Batman Begins Was Bruce ashamed of his father?

[Jack O Lantern]

I was re-watching Batman Begins last night and I got the impression that he was. When he is fighting Ducard on the frozen lake he reacts angryliy and the suggestion that his parents were dead because of his father. Afterwards he seem's indifferent to everything Wayne but his feelings change at the end. I always thought that it was seeing the house burnt but last night when Ducard mentioned that it was due to his parents that Gotham was saved I noticed a reaction in Wayne. Almost like his father suddenly became a man in his eyes, and that is why his view changed.

What do you think?

 

[BlueLightning]

I was re-watching Batman Begins last night and I got the impression that he was. When he is fighting Ducard on the frozen lake he reacts angryliy and the suggestion that his parents were dead because of his father. Afterwards he seem's indifferent to everything Wayne but his feelings change at the end. I always thought that it was seeing the house burnt but last night when Ducard mentioned that it was due to his parents that Gotham was saved I noticed a reaction in Wayne. Almost like his father suddenly became a man in his eyes, and that is why his view changed.

What do you think?

No, Bruce reacts to that comment angrily because he respects and loves his father, thats why they show us scenes where he is seen with his father in the beggining. Thats why Bruce tells him when they are on the bonfire Bruce tells him "You didn´t know my father."

Why would he be ashamed of a man who was as good as Thomas Wayne?

 

[Sexecutioner]

Thomas Wayne was Bruce's hero. "Begins" shows that with the stethoscope flashbacks and all the dialogue relating to Thomas.

Bruce resented Wayne Manor because he felt like it wasn't his. To Paraphrase:

Alfred: Wayne Manor is your house, sir.
Bruce: It was my father's, Alfred.

Maybe Bruce did not want to 'steal' his father's life (Manor, job, etc) and he eventually excepted it at the end.

 

[Jack O Lantern]

There's a difference in loving one's father and respecting him. Just because Bruce is still upset over his death doesn't mean he isn't ashamed that his father's inaction caused his parents death.

 

[Swordmaster]

His father did try to act, though, just not in the way Ra's/Ducard would have liked. Instead of going about it in violently, he tried to calm down Chill and was going to give him the money.

The man had a gun. Thomas was protecting his family by going along. Notice that when Chill points the gun at Martha, Thomas moves to protect her, resulting in his death.

So no, I don't think Bruce is ashamed of his father at all.

 

[Bayou Bat]

I beleive Bruce thought the only way to stop what happened to his parents was to become the batman completely no matter the cost but at the end he realizes that he can also do good with his Wayne name and he still must keep the name alive. Several times in the comics and animated series Bruce was ready to cast off Bruce Wayne all together but he always comes back the the realization there can be no Batman without Bruce Wayne and Vice Versa.

But what the hell do I know that's just my thoguhts.

 

[Riven]

Bruce was definitely not ashamed of his father. He feels the man did everything he could to protect his wife and child. That's why in the end, Bruce still doesn't agree with Ducard's world view, the fundamentalist opinion that any reaction without desired consequence is inaction, weakness and wrong. Ducard thinks solely in repressive and punative action, while Thomas Wayne (and Batman in his example) are all about being proactive.

If anything, Bruce felt exactly like he felt for a long time in the comics, that he let his father down. As a child, who didn't "act" to save his parents, as an adolescent, who couldn't avenge his parents' death (by killing Chill), even at the same time because he tried to murder Chill (Rachel tells him as much, "your father would be ashamed of you") and as an adult, when Wayne Manor is burning and Gotham is about to be destroyed, failing his father again.

BB is a very Freudian, Lacanian film in that respect, that it's all about the name of the father and yearning for his acceptance. But then, Batman's story has always been an Oedipal nightmare...

 

[Mister J]

What is it with the weird ass questions in this section over the last month or so?

Bruce had the utmost respect and admiration for his father. The film practically hits you over the head with it throughout its duration.

• When Ra's says that it was Thomas' fault that the Waynes were murdered, Bruce gets angry and snaps at him. He then defends his father's actions by citing Chill had a gun (i.e., What was he supposed to do?).
• Later at the fire when Ra's raises the issue again, Bruce abruptly interjects "You didn't know my father." (i.e., ****, because you don't know what you're talking about).
• You can see the appreciation he immediately has for Fox when it's revealed that Lucious knew Thomas (it ultimately lets Bruce know he can trust him).
• By his own words, Bruce views his role as Batman as helping people, like his father.
• When Alfred wants to underscore how important the Wayne name is, he references Thomas because he knows it'll get his attention. Bruce stops dead in his tracks in reverence.
• When Wayne Manor is burning to the ground, his thoughts turn to possibly disappointing his father.

Shame for Thomas Wayne never remotely entered the equation. He idolized the man.

 

[souvlaki]

This thread is a joke, right? I mean, surely people do not actually believe Bruce was ashamed of his father.

 

[MacLeod]

I never, never, come on these forums to just say something that will possibly anger someone else. However, this may be a first, in Begins, and every other storyline I can think of, Bruce is NOT ashamed of his father. I realize that people see different things when watching a movie but this is crazy, it's like you didn't watch the movie at all. Bruce getting mad at Ducard on the lake happed because Ducard was talking about his dead parents and the things he was saying weren't all that positive. If you think that is a moment of being ashamed then you really have a twisted view on the world.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

Bruce still blames himself for what happened. At no point did I think that Bruce was ashamed of his father.

Why would he be?

I believe the stethoscope was supposed to be symbolic of Bruce taking over his father's role in Gotham, as the healer of the city.