Perchance to Dream

Would you agree to a comfortable life where you enjoy everything you have ever wanted, with your past traumas healed? That is the question posed by this episode of Batman: The Animated Series.

Batman wakes up to find that his parents are alive — a release from his deepest trauma. He is about to marry Selina Kyle, and someone else has taken on the role of Batman, protecting Gotham City from crime.

It sounds like a sweet deal, right? Life would be far less stressful. The episode reflects on identity through Bruce's growing unease. He begins to search for the fake Batman, and in doing so it asks an essential question: are we willing to give up our identity in exchange for having our desires fulfilled? I believe the answer should be no.

The Mad Hatter even quotes Through the Looking Glass: "Are you the dreamer, or merely part of someone else's dream?" — the question Tweedledee asks Alice. When you give up your reality, you stop being the dreamer and become controlled by someone else. Our identity is shaped by all of our experiences, whether good or bad; historical processes themselves are full of conflict.

In this episode, the evil nature and cruelty of the Mad Hatter are deeply frightening. One clever detail is that he sheds a tear when Batman finally escapes from his perfect dream. His lack of accountability is what motivates the manipulation: he yells that Batman ruined his life, and justifies himself by claiming he gave Batman everything he ever wanted in exchange for being left alone.

"Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it."