So… I’m actually Batman.

Reflecting on this week’s material in Communications, all I can think about is Batman. The readings, the lessons, the discussions all lead me back to this place of reading comics growing up. I thought I was crazy– but truth be told, I’ve come to realize Batman connects with Professor Lopez’s lectures on multiple levels. Through analyzing Batman I’ve not only come to better understand the concepts being taught, but it has also created an avenue for me to integrate these lessons into my life. 

On the first day, we learned about what Communications really means in society and how it can be studied. An analogy that really spoke to me on that first day talked about ‘encoding and decoding’ to explain how communication works. A person has a message that is encoded through the laws of language, decoded by a recipient, and then transferred into their mind. Through this more logical way of thinking, it made me think about the apparatuses by which we exchange thoughts with one another. In the article “Encoding, Decoding” author Stuart Hall describes how we perceive images: “…[we] think that the visual sign for ‘cow’ actually is… the animal, cow” (Hall 7). Beyond this, Hall touched on the linguistic sign for the word ‘cow’ and the other signs we use. No matter how the word cow is messaged, the same image is communicated in all of them. Even sign language can bring the same image to mind as a photograph, all because of the codes our brains are trained to react to within an environment. 

Extending to the contexts of each environment, it was here– right here– where my mind drifted to the streets of Gotham. Batman lurks in the shadows and uses these exact encoding and decoding methods to figure out a given situation. Through picking up body language, social cues, gestures, and facial expressions, Batman establishes what a scenario is all about. Batman has mastered all aspects of communication from his active listening for detective work and strategic communication to conceal his identity as Bruce Wayne. Moreover, his bat signal reflects symbolic communication with Gotham citizens when they need him. He leverages his body language to project his power and communicate fear to his enemies. 

On Day 2 of AYA’s Communications class, we elaborated on civic engagement and what it really means in America. I specifically liked talking about the different types of citizens within a community that can drive impact: the personally responsible citizen, the participatory citizen, and the justice-oriented citizen. There was a study we read that mentioned the impacts of teaching children to be justice oriented citizens, saying “students expressed a strong sense of the need to address these problems collectively rather than as individuals” (Westheimer and Kahne 5). Kids in this essay recognized that the community is better off together rather than apart, and that real positive change rarely happens through the acts of one person. Like the African traditional belief of Ubuntu, community welfare is a shared responsibility for the greater good– as the ‘essence of being human.’ I draw inspiration from this idea and really want to hone in on being more justice-oriented myself. In my opinion, this is another case where the Caped Crusader exemplifies it best. Batman’s pursuit of justice is driven by his moral responsibility of protecting the oppressed people of Gotham, and not only does he advocate for change, but he respects the rule of law while doing it. Working with allies like police chief James Gordon and personal butler Alfred, he collects information and collaborates with others toward a common goal. This is the type of justice-oriented citizen that I strive to be more like as I get older.

Best of all, these points I make connecting what I’ve learned with Batman is the perfect case of civic imagination. The character was created just for this purpose– a symbol for kids like me to relate to and look up to. He is the orphan that had to build a life for himself, but still chose to look out for others and use his resources to improve his community. Kids across the world see themselves in Batman as a way to symbolize civic engagement in a more personal way as he displays all these good qualities. At least for me, reading the comics have brought me joy and provoked thought from within me. I know that Batman is not the ‘perfect’ citizen by any means, but if he speaks to children looking for a role model– he is really as good as it gets.

I want to be Batman one day.