Ashley Lunsford
Comic Spirit Fisher
Term Paper: Optimism vs. Pessimism
Comedy can be both optimistic and pessimistic. As in the case of satire, it is pessimistic in its critiques of society, but optimistic in that those critiques are meant as a corrective action. Most comedies have happy endings, an optimistic ending, or return to the Golden Mean. Many comedies also end with weddings or other ceremonial implications of renewal and rebirth – a hope to cling to despite overwhelming societal defects. However comedy can span all across the spectrum. For the purposes of this paper, classroom texts will be organized from most optimistic to most pessimistic according to personal interpretation.

I. Lysistrata - Aristophanes
In Lysistrata, the main disorder in need of remedy is a prolonged war, which is overcome in nonviolent ways, to a peaceful ending. If war be synonymous with death, then peace, consequently would likewise be with life and fertility: a standard comedic return to the Golden Mean. Lysistrata satirizes war culture, showing that when primal needs are denied war suddenly becomes irrelevant. Lysistrata demonstrates women using the tools at their disposal to assume power and instigate change in society. This is not only empowering to women, but also toying with normalized gender roles. While men are usually considered more sex-driven, comparatively, women are depicted as equally susceptible. Some argue that this is demeaning to women, caricaturizing them as sex objects. However, in Lysistrata it is a great equalizer, showing that men and women both enjoy sex. It also exaggerates sexuality – a universal human experience – in a comedic way by employing ridiculous antics from characters and oversized erections on stage.

II. The Decameron - Giovanni Boccaccio
Framed by the Bubonic Plague, it is only to be expected that the Decameron would focus so primarily on things that make us alive and, moreover, human. As mentioned in class, statistics have show that the birth rate spikes nine months after times of crisis. Characters of normally ascetic, repressive backgrounds are found in all sorts of compromising – usually sexual – situations. It emphasized the importance of hedonism, living in the present and enjoying life’s bounty before the impending enclosure of death. Characters, despite experiencing arguable difficulties, end up getting their happy endings – Andreuccio gets more money than he started off with from the ruby ring, the monk and the abbot gain a shared sexual partner. While funnier than Lysistrata and certainly just as optimistic, it is more satirical of religious hypocrites (e.g. the monk and the abbot, the 9 nuns, Rustico) and gullible characters (e.g. Andreuccio, Alibech), inching closer to the more ‘pessimistic’ comedies in its grievances of society.

III. Tartuffe - Moliere
Though Tartuffe is a comedy of manners, there is a huge amount of social commentary under the light situational humor. The depiction of the alazon figure Orgon, a gullible yet authoritative head of family given absolute power, and the implications that follow suit, are easily translated as a larger societal allegory. Following the same comedic keystones, Dorine is an eiron figure, a lowly servant not given any heed, but who sees things, and calls them, for their true nature. Religious hypocrisy are satirized through the titular character who claims devout faith and deeds, but demonstrates all the cardinal sins of Christianity - gluttony, greed, lust, etc. Tartuffe does have a standard happy ending where wrongs are righted and order is restored within the family, although there is much speculation at to whether or not that was the author’s intent.

IV. MASH – Richard Hooker

In MASH, the bleak and dismal background of the Korean War provides a catalyst towards both chaos and control, within and amongst characters. Those seen as upright, poster boys of the American public are often chastised. Hobson, for example, is an exemplary soldier, patriotic and obedient, from a tiny Midwest town and obscenely devout. The Swampmen despise Hobson and ridicule him until he is forced to relocate. Hooker, a MASH veteran himself, wrote this as a critique of war, showing the affected identities of the young men involved and their desperate grasp on normal life amidst the madness and violence of other people’s wars. Though the book was written about the Korean War, it became popular during Vietnam, the first war where there was a solid movement opposed to its continuation. It only makes sense that the degradation of these values was popular during the 60s anti-war movement.
The Swampmen perform pranks and tricks on people, often pretty horrible and at the expense of people’s mental well-being, (e.g. the crucifixion of Shaking Sammy, Painless Pole’s feigned suicide) because they can get away with it and because any distraction from the surrounding bloodshed is acceptable. Other methods of diversion employed are the dynamics of camaraderie and enmity among characters, copious consumption of alcohol, poker, golfing and football. All of these situations and antics are hilarious, but upon closer inspection at the reasons behind their escapism, it is a gritty reality. The comedy of communal living is juxtaposed with images of graphic violence and the heartbreaking honesty of the doctors’ work. They sincerely want to save each patient, and are observably affected when it is not possible to do so.

