Beginning of Commentary

The following items that you will see are a collection of pictures, videos, websites, articles, and audio all pertaining to Batman (even if, at the beginning, this might not seem explicitly so). They come to create what we have been working towards throughout this semester, known as a ‘Useless Archive’. But in their uselessness comes their uniqueness. They are a collection of artifacts relating to one experience with Batman, and so do not work well together to form ‘the’ grand narrative that you might find in somewhere that boasts a little more credibility.

There are a few central themes that I hope will become apparent to you as you view my useless archive of Batman. I hope that you will see the MANY ways in which this brand has pushed their world into ours as much as possible. Beyond gaining a financial return on this, I have found that they have gained something incomparably more valuable from their fans – loyalty, love, affection, a sense of nostalgia when they think of the brand, and a desire to take it upon themselves to continue the branding. Because of this, the fans have found a reason, an internal need because of their established relationship with the brand, to create their own reactions to it. Because of this, we are given so many things that contribute to the Useless Batman Archive. In my own archive, I have seen everything from Dali remixes, personalized sneakers, homemade Batpods, nail art, memes, chalk art, inch tall crocheted superheroes, video parody mash-ups, overhead pass graffiti, and most things in between are likely out there for somebody to find. The point? The more a brand puts itself out there, the more fans take it upon themselves to react to it, and with Batman this seems to be a never ending cycle. The brand seems to self-perpetuate.

Another theme that I have discovered is how fans have the ability to truly grow with the brand. Batman did not turn out to be something that was left to one medium, or one series, or in any way was a ‘one hit wonder’. People actually can’t seem to leave it alone. The story has entered almost all mediums I can think of, and has been allowed to grow and develop from its conception. While I had known that Batman has been around for awhile, the idea that people can actually grow up with the brand was something that I had not really considered until my interview with _______, the manager at a local comic book store. He told me how a child can come in and want Batman, and so he can give them one comic series, and in a few years when they come in ready for something a little more elevated, he can then refer them to a new series, and so on. The age and maturity of a fan does not restrict the type of Batman that they can partake in and enjoy; no matter the age, there is something ‘Batman’ for them available in most mediums.

***continue to discuss other themes, especially ones outlined in interviews***

Begin placing text with images.

Discuss how they could go out and approach the same assignment, or the same goal, and come up with a completely different archive because it would be in their hands and would highly relate to their own experiences. They also would just get something completely different out of it.