It is not without some sadness that we post this final installment in Jeremiah Lawson AKA Wenatchee the Hatchet’s epic Batman: The Agony of Loss and The Madness of Desire series. He has taken us so far beyond what any of us – even in our wildest dreams – could have imagined possible when it comes to Batman: The Animated Series, uncovering its remarkable philosophical depth, artistic daring and emotional umph, not to mention a set of psycho-spiritual parables that outshines almost all of its live-action competition. Seriously! If you’ve been reading this final chapter (on salvation), you know that…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, pt 6B
Alright, Bat-fans, we’ve just about reached the end of Jeremiah Lawson’s fantastic journey through The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire. This installment deals with a lesser known character, but one whose story happens to be one of the most striking (and explicitly Christian) instances of grace and redemption in the Gotham canon. To catch-up on this chapter, go here. Or to check out the full–and let’s face it, incredibly impressive–Table of Contents for the entire project, go here.
PART SIX: CROSSING THRESHOLDS, or Stories of Apostasy and Salvation in Gotham City
During the life of any heart this…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, pt 6A – Apostasy and Salvation in Gotham
Believe it or not, this week marks 20 years since Batman: The Animated Series made its network debut. And we would be remiss not to mark the occasion by kicking off the final chapter of Jeremiah Lawson aka Wenatchee the Hatchet’s extraordinary look at the moral and philosophical (and aesthetic) mechanics of that landmark show. To go back the beginning, click here. Otherwise, buckle your utility belt:
PART SIX: CROSSING THRESHOLDS, or Stories of Apostasy and Salvation in Gotham City
Physics is aware of phenomena which occur only at threshold magnitudes, which do not exist at all until a certain threshold encoded…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, pt 5D
Our Bat-train keeps rolling on! We’re proud to bring you the fourth and final portion of chapter five of Jeremiah Lawson’s prodigious look at the moral and philosophical underpinnings of Batman: The Animated Series. I think it’s safe to say we’ve crossed over into unchartered territory…! To begin at the beginning, go here. To catch up on this particular chapter, which deals with those characters who occupy Gotham’s moral no-man’s land, go here.
PART FIVE: AT NIGHT ALL CATS ARE GRAY
D. The Weapon of Empathy: Harley Quinn in Gotham’s Depraved Duo
Empathy, unmixed with sympathy, can be a dangerous tool in the…
A Path Through Three Prisons: Bruce Wayne in Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, Pt 3
Presenting the last part of Jeremiah Lawson AKA Wenatchee the Hatchet’s incisive series on Christopher Nolan’s recently completed Batman trilogy! Be warned: this one contains considerable spoilers for those who haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises. For part one, go here. Part two, here.
THE THIRD PRISON: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
When the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Bat trilogy opens, eight years have passed since the events of The Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne has been physically and emotionally battered by his campaign against crime as Batman, and has gone into seclusion and self-imposed exile. He pines for his lost Rachel, believing…
A Path Through Three Prisons: Bruce Wayne in Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, Pt 2
We are super pleased to bring you the middle installment of Jeremiah Lawson’s three-parter looking at the hero’s journey in Christopher Nolan’s now-completed Batman trilogy. To read part one, go here.
THE SECOND PRISON: THE DARK KNIGHT
The Dark Knight opens with a swift and violent bank robbery masterminded by the Joker. We watch as a group of masked men execute an intricately planned heist and then double-cross each other (to death) until, finally, the Joker kills the last hired thug and makes off with millions of the mob’s money. It would appear that a new breed of criminal has emerged in…
A Path Through Three Prisons: Bruce Wayne in Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, Pt 1
Rounding out a Bat-heavy week, we bring you the first part of Jeremiah Lawson’s three-part review of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy. Brace yourselves:
However strong and intelligent and wealthy and resourceful Bruce Wayne may be, his journey is one continually marked by failure. In fact, in each of Christopher Nolan’s three Batman films our protagonist’s path takes him into a different prison where he is confronted with his own guilt and weakness. In the first prison, a lost Bruce is invited to walk the road that will make him a legend. In the second, he is manipulated into a game that…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and Madness of Desire, pt 5C
Happy Dark Knight Rises Day! While the rest of the world goes insane debating the merits of the film, Jeremiah Lawson soldiers on with the real Bat-event of the century, his Agony of Loss and Madness of Desire series, detailing the equally if not more profound depiction of Gotham and its curious inhabitants found in Batman: The Animated Series. Maybe if we’re super nice, we can convince him to share his thoughts on the Nolan films as well… [UPDATE: We’ve just heard about the horrific shooting in Colorado. We hope that you will join us in praying for the victims…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and Madness of Desire, pt 5B
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and hey, there are a lot of nice rocks out there), you know that we’re in the final countdown to The Dark Knight Rises, which hits theaters on July 20th. We thought we’d feed the frenzy by bringing you the next installment of Jeremiah Lawson aka Wenatchee the Hatchet’s appropriately epic look at the full Gotham constellation of characters, both animated and otherwise. To begin at the beginning, go here. Or to read the most recent installment (on the myth of pure evil), go here.