V. Candide - Voltaire
Candide is placed on this list as the most pessimistic of our list for its acerbically satirical nature and the ambiguity of its conclusion. Not a single element of society is safe from Voltaire’s attack in this novel. Even the form of the novel itself, which was a newly popularized medium of the time, especially romance, is caricaturized by Candide’s endless pursuit of Cunegonde despite ridiculous circumstances. Government, war, religion (hypocrites and blind faith alike), sexuality, gender roles, gullibility and stupidity, intellectualism and instrumental reason, philosophy, and specific individuals (Leibniz, theorizer of Optimism) all come under fire. Though the publication of these grievances are mediums of potential change in society, it seems as though Voltaire resigned himself to a scathing malcontent and exasperation in its writing – making it very arguably more pessimistic than optimistic.
The concluding statement of the novel – “we must cultivate our garden” is left up to wide interpretation. It poses the rhetorical question of whether to live a life of excitement and danger or boredom and safety. This question, beyond the society-satirical bulk of the novel, is Voltaire’s core idea. Even in the event that the characters do choose to live isolated lives of physical labor, will it be enough? Evidenced in the chapter of El Dorado, it is arguable that the characters will be left just as unsatisfied in their new Eden. It is the human condition itself, our ability and agency over our thoughts, which will prevent satisfaction. It is the expulsion from Westphalia, like Eve’s biting the apple and mankind’s evolution into cerebral creatures, which brought about such a great dilemma of being. Furthermore, Candide’s ending statement can be interpreted as Voltaire’s final comment on the makings of such a corrupt society. If one is to tend the garden and isolate themselves to menial objectives and routines, one fails to see the world outside those parameters. The world becomes wrought with violence and malevolence by the inaction, and often, ignorance of the individuals within it.

In conclusion, comedy is not something easily characterized as predominantly optimistic or pessimistic, but something complex and multifaceted. On one end of the spectrum we have more mainstream, blockbuster comedies in which people can laugh over the shared experience of universal human dilemmas and misadventures, situational disorders usually solved by simple communication and explanation. And on the other end, more independent or satirical comedies often deal with fixed issues of the human condition and societal expectations, things that cannot be remedied as easily, and are often so ridiculous that laughter is the only alternative to complete devastation.

Ashley Lunsford
R/ST 103 Hawkins
California State University, Long Beach

Ahimsa is a fundamental belief of Hinduism and Buddhism. Ahimsa is love and respect for all forms of life. It is Sanskrit for “without violence”, but is anything but a passive avoidance. Nonviolence is something one must strive for. You must eat, sleep, breath and live within love. Satyagraha is the utilization of Ahimsa in which nonviolence is used as a political tool for social change. The philosophy behind this is that the oppressors will eventually succumb to their own intrinsic, human morality and cease violent and subjugable acts. Violence breeds negative karmic results, preventing moksha or nirvana. Hatred can never be quelled with more hatred; it can only be satisfied with pure love and respect of life, regardless of circumstances. A satyagrahi must never kill for their cause but must always be prepared to die for it. Leaders Mohandas Gandhi, Thich Quang Duc, and Martin Luther King Jr. were all model leaders, using the concept of Satyagraha to further the rights of oppressed groups.

From 1858 to 1947, India was ruled by Great Britain. Classes were greatly stratified with majority of the country living in squalor and a small minority in extravagant wealth from exploitation of the country’s natural resources. Under the British Raj, human rights were in constant compromise. In 1919 the Rowlatt Act authorized detainment, without trial, of any person suspected of terrorism. Political parties and decisions excluded Indians. In response to these oppressive acts, a group of Punjabis gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh to protest and give testament to the human rights violations, as well as celebrate a Hindu holiday. Dyer arrived with British troops and without warning opened fire on the gathering of men, women and children, killing nearly 400 people.
When Mohandas Gandhi arrived in India, he was fresh with experience fighting apartheid in South Africa. He provided the calm leadership that the people of India were so desperate for. Gandhi’s methods of Satyagraha are non-cooperation (voluntary suffering, refusing benefits of an inherently flawed system), civil disobedience (defying all laws considered unjust, instead submitting to a higher moral law), and fasting which he considered to be the highest form of prayer and worship.
In Champaran and Kheda, impoverished farmers had to pay oppressive taxes and grow cash crops instead of those for their own subsistence, not making enough profit to feed themselves or their families. Gandhi set up an ashram and organized the community into a cohesive stand. They refused to grow cash crops and no longer paid taxes. The government took their livestock and land and threatened to jail those who revolted. Still, under Gandhi’s leadership, they held out and the government eventually broke, offering a tax exemption for two years, reduction in interest and return of property.
Throughout India, salt trade was monopolized, and high taxes put into effect. In response, Gandhi marched 400 kilometers with thousands of followers to Dandi. The Salt March to Dandi was successful in solving current problems. The Irwin-Gandhi Pact was sign, allowing the Indian National Congress participation in politics, withdrawal of many prior prosecutions, release of prisoners involved in Civil Disobedience Act, and removal of the salt tax.
Aug 15, 1947 India became independent of British rule.
In January of 1948, Gandhi was shot and killed in New Dehli. His empowerment of India, global human rights, and the principles of Satyagraha would come to change the notion of social revolution forever.

