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As The Batman soars high at the box office across the globe, the film is now under scrutiny over one of its scenes, which is being deemed insensitive. The Robert Pattinson-led has just hit the big screens and has already made around $270 million at the box office worldwide. The movie opened to raving reviews from the critics and high praise from the audience.
The DC flick ignited a debate between the Dark Knight fans, who are arguing over which is the best version of the vigilante. With only just one film, Rob is already taking the top position and has become the new favourite iteration for several fans.
However, amongst all the praise and applaud, The Batman has found itself under controversy. The starting scene where a face-painted gang of thugs follows an Asian man off the subway with the intent of physically assaulting him is under scrutiny. It continued with the vigilante beating and scaring off the men, but despite being a sympathetic saviour, it is visible that the Asian man is fearful of him too.
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It is also the scene where Robert Pattinson delivers the line, “I’m vengeance.” As per the report, this scene has upset the Asian Americans, who find it insensitive to show it as a time of increased violence against the community. Even if the intent of The Batman scene was not racially motivated, some people find it offensive.
A few critics also expressed the same and have called the scene “triggering.” “The Batman was a good two-hour movie inside of a not-as-good three-hour movie. And if you’re Asian American and have been paying attention the first ten minutes—in which a gang of subway thugs violently assaults an Asian American man on a platform—are triggering as hell,” wrote one critic on Twitter.
It wasn’t just the critics who found the scene insensitive. Several other people shared their reactions to it as well. Check them out here:
Really not cool how #TheBatman decided to have a bunch of dudes beating up an Asian guy on the subway in the opening act.
This kind of ✌🏽cultural relevance✌🏽 tells me people are still unserious about anti-Asian violence. This shit is killing us & shouldn’t be spectacle.— Roy Mong 孟繁旭 (@iamroymong) March 4, 2022
Seriously, can we talk about the first 10 minutes of #TheBatman and how a gang of men attempt to beat up an Asian man on the subway? Was this supposed to be commentary? Was it a blindspot? Was this filmed before or after the surge Asian hate crimes? It was quite triggering.
— Dino-Ray Ramos (@DinoRay) March 4, 2022
I’m not inherently opposed to the concept of using loaded imagery in a film. Invoking real life events is something that is up to the prerogative of any filmmaker. But it’s my prerogative as a viewer to evaluate the efficacy of it. And was it “worth it?” [4/9]
— David Chen (@davechensky) March 7, 2022
This scene felt a little bit gimmicky overall. I think it would have served better if the rest of the movie continued to ask the questions of who is worth saving and somehow fit it better into the plot of the Riddler. The question of victimhood is incredibly relevant for us now
— Robin Jester Wootton (@JesterWootton) March 9, 2022
However, just like every coin has two sides, so does this argument.
Never forget that, in a time when anti-Asian American hate is at an all-time high in this country, @mattreevesLA gave us a #Batman film where Batman beats up a bunch of thugs trying to punch an Asian American man in #TheBatman. Thank you, @mattreevesLA.#StopAsianHate @TheBatman
— Yoko Higuchi (@theYokoHiguchi) March 4, 2022
Asian Americans, including my wife, are raising concerns about REAL anti-Asian attacks, but a movie scene where #TheBatman kicks the bad guys ass?
No. They're not.
Fake news.
— Teacloc (@Teacloc) March 8, 2022
I want to personally thank Robert Pattinson for stopping Asian hate in the first 15 min of the Batman movie 👏
— waitwut (@pleshireme) March 6, 2022
What are your thoughts on The Batman scene mentioned above?
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