Babel Clash

Ah, the debate continues.  Clearly, this is bigger than Batman.  This is about perception itself.  This is about fantasy versus reality, magic versus science.

Really, this is all about semantics.

So let’s walk away from the specific example of Batman for a moment and speak about fantasy and sci fi in general.  It should hardly come as a surprise that as a writer of fantasy that I like fantasy and sci fi.  I like robots and spaceships, vampires and otherdimensional moon monsters.  I enjoy a story all the more if it has a raccoon god or a telepathic alien thrown in the mix.  But I enjoy fantasy in all its forms.

I enjoy martial arts movies where people do amazing stunts.  From a realistic perspective, what they’re doing is real.  It is possible for Jackie Chan to jump through the rungs of a ladder, land in a shopping cart, and slide out, delivering a kick to the bad guy.  I’ve seen him do it.  But possibility is not probability.  Or even feasibility.  Every stunt is a highly rehearsed moment that often doesn’t go right the first time.  (Witness Chan’s outtakes at the end of virtually every one of his films.)  The action sequence we end up getting is the best of all possible worlds, a highly polished dance staged to appear spontaneous, surprising, and thrilling.  It is a fantasy though because while it is possible through the magic of movies, it is just about impossible in real life.

Fantasy is a wider genre than just superheroes and dragons.  And magic is more than just fireballs and teleportation spells.  Such distinctions might be important for the universe the story takes place in, but they are usually artificial.  They are limitations placed on the reality so that everything doesn’t turn into chaos.  Now, in the interest of not repeating myself, I won’t suggest that superheroes, who live in a universe of infinite possibilities, are the ultimate fantasy characters.  That they are, to a one, magical beings even if many of them aren’t technically magical.

Honestly, I’ve always felt the definition between fantasy and sci fi, between realism and fantasy, to be a thin one.  It’s always struck me as odd that people want to read about a character like Batman, a character who is as mythic and supernatural as Ulysses or Beowulf, and decide that he isn’t.  But his accomplishments, his skills, his equipment, all this is the stuff of legend.  Individually, you could argue that any of them are possible.  But are they probable.  Could anyone do what Batman does?  Clearly, the answer is no because we have never had a Batman in real life.

Too often in fantasy I feel that we confuse the trappings of the world with magic.  To say that Green Lantern isn’t magic, but his ring is is technically correct.  But would you be interested in reading a story about Green Lantern without his ring?  Would you like to read a story about the ring itself?  No, Hal Jordan and his ring are one character, bound together in a fantastic bargain.  Just as you could take away the ring and still have Hal Jordan, you’d destroy both elements.  Nobody wants to read about Hal Jordan, test pilot.  So the ring might be the source of his power, but it’s also the source of his popularity.  It makes him magic, and without it, he’s not that interesting.

Same with Batman.  You could have the exact same character, but take away his utility belt, his cool car, his amazing skills, and set them at a reasonable level, then no one would give a darn about Bruce Wayne.  No one wants to read the story of a boy who loses his parents and then grows up to be a business tycoon.  No, what makes Batman worth reading about is everything magical about him.

I like magical characters.  I like it when they do magical things.  And if you’d rather not label him as such to enjoy his adventures, well, it’s all just semantics in the end.  But as a fantasy writer, I have no problem enjoying fantasy because it is fantastic.  And I find labels to be an obstacle toward embracing the joy that comes from enjoying a good fantasy, rather than allowing me to appreciate them.

Clearly though, this debate will not be settled here.  I’ve had it many times before, and rarely, if ever, make any traction.  Ultimately, we enjoy what we enjoy.  Whatever labels we’re comfortable using are just there for our own convenience.  So you can call Batman a fantastic character, or a realistic character, or an awesome character.  You can call him whatever you like.

But for me, Batman IS magic.  And he always will be.

Related posts:

• It’s semantic, my dear Watson
  Batman IS NOT magic.  Batman IS fantasy, however. Lee & I seem to be working with two very different definitions of magic.  In Lee’s definition, magic is synonymous with fantasy and the words can be used interchangeably.  This definition leads inexorably to the conclusion that Batman is magic because a)...
• The rules governing super bats
  You’re absolutely right, Lee.  It’s not that I don’t like magic in my stories.  I just don’t like ill-defined magic.  I rebel against the use of magic as deus ex machina, but at the same time, I dislike book that provide a litany of rules and regulations regarding the uses...
• The Batman Fallacy
  Batman IS magic. I suppose it’s a controversial observation, but indisputable. This should be fairly obvious, but I’ll go ahead and say it anyway.  Superheroes are magic.  There is nothing truly realistic about them.  From their flimsy disguises to their amazing abilities to their absurd adventures, there’s no way around...
• Abracadabra!
  How does magic work in my books? Short answer:  However I want it to. Long answer:  Depends on the book. I don’t believe in magic, but I don’t believe in vampires or raccoon gods and that doesn’t stop me from writing about them.  Nonetheless, magic is one of those fantasy...
• Living in a fantasy world
  It’s not just the good ol’ days and the bygone eras that I miss.  I miss the things that never actually happened and the places only dreamt of. I miss Middle Earth, Narnia, Fionavar, and Prydain.  They never really existed anywhere except imagination - the authors’, mine, countless other readers’ -...