At the height of the Vietnam War, Ngo Dihn Diem was appointed as the Prime Minister of South Vietnam. Diem, a devout catholic, was adamantly anti-communist and sought to disempower the Buddhist church majority. The Buddhist crisis of Vietnam escalated drastically after the Hue Vesak shootings. Diem banned the flying of Buddhist flags on Vesak, the celebratory birthday of the Buddha. Near 3,000 people showed up on May 8th, 1963, led by Buddhist monks, in Hue’s streets to peacefully protest the decree through marches and chants. Soon troops were sent in to disperse the crowd. When they refused to leave, guns were drawn and eight were left dead.
The Xa Loi Pagoda in Saigon served as a hub of dissent where community organization, mass meetings, hunger strikes, and dissemination of pamphlets attacking Diem’s regime. Special Forces soon caught wind and moved in quickly on the base of operations. The raid brought in more than 1400 Buddhist arrestees, and left the historical site in shambles from a barrage of automatic weapons, grenades and tear gas. Thirty people were killed, 200 wounded.
On June 11, 1963 Thich Quang Duc, a leading monk in the protests, assumed the lotus position in a busy intersection, doused himself in gasoline and, after chanting prayers, lit a match. The fire spread quickly and within minutes his charred body fell forward. Not once did the holy man flinch or utter a sound. He left only a note saying,
“Before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to President Ngo Dinh Diem to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the lay Buddhists to organize in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.”
This act brought immediate attention to the Buddhist Crisis in Vietnam. The photo taken by Malcolm Browne, earning a Pulitzer Prize, was circulated around the world. Many more monks followed suit and immolated themselves in martyred protest. U.S. discontent with the war sharpened and global public opinion of Diem’s rule shot downward. In November 1963 the CIA-backed Army of the Republic of Vietnam promptly responded with a coup, arrest and assassination of Ngo Dihn Diem.

The concepts of Ahimsa and Satyagraha went on to reach the United States. Martin Luther King Jr., a leader of the civil rights movement, practiced nonviolent activism to further the position of African Americans. Jim Crowe laws were still in effect since 1896’s Plessey v. Ferguson case, allowing institutionalized discrimination.
King’s first success was in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. After Rosa Parks refused to give her front seat up to a white man and was consequently arrested, King took up the mantle and led the boycott against all public transit in Montgomery. The effects were tremendous, the federal district court ruling it unconstitutional. This first success paved the way for national desegregation and confidence in King’s leadership. This followed in a wave of demonstrations, picketing, petitioning, sit-ins and fasts through the Albany Movement, Birmingham Campaign and the eventual March on Washington and his immortal “I Have a Dream” speech.
On April 4th, 1968, King was shot down from the balcony of his hotel in Memphis. Riots broke out across the country as mourners came to grip with his martyrdom. Behind him, he left a secured progress for African Americans through desegregation laws and civil rights acts. In his own eloquence, Dr. King describes the very core beliefs of Ahimsa and Satyagraha:
"[T]hrow us in jail and we will still love you. Threaten our children and bomb our homes and our churches and as difficult as it is, we will still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communities at the midnight hours and drag us out on some wayside road and beat us and leave us half-dead, and as difficult as that is, we will still love you. But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer and one day we will win our freedom. We will not only win freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and your conscience that we will win you in the process and our victory will be a double victory."

