Two-Face vs. a Werewolf. Okay, then!

[about_faces]

I was all ready to finally write about the Two-Face story from Batman 80-Page Giant 2010 when I remembered that the author, Brad Desnoyer, had actually written *another* Harvey short story for another anthology: THE 2008 DC UNIVERSE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL.

You know... the story where Harvey fights a werewolf. Yeah, that one

Comments

[lady_vaguely]

Warning! Blathering mode: engaged.

I don't mind at all! I've bounced around a bit, even though I'm still in my twenties. My first job out of college was as an outpatient social worker for people who were seriously mentally ill (a legal status where I live that requires a combination of persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia, and severely impaired functioning.)

Then I worked as a behavioral health tech (pretty much an orderly) at an inpatient addiction treatment center, and now I do initial psychological assessments and preliminary diagnoses for an outpatient private practice that works in mental health and addiction.

I've never worked in a prison or in a locked hospital facility, but many of my clients have been court-ordered to treatment, or fresh out of the hospital or department of corrections. And I do have experience working with murderers and people who are actively psychotic, although never with someone who could control plants...

I don't really think there is a way to treat the Arkhamites that would serve both reality and the needs of the story, since successful treatment would mean big changes to the characters, and we know how well those stick (how many times has Harvey been rehabilitated/had his face reconstructed now?)

And besides, real therapeutic practices would probably be pretty boring to read about. Who wants to see time consuming but eventually effective tweaking of medication regimens and cognitive behavioral sessions when they could have pop culture's visions of Freudian analysis and shock treatments? (Besides me, I mean.) And what fun is it if the rogues aren't constantly escaping to wreak havoc?

What gets me, though, are just little things that are so out of line with my reality that they bounce me right out of the story. Sometimes they're funny and forgivable, sometimes they're annoying. Things like:

*Wearing costumes while in treatment.

*No one ever providing informed consent for anything, ever (yep, even in a lockdown hospital, patients have the right to refuse treatment unless they are mentally incapable of doing so, in which case the decision would still fall to a guardian)

*Group sessions with 12 or so patients who are exceptionally dangerous to self and others and with no apparent unifying subject of discussion, just "therapy."

*One therapist determining the entire course of a patient's treatment (treatment teams often include a therapist, a psychiatrist or doctor, the guards/orderlies, social worker, family, etc.) or handing down disciplinary actions (ethically, there should be a separation of roles there.)

*Patients being released out into the world with no step-down treatments (halfway house, intensive outpatient, whatever.)

*Nurses and orderlies who have apparently never heard of cheeking or palming meds or of basic safety procedures like don't let the patient get between you and the door. Don't give the patient a pen. Don't let the patient lurk behind you.

*Every rogue and criminal ever is apparently paranoid schizophrenic.

*Everyone involved in providing mental health treatment is crazy (okay, there is some truth to that one.)

What I'd really like to see is just the occasional therapist or orderly who is depicted as having compassion and some level of connection with the patients, and who also isn't an idiot who gets stabbed in the eye with a fork because they act like they work in a petting zoo instead of a lockdown. Maybe this happens more often and I just haven't encountered it? Dunno.

Yeah, I could probably keep spewing stuff, but I'mma go ahead and stop now. ;) Hope that song and dance actually answered your questions a little.

[lego_joker]

I believe that a violent homicide is on the list of requirements to get into Arkham in the first place. I could've sworn that there was a Bat-comic that featured a more pleasant (or at least less scary) mental hospital for the more harmless insane.

[lady_vaguely]

Oh sure, sure, but even violent offenders are usually given the opportunity for therapy if they can be assessed as suitable participants. And conversely, even the "nicest" lockdown hospital I went to was incredibly, oppressively gloomy, because nothing mitigates the fact that you're stripping people of very basic freedoms. It wouldn't do for Arkham to be all rainbows and kittens (although perhaps some of the inmates would benefit from several sessions of Rainbow and Kitten Therapy, or RKT as we call it in the biz.)

