Commentary On How To Become Batman

The Invisibilia Podcast on "How to Become Batman,” discussed how people’s expectations can influence a person whether consciously or subconsciously. I found the podcast to be very interesting, the example used of the blind actually being able to see was quite intriguing. It seems as though the expectations of others provide a sense of structure or social boundary for an individual to stay within. When expectations are too low it leads to an almost constrained agency, where the individual does not feel capable of going beyond these “boundaries,” because they have been told they cannot. The example that stood out was with the rats, I found it interesting that the researchers were subconsciously treating the rats differently based on the label
The memory that came to mind was of my brother and me. All my life I had an aptitude for school, I excelled in the majority of my classes with ease and as a result of my performance it became what was expected of me. Conversely, my brother from a very young age struggled with school. He had trouble applying himself, doing the work that was assigned, and grasping topics and consequently it became the expectation of him not to do well, and nobody really challenged him. Growing up I was bitter, if I were to receive even a ‘B’ I would get the third degree, but if my brother to were to be barley passing a course nobody would bat an eye. After listening to the podcast, the jealousy I once had of him being able to lead a leisurely lifestyle has turned to sadness that no one pushed him to be better. It expanded beyond academia as well, a person who does poorly in school is usually associated with lethargy and rebellion, where as someone who does well would be considered one who conforms to rules and regulations. My brother and I were herded into these separate categories of expectation and now I question to what degree they impacted us. We couldn’t be more opposite, while I graduated as one of the top in my class my brother found out that he would be graduating the day of the ceremony. While I am here pursuing higher education and working toward my goal, my brother is incarcerated and remaining stagnant. After hearing the podcast it is difficult not to reflect and believe that the expectations of others and these constrained agencies we were placed into did’t have an impact on who