ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Media Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1553269
This article is part of the Research TopicSuperheroes and Villains: Engagement, Effects, and EmpowermentView all 5 articles
Faces of depression. Why do we need Batman, Joker and Bane?
Provisionally accepted
- Titu Maiorescu University, Bucharest, Romania
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Since 1939 when they first appeared in comic books, Batman and his antagonists have been fascinating the spectators with their endless drama. How can we understand the longevity of these characters in popular culture and the enthusiasm of the audience? Using a qualitative methodology informed by object relations theory and film analysis, the authors indicates that the drama enfolding on the cinema screen mirrors the depressive dynamics taking place in the inner word of the viewer who, by watching the movie, can master or, at least, keep at bay the terrifying conflicts between fragments of his ego represented by Batman, Joker and Bane. In Gotham City, like in everyone's inner personality, the human conflicts related to dependency, loss, mourning and change are always present.
Keywords: Superheroes, Batman, Joker, Bane, Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne, Depression, film psychoanalysis
Received: 30 Dec 2024; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Reghintovschi and Reghintovschi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Simona Reghintovschi, Titu Maiorescu University, Bucharest, Romania
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