Deep Throat and Batman

(No, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but bear with me.)

One friend commented on the movie with “After the first half of the movie, watching Bruce take down multiple fighters on his own, you don’t quite buy that he needs the costume. At least I didn’t.”

To which I reply with the unmasking of Deep Throat.

For the last three decades, the secret identity of Deep Throat was one of great speculation inside Washington and among mystery followers and Watergate buffs. Clearly, he was connected (I was about to type wired but realized that would be an unfortunate choice of words) inside the Nixon White House, but no one was sure exactly who he was.

Which meant that his actions were looked on by the nation as a shadowy figure unafraid to speak the truth and to bring down corruption.

But now, he stands revealed as Mark Felt, former deputy director of the FBI. And now that we know that about him, people are ascribing all sorts of motivations to his actions. He was a disgruntled employee who was pissed about his job, he was a crackpot, he was a Hoover legacy, he was a traitor, he’s an old man who just trying to cash in, and on and on an on.

When Deep Throat was anonymous, he was less and more than a man. He was above the petty motives– they may still have been there, but they didn’t enter into the equation. All we had was the knowledge he chose to share with Woodward and Bernstein, the knowledge that something was very very wrong inside the Oval Office.

And so it is with Batman. If Bruce Wayne was known to be doing what he does at night, Gothamites would remark on his personal issues and demons, pundits would call him names and impugn his tactics and wardrobe, and he’d be much less effective in what he tries to do. By remaining cloaked, we only judge Batman on his actions, and what he might do next. Sometimes, you need a cipher instead of a specific.