Bat-vertising Wasn't Always a Thing?
I struggled a little with what I wanted to say about Eileen Meehan’s essay, “Holy Commodity Fetish, Batman!: The Political Economy of a Commercial Intertext.” The essay, is on the surface, a bit dense and uninteresting, as one could probably guess based on a title that long. I also felt as though she would make points about the commercialization and success of Batman as it relates to the actual character. Instead, she focused solely on the different types of advertising that Time Warner used for Tim Burton’s film. I didn’t really care about the methods used in promoting a film, no matter how excessive Meehan thought they were.
However, now that I’ve had a chance to sit and think a little bit about the essay, I think it’s odd how apparently surprised Meehan is at the commercialization of Batman. Perhaps it’s because I am used to a time wherein comic book movies and TV shows are coming out in droves that I don’t understand her fascination. Just last year Marvel’s release of Guardians of the Galaxy was able to resurrect and revitalize a C-string group of heroes. Even before the wave of superhero movies, I remember there being at least five superhero-based cartoons during my childhood.
Furthermore, I didn’t really understand why Meehan seemed so fascinated that by Batman becoming such a popular figure. I suppose that it must simply be because Tim Burton’s Batman proved so successful, and perhaps helped spark the current trend of superhero movies today?
It feels very normal to me that Batman would be advertised all over the place, from music videos, to shirts, to bumper stickers. None of this is new to me. Batman has held a prominent place in pop culture for the entirety of my life. You could go up to any child and ask them who their favorite superhero is, and chances are that they would answer with, “Batman!” It seems stranger to me for Batman to not be so popular as he is today.
