A wannabe superhero in Kelowna, British Columbia had an honorable intention—dressing up as Batman and offering his help to police—but they quickly turned him down, saying that things were “under control.”
The man, dressed as a realistic superhero, arrived in his pickup truck and was seen walking over to police and offering his help before being turned down. A fellow motorist, Melissa Parent, shot the video of the incident and uploaded it on Facebook.
“He was followed by five more police cars, so we pulled over at a safe distance to see what was going on. Before we knew it, the cops had their guns drawn and Batman came out of nowhere, parked in front of us in his black Dodge truck covered in the Batman logo and sprung into action,” Parent said.
The police were responding to a domestic incident when the wannabe superhero approached them. When the police told him they “had it under control,” he looked sullen and rejected and walked back to his truck.
“Situations like this are dynamic and subject to change very quickly: the presence of ‘Batman’ or anyone else is an unwanted distraction and foolish as they are placing themselves at risk,” a police spokesperson told local media, according to Daily Mail.
What Does Psychology Say About Superheros?
Superheros have been popular since ancient times, every civilization, every society had its own superheroes. Most superhero films show an ordinary guy from next door turning into something better, heroic, and extraordinary.“I’ve learned this through hundreds of conversations at comic book conventions, where fans have been remarkably candid about their lives and the inspiration they draw from superhero stories,” he said.
Rosenberg says that in his surveys of the genre he found superheroes undergoing three different kinds of life-altering experiences.
“The first is trauma, which lies at the heart of Batman’s origin story...The second life-altering force is destiny...Lastly, there’s sheer chance, which transformed a young Spider-Man, who was using his power for selfish purposes until his beloved uncle was murdered by a street thug. Spider-Man’s heroism is an example of how random adverse events cause many of us to take stock of our lives and choose a different path,” Rosenberg says.
He says superhero stories inspire people to cope with adversity, find meaning in loss, discover strength, and utilize it for good and greater purposes.
“Comic book writers could have chosen not to endow their characters with origin stories. (In fact, Batman’s back story wasn’t published until the comic’s seventh installment.) But those writers were keen observers of human nature.
“And they were able to translate those observations into captivating stories reflecting aspects of psychology that were confirmed by researchers decades later. In doing so, they tap into our capacity for empathy, one of the greatest powers of all,” Rosenberg says.
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