St. Catherine University SOPHIA 2014 Sr. Seraphim Gibbons Undergraduate Sr. Seraphim Gibbons Undergraduate Symposium Research Symposium The Dynamic Duo Then and Now: Batman and Robin as Evolving Cutural Icons Elizabeth C. Wambheim St. Catherine University Follow this and additional works at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/undergraduate_research_symposium Wambheim, Elizabeth C., "The Dynamic Duo Then and Now: Batman and Robin as Evolving Cutural Icons" (2014). Sr. Seraphim Gibbons Undergraduate Symposium. 2. https://sophia.stkate.edu/undergraduate_research_symposium/2014/Humanities/2 This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences and Events at SOPHIA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sr. Seraphim Gibbons Undergraduate Symposium by an authorized administrator of SOPHIA. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE DYNAMIC DUO THEN AND NOW: BATMAN AND ROBIN AS EVOLVING CULTURAL ICONS by Elizabeth C. Wambheim A Senior Project in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Honors Project ST. CATHERINE UNIVERSITY April 1, 2014 2 With many thanks to Patricia Montalbano (project advisor), Rachel Neiwart Emily West and Sharon Doherty for their continuous and invaluable interest, assistance, and patience with the project. 3 Introduction When presented with the simple silhouette of a stylized bat inside a yellow oval, people the world over are able to recognize this emblem and, at the very least, name its wearer. Even as the logo is altered with time, the yellow backdrop traded for a grey one, the awareness persists. Yet even as people recognize Batman’s logo, one person’s impression of the superhero does not always align with another’s: a cheerful, law-abiding Batman who orders orange juice instead of alcohol at bars is Batman as he appeared in the 1960s, and a brooding hero wreathed in darkness and prone to conflicted inner monologues is the Batman of the 1980s.