Semiotic Criticism of the Batman Stamp

Apart from the bat signal, the sign behind Batman’s stamp is composed of two parts. The first part is the signifier which is the word ‘Batman’. Though the word itself is not significant for those that have not heard of the concept which is the signified; thus the people in Gotham City, where the iconic Batman is based, would revere this Super Hero but those in the Marvel Universe (Batman’s publisher DC Comic’s competitor) or tribes may have a different concept from what is considered among us, as the mortal Super Hero who dishes out justice emphatically. It should also be noted that apart from the small caption of ‘Batman’ that there is no textual references to what the image textually signifies.

The signifier also represent what can be touched and felt, therefore the matte sheet of stamps add the materialistic aspect. This in itself is significant as modern stamps (apart from electronic mail) are more hygienic and convenient. Just a couple years ago and the stamp would have been thought of as just that, lick and stick. Now blending effortlessly with sticker collecting, modern stamps become a hybrid of efficiency and image quality. While it can be argued that these modern day marvels have certain fakeness, let the records show that stamps in itself is a concept that postage is paid and it also shows where the letter attached to it comes from. Thus ‘USA 39’ printed at the top right of the Batman stamp signify that this stamp is printed, its value ‘39’ cents and that most importantly it can be used and is originated in the real world of the United States.

The concept of American comics now invading the trifecta of money-churning media now has the Postal Service to thank for mainstreaming the concept of Super Heroes. Maybe through hindsight but American culture has always been built upon modern day signs and the most evident in this is found no further in stamp collections. From ‘Elvis’ to ‘Disney’, a microcosm of America and its culture is found in these small graphical pictures, therefore the significance of the stamp is important. Thus to be part of a stamp is to have achieved mainstream societal consciousness or that society deems Batman significant enough to be part of American folklore and in essence culture. Although this artifact does not include the image acoustique, the artifact itself might be screaming that swift justice is coming to those acquainted with the original concept or in the other extremity, a terrorist with deep affection for bats.

Since a sign’s interpretation is primarily in relationships than Batman’s significance, as highlighted in previous posts, is that he is the only one mortal without ‘Super Powers’. In that sense, he represents what each of us as human beings can strive top become. Although masculine in nature, the same should and be encouraged to females as well, the ‘Bat’ philosophy is evident in his protégés, Batgirl and Robin. Despite suffering misfortune, Batgirl was shot, Robin was killed; they do not seek revenge against the evil that befell them but rather seek societal justice as a means of revenge.

This societal justice often means that the ‘Bat philosophy’ of excessive force or brutality when necessary or provoked, without dishing out death. Funny how then this is equivocally played out in Guantanamo Bay. Thus some may look at the stamp and know that Batman represents the best of what we think law enforcement should be. A wealthy, altruistic vigilante that seeks out master criminals that cannot be stopped by the police department; this of course would place Batman as another ‘Super Hero’ but more significantly that amongst the stamp collection, he is alone as the only mortal.

Among other signs, Batman becomes a beacon of hope and justice. But in relation to other signs, Batman can be thought of as just another ‘Judge Dreed’, another ‘Dick Tracey’ or perhaps the Marvel version of ‘Captain America’. Yet despite being grouped into this league of extraordinary gentleman, Batman is not any of them. In 1775, as with the constant relative nature of language, batman is in fact “an orderly of a British military officer” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Far from that century, Batman with a capital ‘B’ is now primed for worldwide exploitation. The history and connotations of the bat sign that is shown on the bat suit carries with it a certain sense of familiarity amongst most of America so much so that the conventional sign itself without the humanized Batman is sold as memorabilia, the term ‘Batman’ then as highlighted earlier is a philosophical ideal of justice being served.

Sticking to the primarily concept of the stamp itself and not the theme of the ‘Dark Knight’ that villains in a way define who Batman is, structural analysis has to be applied to the artifact. Paradigms in choosing this version of Batman, paradigmatic or substituting would mean that the other parallel versions of Batman did not make the final cut. Among these would include Batman of the future, the Justice League Batman and even the theatrical picture or static film capture of Batman as portrayed in the movies. All of the mentioned have structure in their stories or parallel universes. Yet the final chosen stamp version is derived from the original or vintage ‘graphic novel’ or comic book version; this form of Batman is significant as it helps society remember the beginning of the legend of Batman and how Bob Kane, his creator first envisioned Batman to be – The dark (Batman’s past), blue (Batman’s usual mood) knight (thankless hero not requiring praise) of the night (nocturnal Bruce Wayne who by day has to keep up his appearances without arousing suspicion).

As for the syntagmatic, apart from the Barthes’ garment system where Batman could have chosen to wear his underwear inside instead of out. By that same logic Batman actually wore a mask, gloves and boots and of course his famous utility belt, this is of course part of better than an unclothed Batman. The way in which he gets dressed though is not as significant as the snapshot of his motion. His ‘static’ motion carries with it the weight of Gotham behind his broad and capable shoulders. In choosing this frame of him and not others, would mean that Batman is exactly positioned the most optimal way that Batman should be seen—justice never rests in the shadows of violence.

Relative to how the stamp was drawn is in its setting, no body part is cut off from the picture abruptly, showing good composition. The placement of the eyes and bat symbol shown on his chest meant that the grid technique of placing the significant symbols at strategic points meant that the viewer would instantly acknowledge Batman and the use of shadows shading a part of Batman, not his eyes might unravel the true essence of a hero; in that in hiding part of his identity has to battle constantly between what he expects of himself as philanthropist businessman Bruce Wayne, what society expects of him as Bruce Wayne and what society expects of Batman.

Thus to have it all in one stamp is coding that Batman like America would attack when provoked (not kill unless necessary), wants to be a rich humanitarian that funds technological breakthroughs such as Wayne Enterprise, despite being born out of violence, wants to be the hero that no one else acknowledges and knows that the world expects from it to be the global ‘Super Hero’. The semiotic analysis helped set-up the meaning of the artifact firstly through analyzing the signifier and signified, structure was established through choosing the artifact’s paradigm of ‘vintage’ or ‘original’ Batman and finally in literally framing Batman as a stamp, the meaning derived from it is what stamps signify in society and that is Batman is now part of the American mainstream culture.