I have blogged previously about my love for Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel and thought I would analyse its sequel Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
Although nowhere as good as the original I was excited to watch the movie in 2016 the same year when my Mum died. I had not long come out of a psychiatric hospital and despite my anxiety I had the courage to go to the cinema for the first time alone.
Batman is a billionaire and says in the Justice League sequel “My superpower is that I am rich”. Although that amplifies his abilities, Batman’s true power is that he is a scientist. He makes excellent use of empirical and rational knowledge.
Batman is ruthless. However, the death of his parents being shot dead in front of him as a child haunts him but also appears to have made him compassionate. It’s fair to say Batman is preoccupied by the bigger picture and struggles more with compassion of a group of people.
Lex Luther is a billionaire much like Batman with excellent analytical skills. Though unlike Batman he doesn’t do the actual work himself. He keeps an emotional distance to ensure his strategy is successful.
What do I mean by rationally or empirically? Rationalism is the knowledge derived from reason and logic while on the other hand Empiricism is the knowledge derived from experience and experimentation.
Today I believe we are too reliant on empiricism and need more rationalism democratised for Mad and Autistic people. We need to genuinely trust people more than our own biases. Not everything can be assumed to be like a test tube or one size fits all.
In the movie Lex Luther could be trying to build up his ego or be leaving behind some kind of legacy. Bruce Wayne masks his darker side in Batman in order to do what he believes is good. Is Bruce and Lex doing this for themselves or to protect humanity?
Batman and the US military rationally perceive Superman as a threat. As Bruce Wayne says he could burn the place down if he wanted to. However, if we thought of this empirically there is no evidence that Superman has acted against humanity let alone Americas interests.
Superman is as American as it gets, he is a white male who grew up and went to school in the US. The viewer knows Clark Kent as an honest reporter as well. Even for Superman I don’t know how he does it!
Batman makes the conclusion that Superman is dangerous and must be killed. Batman steals Lex Luther’s Kryptonite and hatches a plan to kill Superman. It is well executed by Batman, and Superman lies tied up speaking his final words “Save Martha”.
Batman is puzzled by this. Martha is the name of Bruce’s Mother. Lois Lane gets to Superman in time and explains compassionately to Batman it is the name of Clark’s mother. Batmans sees the humanity in Superman and leaves to save his mother.
As someone who was initially diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder and then Autism I have experienced people seeing me as the devil or an innocent Angel that is a bit dim. I am simply just Shaun with a flawed human story like anyone else.
Not working full time or being wealthy seems to paint me as an awful person. The medication is my Kryptonite and limits my capabilities. It becomes a negative feedback loop. So, I have increasingly turned to God.
As a Christian I have for a number of years felt that Gods grace may rest upon me and I will be made perfect in weakness. In Man of Steel, Clark Kent meets a priest in a Church to seeks guidance before allowing himself to be taken prisoner by the state.
The Priest says “Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith first. The trust part comes later”. My biggest leap of faith to date was running Marathons in 2019. My Baptism next month is another leap.
As someone who claims benefits (social security) and uses mental health services I don’t feel trusted much at all. So, I have grown to have faith in God. I have been looked down as unworthy by much of society, but I still rise to new challenges.
The challenge with the medication and the Social Contract is I can’t actualise as a person. I live in fear that my Social Security will be stopped tomorrow. I used to love running in 2019. The pandemic and medication changes put an end to that for now.
At the end of the film, Lex Luther creates doomsday using Zod’s ship. He uses Zod’s blood and Luther’s blood to create doomsday. Although doomsday goes berserk and is dangerous, I felt sorry for him. In the Superman and Lois TV series they have two boys who seem well adjusted.
If I were to come off my medication, I’m not sure I could do a 9-to-5 job without meaning. The medication and isolation has impaired my ability to function socially. Though some of my natural communication style may be innate.
My life has been hard. I believe in the Holy Bible and mental health services preach the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) or ICD. The Bible has the means to endure suffering, the DSM doesn’t. However, my suffering has pushed me closer to God.
Finding something interesting part time would be good but meaningful part time work is hard to come by. In any case my brain is dependent on medication so any discontinuation would require support and need to be slow. Volunteering again is a possibility but I’m not for exploitation.
I won’t comment on Wonder Women as I haven’t had the interest to understand her deeply. However, I appreciate she is an important member of the team and adds much wisdom that I don’t think I will ever be able to understand.
The theme I have written about in this blog is one of dichotomy. A division or contrast between two things. Moses gave a speech on starting a new Social Contract in Deuteronomy of the Old Testament.
“Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain” is stated by Moses in Deuteronomy 25:4. As a service user of mental health services and as a volunteer I have provided grain whilst carrying my cross. This is my Testimony.