Now, normally I don’t go around bashing people. Heck, I never go around bashing people. Even here with this, I’d like to state before hand that I’m sure this man has plenty of admirable qualities. He’s creative, a talented writer, and I’m sure a relatively nice guy. That doesn’t mean I can’t dislike him. It’s my right to dislike someone, and my right to state as much openly. I’ll be doing so here.
For those of you who don’t know, Frank Miller is a famous comic book auther. He’s worked on Daredevil, Spawn, he wrote Batman: Dark Knight Returns (which created the image of Batman as the dark, gritty character many fans see him as today), 300, and Sin City. I’ll admit I liked the movie adaptation of 300 (it was well directed, visually impressive, and an all around awesome film), but even then there were things that disappointed me.
My problem with Mr. Miller is this: he paints an image of humanity I don’t appreciate in the slightest. Let me explain. First off, the heroes. Batman, almost the entire cast of Sin City, Spawn…all are dark, very disturbed characters in his comics. They are not heroes in the sense that I like to think of the word. Sure, they may accomplish great things, and fight injustice, but the point remains that they are not the kind of people I’d like to look up to. Half of them are murdering thugs, the other half only do what they do because of a troubled past, and the third half (yes I’m using three halves shut up) are just freaking insane. These are not heroes. Heroes are people you can look up to, that you can aspire to be like. You don’t have to be insane or troubled in order to do great deeds with your life, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to you.
The other image I don’t appreciate is Miller’s depiction of women. Oh, don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of strong, independent women in his comics. They’re also all prostitutes. I wish I was joking, but I’m not. I have yet to see a single woman in his comics or movies that didn’t, well, ho themselves out at one point or another. Worse, they are often just as murderous, disturbed, or insane as the male heroes in the comics. Again, he seems to think that a woman would have to be nuts to be strong or independent…which is just plain not true. My Mom is one of the strongest women I’ve ever heard of, and she’s perfectly sane thank you very much.
To close, I’d like to end with something I found in my favorite fanfiction. It’s a ongoing Batman fanfic, and in this book (the fic is so long that it’s split into lots of books), one F. Miller comes to Gotham City. In this fictional world, he wrote “Catwoman: An Unauthorized Biography”, in which Catwoman is portrayed as an uneducated former prostitute and the victim of abuse, rather than the educated, strong, self-made woman she is. Needless to say, she and her friends are not happy about him being in town, and they pull together to punish him for his lies. Oracle hacks into the electronic billboard in Gotham Square so that it streams all of the worst reviews his work has had one after the other. Selina Kyle (Catwoman) goes to lunch at a fancy restaurant with several superheroes in civvies and the secret author of Gotham’s most popular society column, where they have a long conversation about the false portrayal of Cleopatra over the centuries, and end with talking about F. Miller’s portrayal of woman during his career (which convinces said columnist to write an article bashing the man, exactly what Selina and friends planned). In the end, Batman himself confronts Miller in his hotel…….and says this:
“F. Miller,” Batman growled, emerging from the darkness, “We need to talk. We need to talk about why you tear down heroes. We need to talk about what a normal human being can achieve with drive and determination. We need to talk about bravery, intelligence, and strength both physical and of character. We’re going to get to the bottom of why you tell people heroes don’t exist.
“There are individuals out there with initiative, ability and vision, who develop their gifts for the sake of being the best people they can be. There are people who give of themselves, who risk their lives and their happiness, to make the world better. You tell people that’s a lie. You tell them an ignorant whore is more realistic than a bright, witty, sexy, and cultured woman. You tell them an obsessed emotional cripple is more realistic than nobility of mind and spirit, and a life marked by action and purpose.
“Does that make it easier to live with being a petty, selfish parasite?
“So what if you’ve never done anything worthwhile with your setbacks: it’s okay, it’s just that you’re not so damaged and stunted as some. You’d have to be real messed up to care so much. You’d have to be one pathetic and limited individual to step up to the line and give of yourself to make the world better.
“I see what you are, Miller, you and those who emulate you, and those who insist your sick vision is the way things are. It’s sick, and it’s sad. But if it stopped there, it would be no concern of mine.
“But when innocents start believing your twisted version of things, when they think THAT is realistic, when they think the notion that men and women can achieve great things is a childish fairytale… then it is very much my concern. Because there are heroes in this world. One person can stand up and make a difference. And if one person stops believing that because of what you’ve written, I will rededicate the rest of my life to destroying the rest of yours.
“Be out of my city by sundown tomorrow.”
At the end of the book, the author of the fanfic leaves this note:
Two words: Flight 93.
Heroes are real. Miller is wrong. Dark Knight Returns, Year One and all the rest is wrong. Anybody that tells you otherwise is trying to pull you, me, and our heroes down to their level. Don’t let them.
Wow. Perfectly stated. I think she summed up my thoughts well enough, so I’ll leave it at that.