SOURCES
1. The Bases of Satyagraha in Gandhi’s Philosophy. Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti.
Retrieved December 4, 2008 from
http://gandhismriti.gov.in/
2. Bose, Nirmal Kumar. (1948). Selections From Gandhi. Jitendra T. Desai
Navajivan Mudranalaya, India. Retrieved December 4th 2008 from
http://www.mkgandhi.org/
3. Radha, Sivananda. (1974). Bliss Divine, Chapter 1: Ahimsa. Divine Life Society. Retrieved on December 4th, 2008 from
http://www.dlshq.org/
4. World Religions: War and Peace. Peace Pledge Union. Retrieved on December 4th, 2008 from
http://www.ppu.org.uk/
5. Branagan, Marty. (2003). The Art of Nonviolence. Social Alternatives Vol. 22 Issue 3
Retrieved December 7th from Academic Search Elite.
6. Steger, Manfred B. Searching for Satya from Ahimsa: Gandhi’s Challenges to Western Discourses of Power. Constellations: An International Journal of Critical & Democratic Theory; Sep2006, Vol. 13 Issue 3. Retrieved December 7th from SOCindex.
7. THE SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM - SNIE 53-2-63. (1963). The Pentagon Papers, Gravel Edition, Volume 2. Retrieved December 10th from
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/
8. Howells, W. Dean. The Trouble with Diem. (1963) National Security Archive. Retrieved December 10th, 2008 from
http://www.gwu.edu
9. Jacobs, Seth. (2006).Cold War Mandarin: Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved December 10th, 2008 from
http://www.books.google.com
10. King, Martin Luther. (1963) WMU Speech Transcription. Retrieved December 10th, 2008 from
http://www.wmich.edu/
11. Amritsar Massacre. (2002). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 10th, 2008 from
http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg
12. Birmingham Campaign. King Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 10th, 2008 from
http://www.stanford.edu

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the first lady of FDR from the years 1933-1945, however her impact on society was much farther-reaching than that. She was the first woman to speak in front of a national convention, to write a syndicated column, to earn money as a lecturer, to be a radio commentator and to hold regular press conferences. She was a champion of women’s rights, labor unions, settlement houses, a federal minimum wage, abolishing child labor, civil rights and race relations through extensive lobbying and legislative action on the macro level. (Atlantic Monthly 2007)

FDR’s serving term was not an easy time. He arrived just in time to salvage Hoover’s America from the grip of the Great Depression and was then just as soon thrust into World War II. Eleanor was not the cookie-cut first lady. She was a salty, stubborn, opinionated old woman who more often than not was at ends with her husband’s policies. Perhaps a symptom of holding office and looking to be re-elected, FDR was ambiguous towards controversial issues. Eleanor, on the other hand, was always eager to take the next social issue on no matter whose toes might get stepped on. This relationship, though somewhat tense, helped to secure many goals. Eleanor’s unabashed passion would rile the voters’ opinion until Franklin could have enough support to pass something. She lobbied, she wrote her own opinion column (“My Day”), held press conferences and traveled independently to see situations first-hand. Before FDR ever took office, she brought him to the slums of New York so he could see the squalor people lived in. (Glantz 2007)

Hoover’s prior presidency had been something of a mockery. His response to the stock market crash was to assure people that all was well in the world of capitalism and that everything would work itself out if given enough time. It didn’t. Meanwhile people were out of work, out of home, out of sleep and out of hope. Hoover did what he could, but it wasn’t enough to support a flawed structure, and the walls came crashing down. The great depression’s effect on American’s spirit was drastic. People blamed themselves for not being able to find work when no work was to be found. This inevitable failure led to a lower collective self-esteem, disempowering and devaluing their abilities. Once FDR took office, he struck up the New Deal - a series of reformations, programs, committees and acts that ensured the welfare of the population.

In a time of war, a country is fueled on nationalist fervor. Without a sense of patriotism soldiers would not be willing to fight and kill and be killed. Nationalism naturally leads to ethnocentrism, a perfect breeding ground for the discriminatory acts of the time. Caricatures of Germans, Japanese and Italians circulated the media, infiltrating even our children’s cartoons and funnies. (Bailey 2008) After the attack on Pearl Harbor, nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were rounded up and thrown into concentration camps simply because of their heritage. President FDR signed Executive Order 9066 into action. In response, Eleanor wrote a lengthy and articulate message to her husband in Collier’s Magazine, saying,

“We have no common race in this country, but we have an ideal to which all of us are loyal: we cannot progress if we look down upon any group of people amongst us because of race or religion. Every citizen in this country has a right to our basic freedoms, to justice and to equality of opportunity.” (1943)

