Batman and the Shadows of Modernity: A Critical Genealogy on Contemporary Hero in the Age of Nihilism...

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Rafael Carrión-Arias

Batman and the Shadows of Modernity

A Critical Genealogy on Contemporary Hero in the Age of Nihilism

Rafael Carrión-Arias

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Hardback

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English

Routledge
19 July 2024

Literary studies: from c 1900 -; Graphic novels: history & criticism; Genealogy, heraldry, names & honours; Philosophy; Popular culture

Series: Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory

This book aims to study the Batman narrative, or Bat-narrative, from the point of view of its nodal relationship to modern narrative. To this end, it offers for the first time a new type of methodology adequate to the object, which delves both into materials scarcely studied in this context and well-known materials seen in a new light. This is a multidisciplinary work aimed at both the specialist and the global reader, bringing together comic studies, philosophical criticism, and literary criticism in a debate on the fate of our current global civilization.

By: Rafael Carrión-Arias
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032423142
ISBN 10: 1032423145
Series: Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 19 July 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction Chapter 1: Batman and the Superhero Comics: A Contribution to the Hermeneutics of the Genre The Object of the Analysis On Superheroes and Ideologies The Batman Canon and the Category of Genre The Method of Analysis Towards the Specificity of the Object How is Knowledge Possible in the Case of Comic Book Hermeneutics? Chapter 2: Gotham and the Soul of the Contemporary City Batman: from the City to the Panel Gotham City, the Crime and the Identity: “I Shall Become a Bat” Elseworlds: Batman in Moscow Chapter 3: Batman and “the Political”: Tonight, He is the Law Constitutionalist State and State of Exception Action and Inequality: Thomas Hobbes and the Founding of Modern State Crisis, Power, and Decisionism: Carl Schmitt and the Suspension of Law Superheroes and American Exceptionalism Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Fascism! Political Technologies of the Body: Reactionarism and its Methods Punishment and Political Body Utilitarianism and Power-knowledge “Whodunit?”: Batman, Holmes, and the Hermeneutics of Detection Induction and Hyperspecialization Hyperspecialization and Discipline Batman and the Panopticon: Surveillance and Punishment Between Biopolitics and Sovereignty: The Superhero and Governance Chapter 4: The Savior and Nihilism About Nihilism I. S. Turgenev: Fathers and Sons and the Generational Break F. M. Dostoevsky: Nihilism as Split F. Nietzsche: Nihilism as the Death of References Modern Hero as a Terrorist The Knight-errant vs. the Displacement of the Modern Episteme From Dostoevsky to Batman Avengers: Resentment and Reaction Excursus: Batman Gothic (Variations on a Romantic Theme) Chapter 5: On Villains and Supermen The “Last Man” vs. the “Meaning/Sense of Earth” The Supervillain Affair In the Gallery of Mirrors Joker: “This is my Card” Madness and Otherness Towards a Genealogy of Madness From the Tragic to the Classical Experience of Madness The Medicalization of Madness The Doctor, the Vigilante, and the Asylum Visions of Madness Diderot’s Rameau’s Nephew: Towards a Typology of the Underground Dostoevsky’s Underground Man: The Great Resistance The Joker, the Camel and the Lion “Let’s Put a Smile on that Face”: Towards a Philosophy of the Carnival Chapter 6: Joker and the Carnival of Laughter Joker and “Grotesque Realism” The Polyphonic Novel Discourse in the Comic An Exercise in Polyphonic Reading in the Superheroic Comic-book (I): Arkham Asylum. A Serious House on Serious Earth An Exercise in Polyphonic Reading in the Superheroic Comic-book (II): Luthor… You Are Driving Me Sane

Rafael Carrión-Arias is a professor of Philosophy and Literature at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). He is also a specialist in cinema and comics. He has been a visiting researcher at numerous internationally renowned research institutions (Stanford University, UCLA, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, University of Cape Town, Moscow Lomonosov University, Taras Shevchenko Universitet Kyiv, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, etc.). He has collaborated with the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences on the critical edition in German of the complete works of Marx and Engels (MEGA II) and has been a research associate at the Marc-Bloch Center (CNRS/Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin). He has been a regular contributor to the M. Gorki Institute of International Literature of the Moscow Academy of Sciences. He has translated Nietzsche into Spanish.

Reviews for Batman and the Shadows of Modernity: A Critical Genealogy on Contemporary Hero in the Age of Nihilism

""[...] Batman and the Shadows of Modernity offers a significant contribution to both superhero studies and broader philosophical discourse. By positioning Batman as a figure intertwined with the moral uncertainties and existential struggles of the modern world, Carrión-Arias transcends typical superhero analysis and opens up new avenues for understanding the character’s cultural relevance. This book not only deepens our appreciation for Batman as a reflection of modern nihilism but also lays the groundwork for future scholarship on how superheroes function as ideological symbols in an era marked by fragmentation and crisis. As both a cultural critique and a philosophical treatise, Batman and the Shadows of Modernity stands as an essential text for scholars, philosophers, and comic book enthusiasts alike, one that will likely shape future discussions on the intersection of power, identity, and morality in the superhero genre."" Felipe Rodolfo Hendriksen, International Journal of Comic Art “The book seeks to trace a genealogy around the conception of the modern hero, in clear relation to a nihilistic reading of it, trying to locate in it the figure of Batman as the foundational superhero of modern heroism. To do so, he tries to analyze the elements that nurture the character and that elevate him to this category in a masterful way [...].” Andrea Hormaechea Ocaña, CuCo, Cuadernos de cómic [“[E]l libro busca trazar una genealogía en torno a la concepción de héroe moderno, en clara relación con una lectura nihilista del mismo, tratando de ubicar en ella a la figura de Batman como superhéroe fundacional de la heroicidad moderna. Para ello, trata de analizar los elementos que nutren al personaje y que lo elevan a esta categoría de forma magistral […].” Andrea Hormaechea Ocaña, CuCo, Cuadernos de cómic]