After hearing that the newest Batman film was the sexiest yet and that it was possibly for the girls, the gays, and the theys, I had to go see it. However, stepping out of the theater I was left disappointed. Nobody would deny that Robert Pattinson is a heartthrob, but the time still has yet to come where you could say that Batman has won the female audience.
If I had to describe this Batman film, or any Batman film for the matter, in one word, that word would be hyper-masculinity. Everything about this film is a man’s wet dream. From the bulky stylization of the Batman costume, to the unnecessarily long motorcycle scenes and car chase, to the low-level dialogue, this film is for the men and the men only. Even the shirtless scene that had no reason to exist other than to give female viewers 5 minutes of eye-candy still felt like it pandered to the homoerotic gaze when it is surrounded by a sea of masculine influences.
Coupled with the hyper-masculine nature of the film was the objectification of women. There were a total of three notable female characters within the film, one who was sexualized, one who was murdered, and one who was almost assassinated. The superhero and comic book genre has had a rampant history of including women as plot devices for the needs of men, which still seems to be the case in 2022. If not for a flimsy romantic subplot, the female lead, Selina Kyle (AKA Cat Woman), played by Zoe Kravitz, would see her appearances cut basically in half.
In an age where toxic masculinity is no longer being accepted blindly, I expected the characterization of this film’s Batman to be more than superficial. After seeing the trailers and the publicity surrounding the release of the film, I expected a Batman who would display complex emotional reactions that tied into his backstory and the plot of the film. I expected to see a man cry. My expectations were not met. To keep in line with the masculine gaze, Pattinson’s Batman is simply vengeful (which was noted several times throughout the course of the film, in which he declares himself to be Vengence). Full of anger and testosterone, the depth we see into this character is about as shallow as a dinner plate.
It is imperative that the superhero genre steps away from the overt masculinity of their entertainment. Long gone are the days where any company related to the comic genre can confidently say that their audience has a male majority. Not only is this line of thinking harmful to female audiences, but it also harms male audiences. Toxic masculinity is asbestos for the male gender. It is important to show the value of male femininity, to show that a vast range of emotions is what makes a man strong—what makes him human. Incorporating fleshed out female protagonists shows men that women are their equals, and shows women that they deserve everything that a man is handed.