#103 Pop vs Camp: Which is Batman ’66?

Bring your Coleman stove! Grab your sleeping bag! "Go to the creek and brush your teeth!" It's time for a serious "Camping Trip"!

Back in episode 12, we took time to examine the idea of "camp" and why Batman '66 is often described as "campy." Producer William Dozier and others involved with the show rejected that label because of its "gay" associations, and instead maintained that it was an example of Pop art.

Listener Dan E. Kool pointed us recently to an essay by Sasha Torres, a professor at the University of Western Ontario. The essay is called The Caped Crusader of Camp: Pop, Camp, and the "Batman" Television Series, and it has inspired us to record this episode, on the idea of camp and Pop art as defining aesthetics for Batman '66. Is Batman camp or Pop? What tradeoffs do you make by designating it as either one?

Also, now that we're in season three, do we still agree with our idea in episode 12 that Batman is a "sitcamp"? Has it totally become a sitcom by this point? Has the level of camp since season one become lower, or higher?

Also, the Johnny's Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets version of the Batman theme, and your mail!