Post by Cary Friedman on Mar 20, 2007 15:53:01 GMT -5
Mining wisdom from a superhero
By ANDREW A. SMITH
Scripps Howard News Service
2007-03-20
What life lessons can one learn from Batman? Author Cary A. Friedman finds more than you'd expect in his book, Wisdom From the Batcave ($13.95, Compass Books).
I can actually hear eyebrows going up among comic-book fans (sort of a "sproing" noise), so let's dispense with the obvious problem first: Yes, as currently presented in DC Comics and "Batman Begins," the psychologically damaged and emotionally stunted Dark Knight isn't a role model for anybody. His monomania makes him one heckuva crime fighter, and his complex and taciturn behavior makes him a fascinating character. But as currently written, his unresolved childhood trauma renders him incapable of forming lasting relationships or experiencing the other commonplace joys of life. So Mister Rogers, he ain't.
Yet this wasn't always the case.
In the '40s and '50s, he was a pretty standard, square-jawed hero, and in the late '60s he was so lighthearted that he was sometimes played for camp. Even as the character got grimmer and grittier in the '70s and '80s, he was still a pretty healthy role model -- an ideal father figure for Robin, the indispensable man in the Justice League and a wise, well-adjusted adult (except for the dressing-up-as-a-flying-rodent part).
It is from these Bat-eras that Friedman, a rabbi who consults with the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies, draws his inspiration. Further, the life lessons the author examines in Wisdom From the Batcave are generic enough to be found in any number of fictional heroes, whether they come from comic books, novels, movies or television shows. It so happens that Friedman really likes Batman, so that's the wellspring from which he chooses to drink.
Yes, I did say "generic." Which is not a complaint. Because there's nothing new under the sun, and life really isn't as hard as we try to make it. Friedman generally points out the obvious, because it's our blindness to the obvious, or our inability to simply do the obvious thing, that causes us so much misery. Most advice for a happier life tends to be fairly simple -- it's the execution that's hard.
Which is the beauty of Wisdom From the Batcave. In chapters like "The Blessing of Family," "How To Triumph Over Adversity" and "The Value of Strong Principles," Friedman describes in brief, straightforward and joyful prose the obvious steps to a healthier, happier life. And then he demonstrates the "how" with examples of Batman and his supporting cast taking those steps one by one. Whether you're a Bat-fan or not, those examples bring it all home.
Simple? Only if you consider Robert L. Short's The Gospel According to Peanuts or Sun Tzu's The Art of War simple. Wisdom From the Batcave falls in naturally with these books, which also make the complexities of life seem simple and familiar. Because they are.
And we need to be reminded of that now and then. Even if it takes a guy who dresses up as a flying rodent, and a rabbi, to do so. Recommended.
By ANDREW A. SMITH
Scripps Howard News Service
2007-03-20
What life lessons can one learn from Batman? Author Cary A. Friedman finds more than you'd expect in his book, Wisdom From the Batcave ($13.95, Compass Books).
I can actually hear eyebrows going up among comic-book fans (sort of a "sproing" noise), so let's dispense with the obvious problem first: Yes, as currently presented in DC Comics and "Batman Begins," the psychologically damaged and emotionally stunted Dark Knight isn't a role model for anybody. His monomania makes him one heckuva crime fighter, and his complex and taciturn behavior makes him a fascinating character. But as currently written, his unresolved childhood trauma renders him incapable of forming lasting relationships or experiencing the other commonplace joys of life. So Mister Rogers, he ain't.
Yet this wasn't always the case.
In the '40s and '50s, he was a pretty standard, square-jawed hero, and in the late '60s he was so lighthearted that he was sometimes played for camp. Even as the character got grimmer and grittier in the '70s and '80s, he was still a pretty healthy role model -- an ideal father figure for Robin, the indispensable man in the Justice League and a wise, well-adjusted adult (except for the dressing-up-as-a-flying-rodent part).
It is from these Bat-eras that Friedman, a rabbi who consults with the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies, draws his inspiration. Further, the life lessons the author examines in Wisdom From the Batcave are generic enough to be found in any number of fictional heroes, whether they come from comic books, novels, movies or television shows. It so happens that Friedman really likes Batman, so that's the wellspring from which he chooses to drink.
Yes, I did say "generic." Which is not a complaint. Because there's nothing new under the sun, and life really isn't as hard as we try to make it. Friedman generally points out the obvious, because it's our blindness to the obvious, or our inability to simply do the obvious thing, that causes us so much misery. Most advice for a happier life tends to be fairly simple -- it's the execution that's hard.
Which is the beauty of Wisdom From the Batcave. In chapters like "The Blessing of Family," "How To Triumph Over Adversity" and "The Value of Strong Principles," Friedman describes in brief, straightforward and joyful prose the obvious steps to a healthier, happier life. And then he demonstrates the "how" with examples of Batman and his supporting cast taking those steps one by one. Whether you're a Bat-fan or not, those examples bring it all home.
Simple? Only if you consider Robert L. Short's The Gospel According to Peanuts or Sun Tzu's The Art of War simple. Wisdom From the Batcave falls in naturally with these books, which also make the complexities of life seem simple and familiar. Because they are.
And we need to be reminded of that now and then. Even if it takes a guy who dresses up as a flying rodent, and a rabbi, to do so. Recommended.