What’s your superpower? We all have some kind of power, a fuel source that gives us life. If you were to ask the mystics, they would probably say that we are powered by chi, or life-force, or ashé.
If you were to ask a scientist, she would say that our bodies are made of atoms that contain teeny tiny little strings that vibrate at a specific frequency. If you were to ask Batman what fuels him to be a masked vigilante, he would probably say fear. Yes, Batman Begins directed by Christoher Nolan is one of my favorites in the franchise. Why? Well because the movie examines fear, along with its wicked cousin guilt, shame, and judgement. Batman Begins also shows how we can transform our fear into a fuel source that we can use as superpower, thus giving us the strength to live the life we’ve always wanted. I’ll explain how and why in this video. So, please stay tuned.
It all started with a young Bruce Wayne. He seems to be a happy lad, growing up in a big mansion in Gotham City.
He appears to be loved, especially by his father and dotting butler. However, things take a turn when young Bruce falls down a well and is attacked by a flock of angry bats. Young Bruce is rescued by his father, yet a phobia of bats has already taken root. The young Bruce is triggered while watching play actors perform and forced to leave the theater early. While exiting, they ran into some trouble. A man with a gun shoots Bruce Wayne’s parents in cold blood. Bereaved and orphaned, Bruce is not only suffering from a phobia of bats, but also from feelings of guilt. He confronts notorious gangsters like Carmine Falcone but is further humiliated and belittled. He even feels compelled to seek revenge on the criminal who took his parents’ lives. Bruce travels the world and realizes that his turmoil is not just rooted in pain from grief, but also from fear. He joins the League of Shadows, and for the first time Bruce seems to have a sense of community and brotherhood. However, Bruce must face his phobia of bats. And the only way to do that is to become the very thing that he fears the most, a bat. Fear is a resounding theme in this movie. It is fear that pushes Bruce Wayne to become Batman. It is fear that pushes him to become a masked vigilante, who saves lives, and aids a corrupt police force. Now, you’re probably asking yourself, what does fear have to do with alchemy? Let me explain
Alchemy in its purest sense is all about turning base metals into gold.
However, alchemy over the years has evolved to mean much more than that. Alchemy is all about turning negative energy into positive energy. I know, it sounds really fluffy. Yet, if you have any gadgets that still need batteries, you have to insert those babies in a positive and negative position. This way the energy can flow properly. The most basic numbers in computer programing are 0 and 1, positive and negative. And the body consists of protons and neutrons. If these two forces are off balance in any kind of way, then the machine won’t optimize efficiently. The same goes for the body. Only in the body, if the positive and negative entities are not balanced, we begin to degrade and suffer both mentally and physically. A little bit of fear is good. It causes us to be cautious and aware of our surroundings. Too much fear can cause apathy, resulting in us becoming damaged beyond repair. In the movie Batman Begins, virtually all the characters’ fuel source is based on some level of fear. Carmine Falcone, took over Gotham City by being one of the most feared and notoriously cruel gangsters of all time. He had the police force wrapped around his finger. And virtually all the people in Gotham City were basically running scared. He was untouchable, up until the Scarecrow appeared. Afterall, how do you scare, a fearless man? Yet, the Scarecrow gave Carmine Falcone a taste of his own medicine, by dosing him with magical dust, and causing him to spiral into a state of insanity. The magical fairy dust wasn’t just for Carmine Falcone, it was also for all the residents of Gotham City. The League of Shadows had contaminated the water supply, with the intention of throwing Gotham City off balance, to the point of its ruin.
Fear, when not properly addressed, can devolve into not only mental illnesses, but also illusions. For example, racism, derives from deeply rooted fears of self-preservation. Classism, and homophobia pretty much work the same way. In short, fear creates the illusion that a certain group, or sector, is an imminent threat to our existence and success. And to give Christopher Nolan credit, there are a lot of empires that fell because of this. There were also dozens of revolutions that have not only changed the power structure of the social elite, but the country as a whole. This is perhaps why these isms exist. They instill fear in us and throw us off balance so that we can be easily controlled and manipulated. Afterall, almost every character in Batmen Begins is fueled by fear. The Scarecrow uses fear and illusions to break down his victims. The Butler Alfred fears that Bruce Wayne will totally rot away if he doesn’t confront his fears of guilt and shame. And Batman himself is afraid that if he can’t save Gotham City from dying, then he himself is doomed.
The League of Shadows moves in. Their goal is to restore balance.
The only problem is, Gotham City is far too corrupt to be saved. Instead, these shadowy beings view Gotham City as a wildfire that must be vanquished before it destroys everything in its way. Only Bruce Wayne believes that Gotham can be saved. Afterall, there are still good people in the city who deserve to live. Then, Bruce Wayne has to do something that is incredibly difficult. He has to fight against the only family he’s ever known, and confront the one man, who showed him truth and purpose. When faced with this fear of losing the only real family he had, he could let it cripple him, paralyzing him to a point of self-destruction. Or, he could use this fear as a fuel source, igniting his passion and desire to not only save Gotham City, but also himself. And that’s what fear is my friends. It is a source of power that can be alchemized into courage. Yet, fear can be so strong that it becomes painful. Yet, if we worked through the pain, we could use that fear as our superpower.
