“I want you to remember, Clark”¦in all the years to come”¦in your most private moments”¦I want you to remember”¦my hand”¦at your throat”¦I want”¦ you to remember”¦the one man who beat you”¦”
— Batman from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns

“Y’see, my life is really… complex.”
— Bruce Wayne from Batman (1989)

“People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can’t do that as Bruce Wayne, as a man I’m flesh and blood I can be ignored I can be destroyed but as a symbol, as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.”
— Bruce Wayne from Batman Begins

My freshman year of college ended in a daze of mediocrity and apathy. As I look back at that first year, I am incredibly embarrassed by my ignorance and the betrayal of my own interests. It was the summer of 1989; the summer movie season was about to begin. I had gotten my taste of it by going to see a sneak preview of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier at the National Air And Space Museum. Needless to say, I was disappointed by it; it did not have the same momentum as the previous film, the far superior, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. I think it was about this time that it was decided the even numbered Trek films were better than the odd numbered ones. Weeks later I would go see Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. I enjoyed that immensely. The opening sequence with River Phoenix as the young Indiana Jones made a vivid impression on me. With this film, I was reminded why it was so much to go to the movies. I really did enjoy going to the movies. I was ashamed of myself for not going to see more films in my freshman year. I do not know what I was thinking. It was in my blood; it always was in my blood. Sure, my older brother’s experiences in Hollywood had turned me off of the business ever since 1987, but deep down inside there was no denying I loved movies. The only time I was ever animated was when talking about movies. Okay, that and any type of heavy metal music at the time excited me.