Alex Pino

INGL 3345-130
Batman Begins

1.Who is the Hero of this film? What is a Shapeshifter? Is he/she/it a Shapeshifter? Are there other
Shapeshifters in Batman Begins?

The hero of this film is Batman, or Bruce Wayne. A shapeshifters tends to be a character that has the
ability to change forms or shapes. No, there are no other shapeshifters is batman begins.

2. Who is (or are) the Mentor(s) of this film? And what kind of Mentors are they? Who is (or are) the
Shadow(s) in Batman Begins?

The mentos can be seemed as Alfred, Bruces Butler and Ras Al-Gul. Alfred, because he advises Bruce
in the best way he can, and Ras Al-Gul because he teaches Bruce Ninjutsu and the ways of fighting.

3. What is the Theme Stated of Batman Begins? (Remember that the Theme is expressed in a dialogue
between 2 or more characters at @5 minutes into the film.)
The theme is Fear. We know this by the advice given to bruce We tend to fear what we dont
understand, in the context of the murder of Bruces parents.

4. What is the Catalyst or Inciting Incident in Batman Begins? (Catalyst/Incident occurs @12
minutes.) What Debate questions are asked in this film? (Debate takes place @12-25 minutes.)
The Catalyst is the murder of Bruces Parents. The main debate is Bruce trying to figure out why
his parents were murdered, which starts off the whole sequence of the story to Batman Begins.

5. Does the Hero encounter any Threshold Guardians on his Journey's Path? Do you think the Bats
function as Threshold Guardians? Or do the Bats represent something else?

The Hero does encounter a Threshold Guardian, in the form of Ras Al-gul. He will not be bale to
properly protect himself if it wasn't for Ras Al -gul. In my opinion the Bat represents more towards the
theme of the movie. In the beginning we find out Bruce is afraid of Bats and as the story progresses Bruce
becomes the batman.

6. What function does Rachel play? Do you think she functions as a Mentor at times? What is the
meaning of the name Rachel?

Rachel plays the function of Bruces childhood sweetheart. I personally don't think she can count as a
mentor due to the relation between the two and she doesn't know that Bruce is batman. Rachel is a name
that has ties to Innocence, beauty, classy, and smart. The previous argument supports this because Rachel
is oblivious to the fact that Bruce is batman, which emphasizes the innocence role.
8.What is a Trickster Archetype and can it be killed? Who plays the Trickster role in Batman Begins?
Who plays the Trickster in The Dark Knight (2008) and what happens at the end to him?
The trickster Archetype is played by the character Ras Al-Gul, due to the fact that the purpose or training
Bruce was to recruit him into the league of assassins and not just for the training purpose. This conflicts
with Bruces ideology of a justice Warrior, which later makes Bruce and Ras fight each other. At the end
of the movie, Ras Al-Gul is sent flying into the parking structure aboard a train , followed by an
explosion of some sorts.

9.Why does Batman NOT kill Ducard in the Finale? Is the TRAIN a modern symbol of technology
and/or an ancient mythological dragon symbol? How does the TRAIN help Batman?
Batman doesn't kill Ducard, because it goes against his own ideology of not killing. The train
could be a symbol of some sorts, but I personally dont see any relation between the two. The Train helps
batman, because he discovers ways of acheiving justice, while still following his own view of non-killing.
We know this by the line when he says I wont kill you, but I wont save you either then he flies out
the back of the train.

10. Make a list of Bruce Wayne/Batman's Allies. Do their names mean anything special that might be
related to our study of Symbols and Archetypes?

Alfred Pennyworth
James Gordon

Alfreds name also has the meaning of Sage or very wise. This fits perfectly to alfred's image,
because of how knowledgeable he is , and the things he does to help protect Bruce.

In the context of James, the name means Follower which makes sense because of James showing up
always after Batman is done causing mischief.

13. Psychologist Carl Jung said about the HERO Archetypal Character: The Hero is... often dumb
as a post. How do you think Jung's statement applies to Bruce Wayne/Batman?

This statement does not apply to Bruce Wayne because of how knowledgeable he is. We can tell Bruces
strong state of mind from surviving the rigorous training of Ras Al-Gul and further finally defeating him.
Bruce also demonstrates himself as an intelligent person when sometimes defying aldreds
recommendation proving that he is capable of making decisions by himself, and knowledge enough to
defeat his mentor.