Batman Begins Quotes
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Source: Batman Begins
Speaker: Batman
It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.
Context
This line was spoken by Batman (played by Christian Bale) in the film Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan (2005).
Bye-bye weird batsuit nipples and Arnold Schwarzenegger puns, and hello crime thriller elements, deep philosophical quotes, and Batman Begins. This 2005 film rebuilt Batman from the ground up and delved into the psyche of a man who decided to deal with his trauma by training with ninjas in the mountains and then assaulting criminals while dressed up as a nocturnal rodent.
But to preserve his secret identity, Batman must cultivate the cover persona of Bruce Wayne, a billionaire playboy, who falls asleep at board meetings and buys out restaurants so he and super models can swim in their fountain. This "mask" causes him to be estranged from his childhood love Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), who doesn't recognize the sad, kind boy she used to play with on the grounds of Wayne Manor.
However, Batman lets his identity slip just a little bit towards the end of the movie where he repeats a line that he told Rachel earlier. Bruce Wayne is the mask, and Batman is who he really is.
Where you've heard it
You've heard this quote from this philosophy major who pretends they read Heidegger and Sartre all day, but they secretly love waking up on Saturday mornings and rewatching episodes of Batman: The Animated Series.
Additional Notable References:
- In between all its identity crises and training montages, Batman Begins has one of the greatest car chases in cinematic history. This clip will make you want to quit your day job and become a stunt driver.
- Not everyone loves this line, and What Culture said it fell flat thanks to Christian Bale's growl-y Batman voice. Not everyone can be Kevin Conroy.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
This line works for Batman (or maybe Green Arrow), but being mysterious for mysteriousness' sake is just annoying.