In an attempt to help you the reader see this issue my way, I first want to paint you a picture. Suppose you were the heir to a large sum of money and an empire at a young age. Suppose that your good looks and charisma had given you celebrity status - along with its fame and the ability to be easily recognized in a crowd. Try to think of people who might fit this description - perhaps Paris Hilton or Ivanka Trump.
Now suppose that for whatever reason, you wanted to go about secretly doing good things and stopping bad things from happening. You are so driven by your cause that you even break the law from time to time. You are, in fact, a vigilante, so naturally you don't want anyone to recognize you. A disguise would only make sense. Picture that time that Tyra put on a fat suit and was appalled at how mean people were to her. (No, I don't watch Tyra, but I happened to see part of that one).
Ok, so there you are, a celebrity in disguise and a vigilante out to change the world, and it comes time for you to interact with someone. How are you going to talk? In your normal voice? The one that people know really well from all those times you've been on TV? Really? Good luck with that. You'll be outed in your first month.
Or, would you perhaps try to disguise your voice? If so, why not try to use a voice that somehow compliments what you are wearing?
Mad props to Christopher Nolan for making Batman yell every time he speaks, and mad props to Christian Bale for doing it. The Bat-Voice was exactly the way it should have been. Honestly, If I were suddenly grabbed by a great big bat-like person and instantly zipped to the top of a tall building, and then that man was growling at me - I wouldn't stop and think "Hey, that's just cheesy..." No, I'd probably pee my pants and so would you. At a time when adrenaline is pumping through your body and all your senses are heightened, the experience would be burned into your memory. Had Bruce Wayne used his normal voice, the next time you heard him on TV you would instantly know it.
One thing I learned in film school (which is what I call the film class I took in regular school) is that the true way to measure the quality of a movie is in its believability. The Bat-Voice makes the Bruce Wayne/Batman character seem more real and therefore more believable, whereas a regular voice would only make the scenario less plausible.
By the way, Christian Bale lost his voice three times during the filming of Batman Begins. That's dedication.
6 comments:
But it makes the Batman less believable to have him talk in that growly, pretentious voice. I understand what you are saying-a persuasive post, really....but I am not sure if I am ready to come over to your side.
You're right. I think it's the pee-pants factor that he's shooting for. Bale nailed it. Except...is it really a bat voice? Don't bats have ultrasonic voices?
WHO ARE WORKING FOR?!
...YOU WORKING FOR!?
Benji, I have to chime here.. That voice really is just too annoying. It was the one think I didn't like about "Batman begins". He used the voice practically the whole time in "Dark Knight". Ironically, I liked Dark Knight even more, I guess in spite of the voice (definitely not because of it). I guess it's like the long held protestant slogan: Love the vocalist, hate the voice.
Yeah, I hear what you guys are saying. It is annoying. If I talked like that all the time for no reason you'd all snicker behind my back and you wouldn't invite me to dinner parties. But, NOBODY dares laugh at Batman behind his back because he might be watching you, and he doesn't want to go to your stupid dinner parties anyway. Batman doesn't care that he annoys you, he just doesn't want you to know he's Bruce Wayne.
While he as a singular person (Batman) may be less believable, the voice facilitates the believability that one man could actually do what Bruce Wayne does.
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