Race and Ethnicity in Batman

Summary of Race in Batman

When looking at race and ethnicity in the Batman films, it is important to keep in mind the context at the time. Due to the four films being made in different decades, there were changing ideas about race, and the impact of this is shown in the films. It is important to note that in no films are any of the leads played by people of colour, and there are only two black actors in prominent supporting roles - Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. There is also a black supporting character in Batman vs Superman, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, however he is from the universe of Superman, and never meets Batman. There are very little supporting roles taken by actors of colour, and although the first scenes of Batman Begins take place in a Nepalese jail, very few of the prisoners have a speaking role. It is as though they are there to highlight Bruce Wayne’s whiteness and difference. One thing I noticed whilst watching the films was that many villains are foreign, whereas the heroes are always, if not American, then Western. Catwoman has a Russian alter ego in the 1966 Batman, and this nationality is significant. This is because the film was made during the Cold War, and so it was important to paint Americans as positive and Russians as negative. The 1989 Batman is an exception, as the villains are all American. In fact, the only non American character is Bruce Wayne’s servant, Alfred. The most recent two Batman films have been made after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and during the growing threat of ISIS. This might possibly be the reason for the opening threat of 2016’s Batman v Superman taking place in a Middle Eastern country that attempts to hold Amy Adams’ journalist character hostage. This mimics real life occurrences, and is a more real threat than the Russians of the earlier films. In both The Dark Knight Rises and Batman vs Superman, there is an emphasis on fear of things we don’t understand. In The Dark Knight Rises this is Bane, as his accent is never specified and his origins are never fully revealed. There is a fear of Superman throughout the 2016 movie, and this is one of the key elements of the plot. This plays into the public’s fear of the unknown, but is less explicitly political than Batman (1966). 

The Role That Race Plays

In modern times, we often see black people being portrayed as criminals in the media. This is due to the scapegoating of issues in society onto vulnerable classes, this often being ethnic minorities and lower classes. However, this does not seem to be present in the Batman films. There are a few criminals of colour, but this seems to be purely for tokenism, as there are also minorities in the background of many scenes. Although it could be seen as 'progressive' to have many different types of criminal shown, it is rather the opposite. Having a majority of white criminals both victimises the working class, as I have stated in my 'Class' section, and also indicates to the audience that ethnic minorities only need to be included for tokenism. There are only three supporting black characters throughout the films, and no asian characters of note. This completely portrays the film industries problem with casting ethnic minorities, and shows how little thought is being put into changing this problem.

Conclusion

Overwhelmingly white casts are commonplace in the media, and having a person of colour cast as a leading role in a franchise such as Batman would do a lot to spark a change in this. This is not acted upon, however, and so there is still a lack of people of colour in all the Batman movies. There is very little effort put into enhancing visibility of minority groups, no matter what race this is, and it is shocking that this is the case both in 1966 and 2016, 50 years on. So much has changed for the better in society, even though we still have a long way to go, and this is most definitely not reflected in the Batman franchises.