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Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight
A journey behind the mask and into the mind of Gotham City’s Caped Crusader, timed for the summer 2012 release of
The Dark Knight Rises
Batman is one of the most compelling and enduring characters to come from the Golden Age of Comics, and interest in his story has only increased through countless incarnations since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Why...more
Batman is one of the most compelling and enduring characters to come from the Golden Age of Comics, and interest in his story has only increased through countless incarnations since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Why...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
June 1st 2012
by Wiley
(first published January 1st 2012)
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Jul 01, 2012
Ager
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Any psychologist, anyone who considers him or herself fan of Batman
I just finished this one, on a recommendation by my best friend, who is far away right now.
It's very well written, science communication, comic books, psychology. All rolled into one single file (as I have the Kindle version).
It's very interesting, and engaging, trying to be low on technical terms, and explaining those that are necessary, as it was written not for psychologists, but for general public. And as such, it is an excellent way to understand a bit more about the science of mental healt...more
It's very well written, science communication, comic books, psychology. All rolled into one single file (as I have the Kindle version).
It's very interesting, and engaging, trying to be low on technical terms, and explaining those that are necessary, as it was written not for psychologists, but for general public. And as such, it is an excellent way to understand a bit more about the science of mental healt...more
I just finished reading Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight and I know I'll read it again. It's that good. Greatly superior to Batman and Philosophy. This author really knows his stuff, for both the psychology and the Batman history, and explains it all well, clearly, smartly, sometimes wittily. There's lots on Batman and lots on the villains. The Joker gets a little more attention than most (how could he not?), but other villains get a fair shake too. Stuff on the Scarecrow and Mad...more
I generally hate these [Pop Culture Thing You Like] & [Humanities / Academic Subject You Wouldn't Read a Technical Text On] : [Clever Quip Using Paraphrased Line from Pop Culture Subject] books.
The writer rarely seems to really understand the text in its whole, often using the symbols and sentences from the cultural subject without context to prove, for example, that Buffy is fascistic or that Captain America is a Republican neocon.
This is not that book. This book is not only an book writt...more
The writer rarely seems to really understand the text in its whole, often using the symbols and sentences from the cultural subject without context to prove, for example, that Buffy is fascistic or that Captain America is a Republican neocon.
This is not that book. This book is not only an book writt...more
I loved this book. Often "pop culture and academic subject" books are great 101-level introductions to whatever the academic subject is (Philosophy, Physics, Science, etc) but the pop-culture references are shoved in with a shoe-horn, almost as if a research assistant summarized Buffy or Star Trek or Doctor Who for the author who didn't really understand it, and the book was written with few, if any, good examples -- though the 101-level analysis is good.
Batman and Psychology, however, is differ...more
Batman and Psychology, however, is differ...more
(for the full review please go to (http://bairdduvessa.blogspot.com/2012...)
By using pop culture characters, the author is able to give examples of various "illnesses" through using not only DSM-IV standards, but also the various Counseling Theories you'd learn about in Psychology 101. The book is filled with foot notes that refer back to the works of Freud, Jung and Skinner; while mixing them with notes that cover various comic book issues in the characters 70+ years in comics, novels, movies,...more
By using pop culture characters, the author is able to give examples of various "illnesses" through using not only DSM-IV standards, but also the various Counseling Theories you'd learn about in Psychology 101. The book is filled with foot notes that refer back to the works of Freud, Jung and Skinner; while mixing them with notes that cover various comic book issues in the characters 70+ years in comics, novels, movies,...more
There are few pop culture icons that are more well known than Batman. His popularity transcends comics, TV and movies and has been built up for more than 80 years. While there have been many books written about the cultural impact of this character, the most recent one explores the underlying psyche of Batman and how readers relate to him. Batman and Psychology isn't an overly technical book, but it does shed some new light on this well known shadow.
Travis Langley's book serves two audiences ver...more
Travis Langley's book serves two audiences ver...more
I just finished reading Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight and I know I'll read it again. It's that good. Greatly superior to Batman and Philosophy. This author really knows his stuff, for both the psychology and the Batman history, and explains it all well, clearly, smartly, sometimes wittily. There's lots on Batman and lots on the villains. The Joker gets a little more attention than most (how could he not?), but other villains get a fair shake too. Stuff on the Scarecrow and Mad...more
I just finished Batman and Psychology A Dark and Stormy Knight by Travis Langley. It is a nonfiction novel discussing the characters of the Batman series and psychological disorders. It covers villains and the hero alike, also it analyzes whether or not their crimes are worthy of the definition of insanity. It takes a minimum amount of prior psychology knowledge and progresses through almost all aspects of psychology.
“Batman wears two masks: the Dark Knight’s cowl and Bruce Wayne’s public faca...more
“Batman wears two masks: the Dark Knight’s cowl and Bruce Wayne’s public faca...more
An outstanding idea and premise, rendered utterly unreadable through too much research and psycho-science technicality. If this was a thesis for a college final or degree in psychology, I'd give it a solid A for creativity of theme, research, and overall readability on an esoteric and technically precise topic.
However, as a mass-market book, it was a difficult read, with the medical jargon sucking the life out of the bracketing prose. Unfortunately I cannot recommend it to anyone. I found it a d...more
However, as a mass-market book, it was a difficult read, with the medical jargon sucking the life out of the bracketing prose. Unfortunately I cannot recommend it to anyone. I found it a d...more
I may write a longer review later but I wanted to make sure I got a few words in.
