargon' and arrive at epiphanies regarding the ugliness of violence itself, how do we sift through the news and separate murder from 'romantic rime' and from 'politically-motivated defiance' (e.g., terrorists categorized as 'freedom-fighters' --- e.g., IRA)?
Americans love justice-oriented meditation films such as The Fighting Vigilantes, The Dark Knight, and Maniac Cop, and perhaps that's because America is such a complex and pluralistic nation of 'constant negotiation.'
Is crime itself a negotiation (at least in terms of addressing criminal-insanity)?
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A diligent and dashing young Gotham City lawyer named Harvey Dent approached his job very idealistically and professionally, though he harboured some harsh sentiments regarding the treatment of the modern city's worst kinds of criminals. Harvey was also not a big fan of 'Batman' who was Gotham's masked/mysterious vigilante and also secretly the CEO of Wayne Industries, the wealthy-socialite Bruce Wayne. However, Harvey did admire Bruce. No one knew Bruce was Batman, and when Harvey was disfigured by a crime-syndicate boss who splashed acid in Harvey's face to create 'gossip' about the Wayne Industries' new cosmetics line, Harvey went insane and swore revenge --- on Wayne, Gotham...and Batman himself.
HARVEY: I must look so much more 'professional' to you now...
BATMAN: Just because you're nuts now, Harvey, doesn't mean I am!
HARVEY: No; you're a mysterious masked urban 'crusader.'
BATMAN: What's your crusade, Mr. Dent?
HARVEY: Call me by my brand-new name...Two-Face.
BATMAN: Well, 'Two-Face,' I doubt Gotham needs more terror/terrorism.
HARVEY: I'm not a terrorist; just a humble punisher, Batman!
BATMAN: A punisher, eh?
HARVEY: Do you know why humans have a 'funny-bone,' Batman?
BATMAN: So vigilantism-minded psychos such as yourself can giggle?
HARVEY: Stop fooling around with me; no, it's because crime is funny.
BATMAN: So I hit someone's funny-bone and they wince/laugh simultaneously...so what?
HARVEY: Just think; you're grimacing in pain but you have an odd giggling-sensation.
BATMAN: Right; so what?
HARVEY: Crime is like that; it's like striking at the funny-bone; there's no logic; only energy.
BATMAN: Energy, huh? So I've 'energized' humanity by doing whatever I damn please?
HARVEY: Well, I'm not a 'clown,' Batman; like I said, I'm a punisher/executioner of justice.
BATMAN: Two-Face, you've killed cops, criminals, and pedestrians alike since being disfigured.
HARVEY: I'm not pretending to be Richard III, Batman; I only want Gotham to feel what I feel.
BATMAN: You want others to feel that the human 'funny-bone' is anything but funny?
HARVEY: I have a vision; distribute vials of blood for Gothamites to drink at home...and pray.
BATMAN: Hmm, legions of Gothamites at home worshipping some bizarre vampirism idol.
HARVEY: Not simple vampirism; rather, a way to meditate on alienation!
Batman quickly and correctly deduced that Harvey Dent, aka 'Two-Face', was anything but a 'normal vigilante.' Two-Face's 'vision' of distributing vials of blood for Gothamites to drink discreetly at home while praying about justice was the concoction of a madman, and Batman understood that if Two-Face was not stopped, the tragic psycho would turn Gotham City into a conspirator's cauldron. However, Batman was eerily haunted by Two-Face's unusual notion about vampirism and vitality. Was the modern city a 'pit' of sloth, and if so, would Batman have to consider Two-Face's 'crime-omen' about the 'demand' for punishment? Was the human funny-bone a sign of 'irony' as Two-Face suggested? Because Two-Face was once a 'civil' upstanding lawyer named Harvey Dent, Batman (Bruce Wayne) wondered if Two-Face was now a 'diplomat' of the 'elusive spectre' of death itself. Batman told himself, "Crime is never gorgeous."
====
Americans like to immortalize daring and courage, so tales of great feats performed in 'defiance' against the 'system' such as Depression-era bank-robbery (e.g., Bonnie and Clyde) are turned into myths and even romanticized (even when there's unlawful killing of policemen involved!).
