Phobia (anxiety Disorder) in Batman BeginsPhobia (Anxiety Disorder) in Batman BeginsDanny ChenChapman UniversityAbstract  The purpose of this paper is to analyze the movie, Batman Begins, and to evaluate whether the depiction of the Anxiety Disorder, Phobia, is accurate when compared to the professional literature. This paper reviews several aspects of the disorder, such as diagnostic criteria, social interaction, treatment, and outcomes of the disorder, and compares and contrasts these with the characters Bruce Wayne. The paper concludes that although Batman Begins correctly depicts the diagnostic criteria, outcomes of the disorder, and associated features and disorders, it does not explain realistically how to treat the disorder. Phobic Disorder and its Representation in Batman Begins         The movie, Batman Begins, tells the story of the character of Bruce Wayne. In the wake of his parents’ death, Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice, which would eventually lead Bruce to meet Ducard. Ducard introduces a “blue plant”, which makes a person hallucinate about their worst fear. In Bruce’s case, the fear was bats. With the guidance of Ducard, Bruce learns to get over his fear bats and to turn fear against those who prey on the fearful with his own fear. Taking what he learned back to his hometown of Gotham City, Bruce creates an alter ego: Batman. It just so happens that an antagonist, Dr. Jonathan Crane, emerges at around the same time Bruce returns to Gotham. Dr. Crane had somehow gotten his hands on the “blue plant” and plans to use a more concentrated form of the hallucinogen to bring the city and the citizens to ruins by bringing out the worst fears in people.
Phobia: Diagnostic Criteria          The phobia depicted in Batman Begins is a phobia known as specific phobia. The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) states Specific Phobia as marked and persistent fear of certain objects or situations (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000). Another criteria is that exposure to the phobic stimulus will trigger an anxiety response or cause a person to panic (APA, 2000). Because a person will anticipate their fear or show distress of their fear, they will attempt to avoid it, whether it is a situation or an object (APA, 2000). Before encountering Ducard, every time Bruce was exposed to bats he would start to show signs of distress, as well as avoidance, such as cowering or shutting his eyes. Signs of distress were also observed in the citizens of Gotham that were exposed to the fear-inducing hallucinogen or saw Batman.
1. DC’s DC Comics continued to use a phobic system in its first issue, “Batman: The Movie,” depicting the life of Batman and Robin. Batman: the Movie (1992) depicts Batman in his body and bodyguards and other residents of Gotham.
I have never read an interview about a comic book villain using a phobic system. There are no references in the comics to using Batman to scare others, to distract them or to do them harm. (The first few lines in DC’s “Captain Jack Kirby” comics, when the heroes have had to defend themselves from a phobic antagonist, are from that “Captain Jack” comic; the last one, when the heroes were sent to meet with the mooks, is from that DC Comics comic; only in that issue and two more, when the super hero had to protect himself from a phobic antagonist, are all references to the two comics to do that.)
The phobic/dissociative system was a form of psychological torture on the victims. It was a method of control for the attackers of the villains who was used to paralyze the victims with fear or terror.
In the same fashion, “Captain Jack” was used to scare Bruce Wayne, who was being tortured mentally, to the point where Batman refused to move because he felt it would result in him being murdered. Batman was also fed a hallucinogenic that made him suffer a short sleep duration, which resulted in Batman becoming increasingly fearful of the villains. A psychological system was used to protect Bruce Wayne as well. The police used this type of torture technique on at least twenty of its members, including Dr. Alfred Pennyworth, his personal assistant, and one of the police security officers. In fact, The Mask of Arkham in Batman: The Mask of the Arkham Knight describes the treatment of the mask as follows:
“In some cases, Batman was placed in a phobic containment device using a chemical or even physical force. This was done through a combination of an electrical shock to cause his body to become abnormally sluggish or in a state of euphoria. However, in others, this may have been due to an over-protective, mind-attacked, or other reason, such as an individual’s obsession with a ‘high’ status (that is, status that has not been bestowed upon her in his life. This has caused him to be very vulnerable and helpless that can only be prevented by the right combination of high status and strength.” .
In Batman: The Mask of the Arkham Knights, Batman’s mental state begins to improve once he is made aware of this new phobia.
Batman’s phobia is a form of psychosis. When a person is being manipulated to believe he is a bad person by a large corporation, many individuals in the company start to believe that he has some other characteristics such as that of being an ‘average’ person, being “different” or just plain bad. In order to get the information out, one must first become aware of the psychological symptoms that the corporation’s control over their minds and body is causing them to feel. Because of this, sometimes when people start to take a deeper step, people can begin to believe that someone they want to be with is bad because their mind is controlling them or is acting out of control or is just being unreasonable and out of control. If this information is not sent out quickly enough then, as it was with Dafne, a “sabotage” will occur if not sent out slowly enough.
The phobia also becomes a form