Very well written outlook on Batman. Whether we like him or not, he moves through our minds one way or another. It's only natural to start to wonder about him and his foes psychological profiles. They are all supposedly human who have been damaged in some shape or form. But at least for most of his enemies, they seem to need Batman, even admire him. While the joker is the only one who will admit it, they surround th...more
Very well written outlook on Batman. Whether we like him or not, he moves through our minds one way or another. It's only natural to start to wonder about him and his foes psychological profiles. They are all supposedly human who have been damaged in some shape or form. But at least for most of his enemies, they seem to need Batman, even admire him. While the joker is the only one who will admit it, they surround th...more
Psychoanalysis of Batman/Bruce Wayne, as well as the many colorful and crazy adversaries he faces was a fun, brilliant idea. Assuming you are into the more scientific side of understanding the details that make key characters in the Batman universe tick, you will not be disappointed. Every angle of Batman/Bruce Wayne's life and psyche are covered in great detail in order for us to have a deeper understanding of who he is, why he does what he does, and whether or not he's crazy for doing it. I pa...more
3 likes · like · see review
Is the Batman crazy? Not for the world in which he lives.
Marvelous. Not only does Langley offer thoroughly-sourced, in-depth analyses of the characters that populate the streets of Gotham, he has also written a text that can act as a refresher course on general psychology. Since I'm both ridiculously into Batman and constantly intrigued by the human mind, this book lit my brain up in a big way.
The highlight of the book for me was the chapter on Arkham Asylum-- I've long been fascinated with Gotham's favorite institution for the criminally insane (an i...more
The highlight of the book for me was the chapter on Arkham Asylum-- I've long been fascinated with Gotham's favorite institution for the criminally insane (an i...more
Batman's universe is always closely related to psychology world. After all, every Dark Knight's story is centered around this one traumatized guy, dressed in bat suit, running around at night, beating bad guys and later send them to mental institution named Arkham Asylum (though most likely they will run away again some other time).
Langley's book reads like a detailed psychological profile for Batman. He got Batman all covered: the trauma, the motivation for suit up as bat, the kids (every Robin...more
Langley's book reads like a detailed psychological profile for Batman. He got Batman all covered: the trauma, the motivation for suit up as bat, the kids (every Robin...more
Solid work on the sanity of our favorite Caped Crusader. Definitely an interesting read; Langley adeptly uses "psycho-babble" to enhance the material rather than inundate the reader. I would certainly recommend this book to any Batman fan, especially those familiar with our Dark Knight outside of the Nolan franchise. Because Langley draws on Batman material from ALL sources (comics, films, TV series), the more Batman you know, the more you will get out of the book.
I really like this book, because you learn several psychology terms about the characters and why do they behave like that. It gives a depth background on why Bruce Wayne wants to become a Batman and fight the justice. After reading this book, you would be paying attention to small signs of villains' behavior as well as the other characters; whether it is filmed in the movie or comic books.
Are you lacking in your Batman and Psychology knowledge? Well this book will get you up-to-speed on both in under 275 pages. Somehow it really does. The Batman parallel universe stuff was news to me and mind-boggling but I know about it now. The two subject tie together pretty well. I enjoyed it and all schools should use it for textbooks.
It was an interesting look at my second favorite superhero. Some of the thoughts, issues, and discussions presented could apply to other heroes, especially about regarding PTSD and the formation of the hero psyche. The interesting comparisons came when looking at the psychological differences between the big three iconic heroes - Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman; and how their PTSD (or lack of) to emotional and psychological trauma when they were younger affected them.
I loved the author's incorporation of different psychological characteristics to the character's that we all grew up to love and/or admire or fear. If you're looking for a different insight to a number of villains (in particular) then this is the book for you.
Extremely interesting. As a life long Batman fan with a passing interest in psychology, this book was right up my alley. I loved the case files on individual characters... it almost seemed like we were being allowed to look at the notes that an Arkham psychologist would write when dealing with the "patients". I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have a interest in psychology then it's cool to see these fictional characters broken down and see what makes them tick. If you have an interest in Batman th...more
The only real problem occurs during the latter half of the book. The psychology seems to dwindle only to be replaced with more references to the character's (admittedly by this point, rather convoluted) history. That said, as a fan, it was still pretty entertaining.
Since I love Batman and I'm a psychology major, I thought I would give it a try. I found this book at New York Comic-Con back in October and my boyfriend told me I should pick it up. I absolutely loved it, and I think I loves it more since I am a psych major. I think this author needs to write about Harry Potter and I'll be set, haha.
Tedious and boring at times, but if you have a psych background and love comic books it's fascinating!
Very in depth. It was actually quite interesting, I'll never look at batman the same way again.
Confronting fears in a dark way...
An interesting read that is definitely worth buying for Batman fans that enjoy the psychosis behind the characters of Gotham that are so unique to the Batman mythos.
Love love love this book. So fascinating.
I've tried other books of this type. The type of titles that look at the world of comics and apply psychological concepts to the characters. Unlike the other, this is the one I felt did it correctly, beecause instead of just taking the concepts and turning them into a magnifying glass to observe the comic material, it examined many of the series characters, and then took those concepts and applied them to our world to analyze them.
I had such high expectations when I began... but it was a little repetitive... & felt forced at various parts... Had the text been more concise; shorter as a whole, it would have been better... That being said, it was still very interesting and a unique way to approach the greatness that is Mister Bruce Wayne!!!!!....
Great information passed along in the form of batman and his foes.
3 likes · like · see review
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“[On the subject of Heath Ledger's Joker] This character who attracts psychotic henchmen may have lingering symptoms from his own past psychosis. He keeps making involuntary, repetitive movements—flicking his tongue, smacking his mouth—which suggest tardive dyskinesia, a condition that arises as a consequence of long-term or high-dosage use of antipsychotic (neuroleptic) medication.”
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Oct 25, 2012 02:56pm