PART 5: AT NIGHT ALL CATS ARE GRAY
B. The…
Mothers and Daughters and Bears, Oh My! Pride and Expectation in Brave
Just in time for Independence Day, a wonderful (if spoiler-heavy) review of Pixar’s latest from resident animation guru Jeremiah Lawson. Have a great Fourth and we’ll see you back here on Thursday:
Now in its 17th year of box office activity, Pixar may have entered into chronological adolescence, but the studio is far from becoming a brazen teenager who’s unaware of the past. With Brave, the people that brought us the Toy Story trilogy–arguably the greatest film trilogy originally conceived as a story for the screen–have given us a movie that, at first glance, runs the risk of being confused with…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, Part 5a
We’re back! And just in time to lead up to a certain major blockbuster, we bring you the next installment of Jeremiah Lawson’s epic treatment of the moral, philosophical and theological underpinnings of the Batman mythos, in particular as they play out in what many consider to be the most authentic and inspired incarnation of the Caped Crusader in the past 20 odd years–seriously–Batman: The Animated Series. To start at the beginning, go here. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the show:
AT NIGHT ALL CATS ARE GRAY: Tarnished Heroes and Lovable Rogues in Gotham
PART 1: CARTOONS AND THE MYTH OF PURE…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, Pt 4F
Well, Bat-fans, we’ve come to the end of the six-part “Wounds of Discovery”, Jeremiah Lawson’s dazzling excavation of the inner life of Gotham’s criminal population. While there’s still much more to come, this marks the end of a significant chapter in our survey of the DC Animated Universe. As always, to begin at the beginning, go here. For the very beginning, here.
PART FOUR: THE WOUNDS OF DISCOVERY
6. The Prison of the Self
Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy. – Proverbs 14:10
Even in laughter the heart is sad, and the end of joy is…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, Pt 4E
Ka-Pow! When we last checked in with Bats, his back was being broken by Bane (say that five times…). Now we come to the softer, but no less dangerous end of the spectrum with the fifth post in Jeremiah Lawson’s six-part Wounds of Discovery series, which explores the parables of idolatry that inform the various members of Batman’s rogues gallery, particularly as they are depicted in the brilliant and groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series. To begin at the beginning, go here. The very beginning, go here:
PART FOUR: THE WOUNDS OF DISCOVERY
5. Feet of Clay, Heart of Stone
Bad! Bad! says the…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, Pt 4D
You may remember him from such storyarcs as Knightfall, AKA the time in the 90s when Batman had his back broken. Or perhaps you’ve seen his ominous muzzle wreaking havoc on a football field in the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. However you’ve run across him, you know that Bane is one terrifying character. He also happens to be the villain Jeremiah Lawson puts under the microscope in this installment of his fascinating six-part series The Wounds of Discovery, which explores the psycho-spiritual foundations of Gotham City (and its illustrious super-community, particularly their animated iteration). To begin at the…
Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, Part 4c
You guessed it, Bat-Fans: this time The Riddler is our subject. As always, to start with, er, year one of Jeremiah Lawson’s soon-to-be-definitive exploration of Batman mythology, go here. Or to simply catch up on the current arc, the villain-themed The Wounds of Discovery, go here.
PART FOUR: THE WOUNDS OF DISCOVERY
3. The Life and Death of the Mind
All this I tested by wisdom and I said, “I am determined to be wise” — but this was beyond me. Ecclesiastes 7:28
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs…
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