If a crime is very graphic or violent (e.g., Manson Family Murders), we tend to label (rather easily) the criminal(s) as 'psychotic' but acts of graphic terrorism (e.g., 9/11) are often 'shrouded/clouded' in the confusing 'veil' of politics (in this case, Israel-Palestine).
So when we cut through the political 'jargon' and arrive at epiphanies regarding the ugliness of violence itself, how do we sift through the news and separate murder from 'romantic rime' and from 'politically-motivated defiance' (e.g., terrorists categorized as 'freedom-fighters' --- e.g., IRA)?
Americans love justice-oriented meditation films such as The Fighting Vigilantes, The Dark Knight, and Maniac Cop, and perhaps that's because America is such a complex and pluralistic nation of 'constant negotiation.'
Is crime itself a negotiation (at least in terms of addressing criminal-insanity)?
====
A diligent and dashing young Gotham City lawyer named Harvey Dent approached his job very idealistically and professionally, though he harboured some harsh sentiments regarding the treatment of the modern city's worst kinds of criminals. Harvey was also not a big fan of 'Batman' who was Gotham's masked/mysterious vigilante and also secretly the CEO of Wayne Industries, the wealthy-socialite Bruce Wayne. However, Harvey did admire Bruce. No one knew Bruce was Batman, and when Harvey was disfigured by a crime-syndicate boss who splashed acid in Harvey's face to create 'gossip' about the Wayne Industries' new cosmetics line, Harvey went insane and swore revenge --- on Wayne, Gotham...and Batman himself.
HARVEY: I must look so much more 'professional' to you now...
BATMAN: Just because you're nuts now, Harvey, doesn't mean I am!
HARVEY: No; you're a mysterious masked urban 'crusader.'
BATMAN: What's your crusade, Mr. Dent?
HARVEY: Call me by my brand-new name...Two-Face.
BATMAN: Well, 'Two-Face,' I doubt Gotham needs more terror/terrorism.
HARVEY: I'm not a terrorist; just a humble punisher, Batman!
BATMAN: A punisher, eh?
HARVEY: Do you know why humans have a 'funny-bone,' Batman?
BATMAN: So vigilantism-minded psychos such as yourself can giggle?
HARVEY: Stop fooling around with me; no, it's because crime is funny.
BATMAN: So I hit someone's funny-bone and they wince/laugh simultaneously...so what?
HARVEY: Just think; you're grimacing in pain but you have an odd giggling-sensation.
BATMAN: Right; so what?
HARVEY: Crime is like that; it's like striking at the funny-bone; there's no logic; only energy.
BATMAN: Energy, huh? So I've 'energized' humanity by doing whatever I damn please?
HARVEY: Well, I'm not a 'clown,' Batman; like I said, I'm a punisher/executioner of justice.
BATMAN: Two-Face, you've killed cops, criminals, and pedestrians alike since being disfigured.
HARVEY: I'm not pretending to be Richard III, Batman; I only want Gotham to feel what I feel.
BATMAN: You want others to feel that the human 'funny-bone' is anything but funny?
HARVEY: I have a vision; distribute vials of blood for Gothamites to drink at home...and pray.
BATMAN: Hmm, legions of Gothamites at home worshipping some bizarre vampirism idol.
HARVEY: Not simple vampirism; rather, a way to meditate on alienation!
Batman quickly and correctly deduced that Harvey Dent, aka 'Two-Face', was anything but a 'normal vigilante.' Two-Face's 'vision' of distributing vials of blood for Gothamites to drink discreetly at home while praying about justice was the concoction of a madman, and Batman understood that if Two-Face was not stopped, the tragic psycho would turn Gotham City into a conspirator's cauldron. However, Batman was eerily haunted by Two-Face's unusual notion about vampirism and vitality. Was the modern city a 'pit' of sloth, and if so, would Batman have to consider Two-Face's 'crime-omen' about the 'demand' for punishment? Was the human funny-bone a sign of 'irony' as Two-Face suggested? Because Two-Face was once a 'civil' upstanding lawyer named Harvey Dent, Batman (Bruce Wayne) wondered if Two-Face was now a 'diplomat' of the 'elusive spectre' of death itself. Batman told himself, "Crime is never gorgeous."
====