During her husband’s time in office, the position of African Americans was incredibly limited. The Jim Crow laws, which legalized segregation and thus racism, would still be in effect until 1965. These laws disempowered the African American community and put them at a 2nd class citizen level. However, once we entered the war, many African American and Japanese American (among every other American) went out to fight. Fighting alongside other soldier for a common land gave them a sense of empowerment and the quest for equality was heightened at the end of the war. After FDR’s term and life had ended in 1945, Eleanor did anything but retire. She went on to be a delegate of the United Nations, orchestrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Adviser of the Peace Corps, Chairman of the President's Commission on the Status of Women, and continue to champion civil rights until her death in 1962. (Burke 2008)

Eleanor’s entire philosophy was centered on service and social justice. She was not empowering herself (service) and she was not empowering wealthy white men (social justice). It was all for others, and of those others, the downtrodden, the sick and destitute. To have these aforementioned values, the belief of dignity and worth of a person is imperative. One cannot serve someone they feel is below them. Eleanor believed that we are all equal and all deserved the same resources.

Eleanor Roosevelt utilized the skills of activism, advocacy, assessment (visiting Japanese internment camps), child advocacy (labor laws), coalition building, community organization, empowerment, legislative advocacy, lobbying, networking, policy analysis, policy development, political action, program administration, public relations, qualitative research, and social action of generalist social work. The skills of a social worker are more efficient at mobilizing people than that of a doctor. A doctor’s job is to ask what is wrong with a person to find an answer, whereas a social worker asks what is right. Using a strength-based perspective a social worker is more likely to invigorate and motivate their clients, whether they are disempowered minorities or a single individual.

The genesis of the Progressive Era evolved into a much more intense and committed spirit as the 20th century continued. Each decade gained more and more for the advancement of minorities, and Eleanor Roosevelt was a prime character through the entire history. After her husband’s unfortunate death, Eleanor went on to push things that may not have been as quick if voter-cautious FDR were still around to rein her in. Equality has still not been attained, legally or mentally. It was and still is, to some degree, a very equitable view. The criminal justice system is riddled with racial inconsistencies, gay marriage is still illegal in most states, and bigotry still poisons our soils. We have come a long way, but there is much farther still to go. In her own immortal words, Eleanor described the person-in-environment perspective and the mission of social work:

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."
Eleanor Roosevelt

Nostos: a journey homeward, a return to our roots

Nostos Cookbook’s mission is to provide food, writing and art to nourish the soul on its homecoming. Nostos stands by the theory that home is not a place, but a state of mind that all of us can achieve.

We’re now taking open submissions for Nostos Cookbook

Give us a recipe with a good story;
Give us poetry, prose, short stories;
Give us art, photos, song, dance;
Give us your confessions, your secrets.

With each submission, please include a song to be sent out on a mix CD distributed with each print. This song can be something you yourself wrote or not. Something that captures the feeling of your submission or perpetuates an idea.

Email all submissions to
nostos.cookbook@gmail.com

Add our Facebook group as well, and spread the word!
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He was first penned by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939. After witnessing the death of his parents, Bruce Wayne vows to personally uphold justice for criminals in Gotham City by assuming a costumed alter ego: The Bat-Man. Many considered the character too dark for children, who they were trying to market to. Though some adults did read the strips, it was the avid youth that consistently supported the industry. So, they turned his iron fist of justice into the firm guidance of a father. Robin was introduced in Detective Comics 38 in 1940. This "Boy Wonder" allowed children someone with whom they could identify, and the sales went through the roof. The series was progressively changed to cater to this audience until conforming to ridiculous camp aesthetics of the 60s.

Even with all the efforts, Batman was still considered a darker hero. Perhaps it was his physical prowess and strength, the vampiric animal he identified with, the bleak city skyline he defended; or maybe the indicative epithets ("Dark Knight", "Caped Crusader") or the violent past; even the shadowy nature or stoic face seemed to envelope him in ambiguity. Whatever the reason, there was a notable difference between him and the rest of the gang.

Perhaps the most defining aspect of Batman, the trait that really blew life into the character, was his relativity. Bruce Wayne is a normal guy, albeit as normal as a millionaire playboy can be. He is not a superhero; he has no superpowers. Instead he has honed his natural strength and intellect to perfection through dedication, discipline and devotion. He is mere human, and his fallibility lies in more than simple mortality.
Once Frank Miller stepped in with the Dark Knight Returns, Batman filled a niche that was otherwise untouched in the graphic novel community. While most superheroes held true to cardinal virtues with an optimistic and unwavering resolve, Bats was the Byronic Hero for a new generation in the 20th century. He was a mess of ambivalence, insecurities, cynicism and moodiness.