Hehe, and it's not like I think that inaccurate portrayal of an occupation is limited to psychology. I've watched enough episodes of C.S.I. while my friend in forensics squirms and growls at the television to prove that. It's just hard to silence that little voice in the back of your mind that's whining "They're doing it wrooooong!"

[thehefner]

In Roger Ebert's review of Hackers, he believed "that you should never send an expert to a movie about his specialty." It's so true.

Sometimes when I work on my epic Harvey Dent fic, I want to have an actual District Attorney as creative consultant to remind me of when I'm doing it wrong, because I know I can't be doing it all right. :)

[thehefner]

I very appreciate you sharing your spew with me! ... Wait, ew. But seriously, this is fascinating! :)

I imagine you reading every single Jeremiah Arkham story written by Alan Grant and facepalming every other page. Who knows, perhaps his complete and utter fail in his methods is meant to be some sort of commentary on everyone one's NOT supposed to do, based on the list you include here.

I showed your post to my Henchgirl, and thinks that the smart doctors and orderlies who used the basic safety procedures were probably already killed by the inmates. Maybe the same could be said for the compassionate and effective doctors?

What I'd really like to see is just the occasional therapist or orderly who is depicted as having compassion and some level of connection with the patients, and who also isn't an idiot who gets stabbed in the eye with a fork because they act like they work in a petting zoo instead of a lockdown. Maybe this happens more often and I just haven't encountered it? Dunno.

There is only ONE instance I can think of where this has happened, but not in a Batman comic. It was actually in a Spider-Man story, written by J.M. DeMatteis (who has written great Batman stories like the Joker tale Going Sane and Two-Face: Crime and Punishment). His use of such a character (who actually succeeded in helping her patient) makes me wish that JMD would try to seriously tackle Batman's rogues again.

[lady_vaguely]

Hmm, I think your henchgirl may have just given me a framework for these kind of inconsistencies to work a lot better in my mind! If her supposition was true I imagine that the high number of staff member deaths would drive down the number of applications to work at Arkham. And I have some real world experience with more compassionate/talented workers being driven out by the old guard who refer to therapy derogitorially as "the T-word."

So now I'm imagining Arkham as a dangerous and shoddily-run establishment that gets the dregs of the psychiatric community, with any with a spark of talent either being killed or driven off by the inmates and employees. Cheerful! ;)

That Spider-Man story sounds interesting... I'll have to look into it! I believe I read your writeup of Crime and Punishment, and it looked quite good as well...

[thehefner]

Yeah, at that point, the only people working there are the ones with draconian forms of therapy and wild experimental treatments that would get anyone else fired for ethical violations anywhere else.

It's called "The Child Within" from Spectacular Spider-Man, I forget the issues. But good luck finding them, because they story is stupidly not in print. I mean, if you ever do want to read it, you should first consider checking out "Kraven's Last Hunt," as "Child" is the direct follow-up. The therapist there has a recurring role throughout subsequent issues as well. It's seriously great stuff, and its lack of availability tempts me to post it here, but that's be pushing it more than I already do!

Actually, I haven't written about Crime and Punishment just yet, as that's gonna be a tricky one that will require some serious thought. It's the only other story to directly tackle Harvey's abusive childhood, but it's handled in a way that's more cliched, yet universal, told from a place that's familiar, yet raw, and so I have very mixed feelings about the whole story. Like "Child Within," it looks at Two-Face as if he were simply the manifestation of a furious, self-loathing abused child, and there's a lot to analyze and critique there. I mean just from a story standpoint, never mind a "mental illness does not work that way" standpoint.

[lady_vaguely]

You haven't? Durr, wonder what I'm thinking of... Well, it still sounds very interesting. I'll be looking forward to your writeup when you do get around to it! 'Abusive childhood' is such an overdone handwave that I'm curious to see what it looks like when someone digs into it a little, even if it has mixed results as you say.