What are some inaccurate fan myths you wish would die?

[TheStarWarsTrek]

That the kids in Willy Wonka died.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

That the kids in Willy Wonka died.

But in the remake they do?

[TheStarWarsTrek]

That the kids in Willy Wonka died.

But in the remake they do?

They didn't die in either version of the movie (though it's only in the remake that we see them alive at the end, the original Wonka just says they're alright, which probably contributes to the confusion). And even though Roald Dahl wrote some dark stuff in his books, no, the kids don't die in the book either.)

[ProfessorDetective]

That the kids in Willy Wonka died.

But in the remake they do?

They didn't die in either version of the movie (though it's only in the remake that we see them alive at the end, the original Wonka just says they're alright, which probably contributes to the confusion). And even though Roald Dahl wrote some dark stuff in his books, no, the kids don't die in the book either.)

Or the Musical. Yes, it got a musical and I hear it was pretty decent.

[FaxModem1]

Another one: I've heard the old chestnut "Bruce Wayne spends all his money dressing up like a bat to punch poor people when he could use his money to fight the sources of crime!". First of all, all the soup kitchens and after school programs in the world aren't going to stop the likes of the Joker or Ras Al Ghul, they're called *super* criminals for a reason.

Second, Bruce Wayne hosting a charity ball (which is then crashed by a supervillain), or his company inventing some new tech (that is stolen by a supervillain) is basically a Batman cliche at this point.

Sure, you'll have people like the Joker or Ras Al Ghul, who will attack no matter what, but you know what they rely on? Henchmen. You have a prospering economy in which people have guaranteed social services like healthcare and are able to afford homes, you don't have things like, for instance, from the Dark Knight, cops so financially compromised that they'll agree to do the Joker's bidding to support their dying mother's hospital bills. If Joker can't financially squeeze people into complying, or Ras Al Ghul can't blackmail or bribe city officials into doing his bidding, then a lot less happens because the system doesn't break down due to the lower classes being unable to survive without turning to crime. If Wayne Industries or some other company is hiring ex-cons with forgiveness programs and giving them second-chances, they're less likely to join Two-Face in robbing banks, lowering the amount of potential recruits Batman's enemies can grab.

We get allusions to Bruce Wayne's charities, or with his bringing jobs to Gotham, but they seem to be so ineffectual that no one really seems to benefit from them, and often, are revealed to be fronts in Batman's war on crime, with some other purpose in place for him to keep taps on people or have information that will lead him to save the day. That's the issue. Batman's efforts seem singularly targeted towards the big costumed people, not to the regular people that prop them up. Maybe it's because it's how Bruce Wayne, as a billionaire, thinks, that he prefers the top-down approach in taking down crime in Gotham rather than fixing the problem at it's source and building up those who have very little choice. And yes, a lot of this is due to DC's wanting to tell the same story over and over, to keep their audience. It makes it frustrating for someone like myself, who has actually worked in the non-profit sector, and knowing that Batman doesn't seem to be approaching the problem correctly.

Yes, a war on crime is a daunting prospect, especially as crime will always exist. But, crime can and has gone down in the real world. We've seen violence go down in the past century. This is part of why, in the real world, legislators have had to introduce minimum sentencing laws to keep the prison population demand up as a way to support the private prison industry, to help keep their profits, as opposed to going with saner law enforcement and dealing with things like drug offenses in rehabilitation methods. It's a big part of why Batman's war doesn't work. Unless Batman really believes that possession of marijuana is worthy of sending entire waves of people to jail, then he runs into ethical issues when we know the reality of how crime works.

We do see some of his attempts at rehabilitation, by having Wayne companies hiring on ex-convicts to try and help them get a fresh start, but it's such an after thought in portrayal and presentation that it's a fresh coat of paint on a rusty boat with holes in it. This is also part of why Batman's portrayal has had issues when dealing with the oppressed, as he is the one on the side of law and order. It's also why his approaches to it, when viewed from a pop culture standpoint, start making him seem like how some fans view him, as a bored or crazy oligarch. Because there are better ways for him to use his money, such as boosting police salaries to prevent them from being easy to bribe, or as shown in the Dark Knight, desperate to pay family medical bills, as opposed to buying a bunch of Batboats.

The main focus of such a story, if Batman is laser targeted towards crime, is how much should Batman be doing towards eliminating the factors that lead to crime. Instead, DC has made it to where Gotham is just unfixable, because crazy people and there's just something plain wrong with the city that even a man that makes Jeff Bezos look middle class can't fix.

[Deledrius]

While it’s been clear that each Bond actor was playing the same character, SKYFALL certainly put the theory completely to rest as it actually delved into Bond’s background, which had only been brought up in the novels.

Unfortunately, Skyfall was absolutely awful. Everyone gets to hold an idiot ball in that movie. Worst of the Craig films.

[Makeshift Python]

Nah. The worst was QUANTUM OF SOLACE.

[Karha of Honor]

Nah. The worst was QUANTUM OF SOLACE.

Because?

[Nealithi]

Another one: I've heard the old chestnut "Bruce Wayne spends all his money dressing up like a bat to punch poor people when he could use his money to fight the sources of crime!". First of all, all the soup kitchens and after school programs in the world aren't going to stop the likes of the Joker or Ras Al Ghul, they're called *super* criminals for a reason.