This is not the young, strong, focused Batman. This is the Fall of Batman. This is Batman's end of days. Despite being retired for ten years, he attempts to balance his passion to fight crime with the reality of his abilities. He is slower, weaker, less than what he was, and throughout the DKR he comes to terms with this. In a moment of pride he challenges the young Mutant Leader, for which he is no physical match, and is defeated. He learns later on that what he lacks in ability he has made up for in experience and wisdom.

Batman also deals with the ubiquitous motif of duality throughout the miniseries. Harvey Dent, a district attorney and close friend of Batman, was facially disfigured by acid. This Jekyll & Hyde psyche leads him to a life of crime, deciding fate by the simple toss of a coin. This is a perfect example of existentialism in the comic medium. Despite his crimes and apparent opposition to Batman, Bruce Wayne funds Two-Face's rehabilitation. On a televised interview, he says, "We must believe in Harvey Dent. We must believe that our private demons can be defeated". It becomes even more obvious that Batman is living vicariously by his internal dialogue, "The scars go deep, too deep…I close my eyes and listen. Not fooled by sight, I see him as he is. I see him. I see…I see…a reflection, Harvey. A reflection."

Batman is a veritable Hamlet given the amount of time he spends brooding over the death of Jason Todd. The former Robin's vicious murder by The Joker caused his preemptive retirement. He is guilt-ridden for endangering the life of a child, spending his nights in an alcoholic stupor, stumbling down the Batcave to look at old relics of the Golden Age. Despite this and Alfred's objections, he takes on Carrie Kelly as the new Robin. He concedes the fall of Jason, saying "He was a good soldier, but the war goes on".

The DKR is Miller's direct commentary on political and social issues of the time. The war is an obvious reference to the Cold War of the eighties, "Mr. President" talks about his life on the ranch and bears a striking resemblance to Ronald Reagan and Corto Maltese is the equivalent of the U.S.'s militant support of the contras in Nicaragua. In this DC universe, the superheroes have all been either wiped out or sent into exile; all except for Clark Kent who has submitted himself as a weapon of the U.S. government, sacrificing his dignity in order to preserve peace between the supers and the humans.

"I gave them my obedience and my invisibility. They gave me a license and let us live. No I don't like it. But I get to save lives and the media stays quiet. But now the storm is growing again. They'll hunt us down again because of you…The rest of us learned to cope. The rest of us recognized the danger – of the endless envy of those not blessed. Diana went back to her people. Hal went to the stars. And I have walked the razor's edge for so long…But you, Bruce – you with your wild obsession – they'll kill us if they can, Bruce. Every year they grow smaller. Every year they hate us more. We must not remind them that giants walk the earth."

The underlying theme of discrimination is one of constant satire and commentary in American history. Civil rights for minorities and women may have been won, but the fight to end discrimination is one that still wages on today.
Gotham is a gray city. The lines between black and white – good and evil – are distorted.

The Dark Knight Returns poses the struggle between effective domestic security and the sanctity of civil rights. Some praise Batman for taking a stand against routine violence and crime, as the catalyst of a social revolution to end fear and take back the night. Others scorn him for the disregard he pays to the institution of justice, violently dealing with criminals rather than through due process of the court of law. From this perspective, Dr. Wolper described him as a "social fascist", a reckless vigilante, and a menace to society. His illegalities list on with assault, battery, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment, excessive force and child endangerment. However, one must make the concession that civil rights have already been severely tread upon by living in as corrupt a culture as Gotham City. The depiction of Gotham in Book 4 is one of catastrophic apocalypse. Perhaps it illustrates Mr. Miller's own dissatisfaction with the decay of society. The city has crumbled in on itself, imploded with immorality. The end of days has come and now the land, along with its hero, must be reborn.

She stood in front of the house, arms tight to her sides, fists knotted and gnarled like sun-cracked leatherette. Her white hair was slicked back to a tight bun at the nape of the neck where the clasp to a string of pearls hung loosely. It was an unusually warm day for Colebrook. Nonetheless Eleanor donned her usual attire of a flouncy black dress, undershirt buttoned to the top, pancake stockings, and half-inch heels. A dangerous regality flowed from her, knocked everything else back. The flowers seemed to wilt away, the children would cry, birds would fall from the sky. They called her a witch. Her late husband - a triflesome fellow with a palate for expensive tobacco - had died of a cancerous gut that suddenly arose eight years ago. Not surprisingly, people had made their own inferences into the peculiar death of Mr. Tobias Willmont.

To be continued...

It's time for change, that's all.