The Killing Joke

I have briefly touched upon The Joker but for the next hour, I'd like to write about the real clown killer, John Wayne Gacy.

Gacy was born on March 17, 1942 and until his death on May 10, 1994, took about 30 lives. Each target was under the age of 20 (except for one victim at the age of 21) and their bodies piled up underneath the floorboards of Gacy's home.

Gacy had a side job; that of being a clown at charity events. He named himself Pogo the Clown.

Similar to the Joker, Gacy never blamed himself for his actions, rather, his victims were to blame. No, he didn't stop there. He blamed all of society. As written in his psychotic report, Gacy, "presents himself as a victim...and blames others who are out to get him..."

What fascinates me is the fact that Gacy, while in prison, painted. His paintings were even sold to the public, unbeknownst to the buyer that the paint was applied by a psychotic killer. It's incredible to think how thin the line is between good and evil, so thin that it is impossible to distinguish between the two, in some cases. But here we have an example of evil, and he's behind bars...painting.

The Joker in The Dark Knight psychotically wished to prove that everyone was like him - alone, paranoid, and selfish. When the Joker commits a crime, he blames Batman for the crime. Every death is attributed to Batman, and it's justified, in a way. Batman lets the Joker live, obeying his vow never to kill - even the Joker.

But how many lives does it take? The Joker has killed the second Robin, something Batman lives with every day. He has paralyzed Batgirl with a bullet to the spine. He's killed Commissioner Gordon's first wife. Add that to the hundreds of civilians he has killed over the decades. And yet Batman let's him live. A quick trip to Arkham Asylum and then he's out again.

Which brings me to my next thought - the death penalty. Should Gacy have been lethally injected? My first thought was "Here is a man who has taken and sexually abused dozens of young men for his own demented reasons." We know Gacy's father was abusive. We know his background is that of pain and turmoil. Numerous times, Gacy had been under arrest and we let his insanity slip through our fingers.

Where do we draw the line of who to kill and who to let live? If we had another Gacy, if we had a Joker, should/would we allow them to live? Out of some self-proclaimed, self-righteous vow that "separates us from the animals?" Further, Gacy lived 12 years in custody before the capital punishment kicked in. What kind of speedy justice is that?

I think if Batman were real, he'd be asking himself this question every day. And the main reason why I love Batman is his inner turmoil; does he fight crime for a selfish reason? Does he allow the Joker to live because if he killed the Joker, is he just as bad as the murderer of his parents?

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller isn't considered canon (or, the DC publishers have decided that the graphic novel is not the definitive ending to the Batman mythos). To me, it's as good an ending as Batman could hope for. Batman finally kills the Joker, realizing the countless citizens the Joker have murdered is something Batman should've righted a long time ago.

Anyway, this post was basically me ranting. Sorry for that.

The Psychology of Fear

One of the more interesting characters in the Batman mythos (to me at least) is the Scarecrow.

The guy is the epitome of irony. If you didn't know, the Scarecrow's civilian identity is that of Dr. Jonathan Crane with a PhD in psychology. That's right - psychology. The doctor literally uses fear and it's psychological effects on his victims... all for his own research. Often, you'll see Scarecrow using his fear gas on his victims (most notably Batman) and have their greatest fears come to them in the form of hallucinations. For instance, if Batman were sprayed with the fear gas, he would see his parents dying or maybe a bat.

But in any event, the psychology of fear is a very interesting topic. And all these biochemical reactions should sound familiar.

Lisa Fritscher writes about the Psychology of Fear in her article "Understanding the Dynamics of the Fear Response." Usually when we perceive danger, we start to sweat, our heart rates increase and our adrenaline levels shoot up, too. This could be called the "fight or flight" response in which (thanks to years of evolution) our bodies are literally choosing between fighting or running away. And through our physical reactions to stimuli around us, there is a chance we may survive the danger.

So while Batman is tripping out on fear gas and experiencing fear (psychologically and physically), he would probably see a bat, flying straight for him, wings spread like a fallen angel, its mouth gaping open like a furnace to the gates of hell. And if Batman told a psychologist about his fear of bats, the doctor may say Batman has a phobia of bats.

What the hell's a phobia?

A phobia is when a person will fear an object or situation that usually doesn't present any real danger. Thus, most phobias of objects or situations are irrational symbols of danger. Batman may perceive bats as a danger to his well being, but the bat would have to symbolize a greater psychological danger rather than a physical one in order for it to develop into a phobia.

Bruce first feared the bat when he fell into a cave just outside Wayne Manor. From the inky blackness of the cave, a bat was awoken by Bruce's noisy intrusion. The bat flew towards Bruce and the phobia was born. Perhaps the bat represented more than just a scary face in a dark place; perhaps the bat was the unknown, a representation of a place without Bruce's parents protecting him. The bat could've been a reminder of the beyond; death. Falling a few stories worth into a cave could've acted as the unwanted reminder of mortality for Bruce, a spoiled and sheltered child.

In any event, Bruce was able to conquer his fear of the bat (thus his conquering of his own fear of death, mortality, the unknown, his parents death, etc. etc.) through a little thing called systematic desensitization. With this procedure, a patient is able to gradually overcome his or her fear of the object or situation. First, a patient will be given increasing levels of the object or situation in question - for instance, for Bruce, he'd be introduced to a few bats to show that they are not harmful. Next, more bats would be introduced. After that, more and more bats would be introduced to Bruce until he realizes that there is nothing to fear.

There is also a technique called Flooding and Bruce definitely experienced this technique. In the film Batman Begins, Bruce returns to the cave to create his own base of operations and is surrounded by a black cloud of bats. Bruce stands up and invites the bats to surround his body, overcoming his fear. This is an example of flooding; where a patient will be introduced to an excessive amount of the object or situation and will overcome their phobia.

So that was a quick look into phobias, fear and how to overcome phobias. Check out the article here and see you around.