Second, Bruce Wayne hosting a charity ball (which is then crashed by a supervillain), or his company inventing some new tech (that is stolen by a supervillain) is basically a Batman cliche at this point.

Sure, you'll have people like the Joker or Ras Al Ghul, who will attack no matter what, but you know what they rely on? Henchmen. You have a prospering economy in which people have guaranteed social services like healthcare and are able to afford homes, you don't have things like, for instance, from the Dark Knight, cops so financially compromised that they'll agree to do the Joker's bidding to support their dying mother's hospital bills. If Joker can't financially squeeze people into complying, or Ras Al Ghul can't blackmail or bribe city officials into doing his bidding, then a lot less happens because the system doesn't break down due to the lower classes being unable to survive without turning to crime. If Wayne Industries or some other company is hiring ex-cons with forgiveness programs and giving them second-chances, they're less likely to join Two-Face in robbing banks, lowering the amount of potential recruits Batman's enemies can grab.

We get allusions to Bruce Wayne's charities, or with his bringing jobs to Gotham, but they seem to be so ineffectual that no one really seems to benefit from them, and often, are revealed to be fronts in Batman's war on crime, with some other purpose in place for him to keep taps on people or have information that will lead him to save the day. That's the issue. Batman's efforts seem singularly targeted towards the big costumed people, not to the regular people that prop them up. Maybe it's because it's how Bruce Wayne, as a billionaire, thinks, that he prefers the top-down approach in taking down crime in Gotham rather than fixing the problem at it's source and building up those who have very little choice. And yes, a lot of this is due to DC's wanting to tell the same story over and over, to keep their audience. It makes it frustrating for someone like myself, who has actually worked in the non-profit sector, and knowing that Batman doesn't seem to be approaching the problem correctly.

Yes, a war on crime is a daunting prospect, especially as crime will always exist. But, crime can and has gone down in the real world. We've seen violence go down in the past century. This is part of why, in the real world, legislators have had to introduce minimum sentencing laws to keep the prison population demand up as a way to support the private prison industry, to help keep their profits, as opposed to going with saner law enforcement and dealing with things like drug offenses in rehabilitation methods. It's a big part of why Batman's war doesn't work. Unless Batman really believes that possession of marijuana is worthy of sending entire waves of people to jail, then he runs into ethical issues when we know the reality of how crime works.

We do see some of his attempts at rehabilitation, by having Wayne companies hiring on ex-convicts to try and help them get a fresh start, but it's such an after thought in portrayal and presentation that it's a fresh coat of paint on a rusty boat with holes in it. This is also part of why Batman's portrayal has had issues when dealing with the oppressed, as he is the one on the side of law and order. It's also why his approaches to it, when viewed from a pop culture standpoint, start making him seem like how some fans view him, as a bored or crazy oligarch. Because there are better ways for him to use his money, such as boosting police salaries to prevent them from being easy to bribe, or as shown in the Dark Knight, desperate to pay family medical bills, as opposed to buying a bunch of Batboats.

The main focus of such a story, if Batman is laser targeted towards crime, is how much should Batman be doing towards eliminating the factors that lead to crime. Instead, DC has made it to where Gotham is just unfixable, because crazy people and there's just something plain wrong with the city that even a man that makes Jeff Bezos look middle class can't fix.

Part of the problem is that the whole medical issue is not a Gotham problem. It is a national one. That is why no one batted an eye over the detective needing that money. Fixing Gotham by pouring money into it will encourage people without means to congregate there and exasperate the problem. Then you get villains like the Joker, et al that show up and blow up buildings. Why are once prosperous cities with businesses terrible today? Look at Camden and Detroit. Street level crime came in because money was there. Government got ineffective at curbing it. So businesses left in droves. The city economies fall and more people are now out of work and need to do anything just to survive.
Now in Camden they eventually take policing from the city and gave it to the state. But they basically drove through like it was a high speed run and didn't help. Till they changed policy again. And got out of the cars. Walked beats and got to know neighborhoods. It is better than it was. But still not to the level it had to really encourage businesses to come in.
Then look at something Chuck has brought up. The crab bucket mentality. Being better than your peers. Putting on airs. Etc. The people around you don't want to see you pull yourself up. So they try to sabotage your efforts. Keep you down so they don't seem as bad.
Gotham is the DC equivalent of Camden or Detroit as of now. Struggling because the environment makes it hard to turn it into a self sustaining system again.
As to Bruce using various charities to aid him as Batman. Look at the data collected on you every day. How they use systems to decipher patterns and get you to shake loose more of your money. Just by watching what you buy on your credit card. Gathering data behind a benign front is hardly new. Bruce just happens to use it for crime fighting instead of marketing.
As to just spend his money fixing things. I don't think the money will fix a broken system. Not by itself. It has to be targetted at the right improvements. As intelligent as Bruce Wayne is shown time and time again. Why is it he can't figure out a solution? Perhaps he has, and it is too big for Bruce Wayne alone.

[TheStarWarsTrek]

Yeah, there was a Superman comic called Peace On Earth, where he tries to end world hunger for a day but isn't able to do so. He comes to the conclusion that it's too big a problem even for Superman to solve like that, but he'll raise awareness and things like that. I feel like expecting Batman (or even if he wasn't Batman, rich philanthropist Bruce Wayne) to solve crime all by himself is the same thing. Also I don't open a Batman comic to see a story about financial plans, so for me it's just enough to say that Bruce is using his resources to help where he can.