Over the past weekend, whether or not you are a fan of superheroes, I believe you should have noticed that DC Comics brought several new trailers through the DC Fandome event; and I believe everyone noticed that “The Batman” is the most talked-about one. Starring the youngest actor Robert Pattinson taking over Ben Affleck as the new Batman, the trailer shows a darker side of Bruce Wayne, even heavier than the plot of the “trilogy”. However, did anyone notice that the background music in the trailer seems familiar? This time, the official trailer deliberately used the song “Something in The Way” by the legendary band Nirvana, and the slightly modified style further enhanced the entire trailer.
It was reported earlier that screenwriter Mattson Tomlin mentioned in an interview with “Den of Geek” that “The Batman” will explore Bruce Wayne’s trauma, so the film has a strong dark tone, rather than the large amount of action scenes seen in previous Batman films. As for the choice of “Something in The Way,” it is believed to have been deliberately selected by the director and team to match the atmosphere of the film.
The song “Something in The Way” that appears in the trailer is actually a slightly modified version with different sound effects added, while the original version is from the legendary Nirvana album “Nevermind”. Careful fans should be able to hear that the lyrics actually echo the movie: underneath a bridge, the tarp has sprung a leak, and the animals I’ve trapped have all become my pets. The literal meaning is also presented in “The Batman”, where the bats like to reside under bridges and in caves, the line “tarp has sprung a leak” metaphorically refers to Gotham City’s history mystery leading to more crimes and killings, as for the third line, the animals can be interpreted as the characters in the movie, Catwoman, the villain Penguin, and even Batman himself.
Familiar with DC Comics originals, or have seen “Joker”, friends should understand that Batman became Batman not only relying on his family background, knowledge, and wealth, but because Bruce Wayne witnessed his parents being killed, which is the main reason driving the whole story. Director Matt Reeves has always been good at shooting movies that are story, character, and emotion-driven, so this time the film will also focus on Bruce Wayne’s trauma, and the previous Batman movies have never truly focused on this theme, and actually behind “Something in the Way” hides another “trauma”.
As the pioneer of grunge rock, Nirvana’s frontman and soul Kurt Cobain’s short life is also full of different ups and downs and encounters. The lyrics of “Something in the Way” actually only have two short paragraphs. Fans of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain share that the song was actually written by Kurt Cobain during his homeless period. However, Kurt Cobain later mentioned in an interview that “Something in the Way” is not autobiographical. The lyrics were just inspired by a moment of inspiration under the Young Street Bridge.
However, what is curious is that Kurt Cobain shared that creation, where he imagined himself “living under a bridge and dying of AIDS; if I get sick and can’t move, I’ll become a real tramp.” There have been two interpretations in the past, one suggesting that the creation stemmed from his childhood fantasies, while another indicated that the lyrics were written in the same year. But regardless of which interpretation, dying of AIDS or being too ill to move, both carry immense sadness, don’t they?
As for how Robert Pattinson portrays a young Bruce Wayne and Batman, as well as how Batman, who has not yet become a city tycoon, spends his younger days, and how witnessing his parents’ murder affects Batman and Bruce Wayne, everyone is eagerly anticipating Batman: “I’m Vengeance.”
