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The Batman
Movie

The Batman

2022 • Action, Crime, Drama

Woke Score
6
out of 10

Plot

When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, the Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement.

Overall Series Review

The Batman presents a Gotham City narrative that is heavily infused with modern political and social critique. The central conflict reframes the traditional superhero story into an indictment of systemic corruption and inherited privilege, forcing the protagonist to confront the complicity of his own wealthy, ancestral class. Catwoman serves as the narrative's voice of intersectional awareness, directly challenging Batman's perspective as a 'rich white dude' and centering her mission on vengeance for society's overlooked victims, particularly women preyed upon by powerful men. While the main male lead is not depicted as incompetent, his motivation is significantly re-cast as a response to the failures of the traditional institutions of his society. The film’s pervasive sense of decay and rot, where all established authority is corrupt, functions as a thorough deconstruction of civilizational institutions.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics7/10

The Catwoman character is established as a woman of color whose motivations are explicitly tied to class and gender oppression, stating that the powerful figures in the city are 'rich white assholes.' Batman is forced to reckon with the concept of his 'white privilege' and the fact that his family's wealth is rooted in the systemic corruption of Gotham. The Riddler's followers are depicted as an online collective of white male rage and entitlement, which is a clear cultural and political parallel.

Oikophobia8/10

The film’s central theme is the utter decay and corruption of all civic institutions in Gotham, including the police, government, and the Wayne family legacy itself. The city is portrayed as a fundamentally sick and broken home, suggesting a complete failure of the inherited civilizational structure. The protagonist's ancestral wealth is presented as being compromised and part of the foundational problem, requiring a moral repudiation of his heritage to move forward.

Feminism6/10

Catwoman is a highly capable and autonomous female fighter who drives a significant portion of the plot. She confronts Batman about male privilege and violence against women, giving her a 'Girl Boss' motivation centered on social justice and vengeance. The new mayoral candidate is a Black woman set up to restore the city. The dynamic, however, still relies on the traditional Catwoman-Batman romance, and she is subject to some damsel-in-distress moments, which somewhat balances the rating.

LGBTQ+3/10

The Catwoman character is canonically bisexual and this is obliquely acknowledged through her relationship with another woman, a subplot that motivates her actions. However, her sexuality is a marginal detail to the main narrative and is not explored in depth or used as a vehicle for political lecturing on gender theory. The focus remains on her anti-corruption and class-based motivation.

Anti-Theism7/10

The conflict between Batman's non-lethal, retributive justice and The Riddler's lethal, anti-establishment 'justice' creates a moral vacuum where both vigilantes operate on subjective moral systems. The narrative questions where true justice comes from and implicitly rejects transcendent moral authority, embracing a purely secular, man-made path of self-defined 'right' and 'wrong' based on individual or societal needs.