Batman's Fengshui
Batman Begins (2005) was a terrific movie. But did you ever consider its fengshui implications?
This bit of fun is for anyone who wondered about that southeast part of the house in Batman Begins, and what made Batman the guy he is. And you can get a sense how “forensic fengshui” operates. There’s no way to mistake it for McFengshui.
Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible …
—Bruce Wayne1
Bruce Wayne spent nearly 10 years wandering the world, and several of them in Asia. He would have encountered fengshui during that time. I think it likely that he did not study fengshui. It does seem likely that Alfred Pennyworth, his loyal butler, would take an interest in the subject.
A short history of Wayne Manor
This house, Master Wayne, has sheltered six generations of the Wayne family, and stood patiently by — while you’ve cavorted in and out of a dozen private schools and colleges — as have I.
— Alfred Pennyworth, to Bruce Wayne, sent down from Princeton2
To analyze Batman’s fengshui we need to know the age of Wayne Manor and something about its configuration.
A generation is 30 years3, and Bruce is the sixth (his 30th birthday occurs during the movie).4 The house would need to be built by at least the beginning of the 19th century to shelter that many generations. Alfred talks about this in the caverns.
In the Civil War, your great-great grandfather was involved in the Underground Railroad, secretly transporting freed slaves to the North. I suspect these caverns came in handy.
— Alfred Pennyworth5
It’s likely that Alfred conflated the two events (that is, the screenwriters didn’t check their facts!), because the Underground Railroad was at its height from 1810 to 1850. The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865 and the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863.6 Bruce Wayne’s great-great-great grandfather was the original Master Wayne in the house, at the end of the 18th century. However the house that burned down was a neo-Elizabethan, dated to the mid-19th century.7
The old foundations of the house we see in the caverns represent some of the earliest parts of Wayne Manor.
It seems likely that the 19th century remodel was also an expansion, which means the house most likely changed period (construction year).
What we know about the house:
- At the earliest the structure could be Period 7.
- At the most it is Period 9.
We need more information if we are going to understand Batman’s fengshui.
“To the southeast corner?”
The location of the caverns commands our attention at the end of the movie, when Bruce vows to rebuild the charred remains of Wayne Manor “just the way it was. Brick for brick” — with a few modifications to the foundations at the southeast!
This gives us several clues that will help us diagnose the house.
Environment
This map of Gotham shows the location of Wayne Manor as it relates to the rest of the city. It is number 3 at the very top of the map.
Here is the house from the air, courtesy of Google Earth.
Inside, the amount of sunlight suggests that the facing direction is south or southeast. If we use Google Earth as our guide — since it is not possible to obtain a local compass measurement — then the facing is actually SE1, the sitting at NW1 — a Qian house.
This means the Batcave, identified as being in the southeast, is under the front of the house. The caverns must be immense.
The well cover that Bruce fell through into the caverns as a child appears to be more easterly. When he decides to first explore the caves as a base of operations for Batman, Bruce walks out of the house, down the steps, and turns right. The garden entrance could be in the southeast, or at East 3. This reinforces the concept of the massive size of the caverns under Wayne Manor.
Drunken billionaire burns house
The fire is key. The fire was started by Ra’s al Ghul’s men — in the hallway.
Notice that this is not far from the secret entrance to the Batcave, which is where Alfred helps Bruce into his tuxedo for his birthday party. (It appears to be the opposite end of the hall.)
The hall apparently runs the length of the southeast side of the house. That "fire index" may help us place the house in space and time.
Analysis
We know the house had tragedies and there was a high fire index for 2005. So for NW1 sitting, what does that offer us in three periods?
Period 9 (built or remodeled between 1844 and 1863)
There are fire problems built into this structure. Injury or death by metal is possible. However, there is much that does not match the Wayne history. Although Thomas was murdered young (apparently in his early forties), Martha was murdered along with him, not left a widow. Father and son did not argue. And there were no problems with cretinism or cancer.
Period 8 (built or remodeled between 1824 and 1843)
The Period 8 house suggests much of the history of the Wayne family, and the habits of the current occupant.
When the house is in its living cycle, then you have great wealth, success, and people who are good doctors, civic leaders, and lawyers — helpful people. That epitomizes the Wayne family, as Thomas Wayne explained to his son about the new transit system.
Your great-grandfather built the first trains in Gotham. The city’s been good to our family. It was time to give something back — a new public transportation system for the whole city.8
But in its death cycle, the house turns sinister. The “helpful people” turn into people who are still helpful but now face personal attacks (which could include murder). There is the potential for great loss, including family members and wealth. All work stops. There is separation, communication breakdown. Someone is jailed (in Bhutan, perhaps?). The occupant is always fighting (crime, in this case). He also has a bad reputation, including sex scandals. Such is the life of the billionaire playboy who drives sports cars, dates movie stars, and buys things that aren’t for sale.
You notice that it is Reversed (bad for people, bad for money)? And there is no mountain at the south or water at the northwest. But the house is a good one through its wang cycle, and in good years.
Period 7 (built or remodeled between 1804 and 1823)
There is a fire index for this house, along with the jail sentence, the always-fighting occupant, and the scandalous reputation. However, the occupant isn’t poor or suffering from ill health, isn’t blind, and doesn’t suffer from low IQ.
I suggest the Period 8 house is the best fit for Wayne Manor.
In a way, it is a good thing that the house burned. The new house is also built in Period 8 and the wang cycle ensures Bruce Wayne of fortune, prestige, and leadership. But there is no yang without yin, even for billionaires. Some of the same troubles in the old house follow to the new — even if it’s built more like a fortress and eco-friendly (solar powered).
New housing
For The Dark Knight (due in theaters July 18, 2008), Bruce Wayne lives in a penthouse. This follows the story line from comic books in the Sixties. Bruce Wayne moved into the penthouse of the Wayne Tower in downtown Gotham City. The new Batcave is in the sub-basement of the Tower.
But more on that in a subsequent article.
References
- Detective Comics #33 (November 1939)
- Internet Movie Script Database: Batman Begins
- The length of a generation is roughly 30 years
- Batman Begins script
- Batman Begins script
- Underground Railroad timeline
- Mentmore Towers was built in 1855. This is actually too late for the timeline established in the movie, unless the house has been remodeled.
- Batman Begins script
