WEBVTT 00:00:01.227 --> 00:00:03.275 I was a Marine with 1/1 Weapons Company, 00:00:03.299 --> 00:00:04.450 81's platoon, 00:00:04.474 --> 00:00:06.479 out in Camp Pendleton, California. 00:00:06.503 --> 00:00:07.655 Oorah! NOTE Paragraph 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:08.831 Audience: Oorah! NOTE Paragraph 00:00:08.855 --> 00:00:09.856 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:11.848 I joined a few months after September 11, 00:00:11.872 --> 00:00:14.891 feeling like I think most people in the country did at the time, 00:00:14.915 --> 00:00:18.200 filled with a sense of patriotism and retribution 00:00:18.224 --> 00:00:19.866 and the desire to do something -- 00:00:19.890 --> 00:00:22.635 that, coupled with that fact that I wasn't doing anything. 00:00:22.659 --> 00:00:25.905 I was 17, just graduated from high school that past summer, 00:00:25.929 --> 00:00:28.631 living in the back room of my parents' house paying rent, 00:00:28.655 --> 00:00:31.244 in the small town I was raised in in Northern Indiana, 00:00:31.268 --> 00:00:32.426 called Mishawaka. 00:00:32.450 --> 00:00:35.028 I can spell that later for people who are interested -- NOTE Paragraph 00:00:35.052 --> 00:00:36.056 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:36.080 --> 00:00:39.940 Mishawaka is many good things but cultural hub of the world it is not, 00:00:39.964 --> 00:00:41.860 so my only exposure to theater and film 00:00:41.884 --> 00:00:44.013 was limited to the plays I did in high school 00:00:44.037 --> 00:00:46.265 and Blockbuster Video, may she rest in peace. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:46.289 --> 00:00:47.461 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:47.485 --> 00:00:49.132 I was serious enough about acting 00:00:49.156 --> 00:00:52.464 that I auditioned for Juilliard when I was a senior in high school, 00:00:52.488 --> 00:00:53.639 didn't get in, 00:00:53.663 --> 00:00:56.389 determined college wasn't for me and applied nowhere else, 00:00:56.413 --> 00:00:57.706 which was a genius move. 00:00:57.730 --> 00:01:01.181 I also did that Hail Mary LA acting odyssey 00:01:01.205 --> 00:01:02.840 that I always heard stories about, 00:01:02.864 --> 00:01:05.165 of actors moving to LA with, like, seven dollars 00:01:05.189 --> 00:01:07.132 and finding work and successful careers. 00:01:07.156 --> 00:01:10.512 I got as far as Amarillo, Texas, before my car broke down. 00:01:10.536 --> 00:01:12.263 I spent all my money repairing it, 00:01:12.287 --> 00:01:13.932 finally made it to Santa Monica -- 00:01:13.956 --> 00:01:15.234 not even LA -- 00:01:15.258 --> 00:01:17.917 stayed for 48 hours wandering the beach, basically, 00:01:17.941 --> 00:01:19.227 got in my car, drove home, 00:01:19.251 --> 00:01:20.957 thus ending my acting career, so -- NOTE Paragraph 00:01:20.981 --> 00:01:22.259 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:22.283 --> 00:01:24.171 Seventeen, Mishawaka ... 00:01:24.195 --> 00:01:28.023 parents' house, paying rent, selling vacuums ... 00:01:28.047 --> 00:01:29.602 telemarketing, 00:01:29.626 --> 00:01:31.809 cutting grass at the local 4-H fairgrounds. 00:01:31.833 --> 00:01:34.125 This was my world going into September, 2001. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:34.149 --> 00:01:35.300 So after the 11th, 00:01:35.324 --> 00:01:37.526 and feeling an overwhelming sense of duty, 00:01:37.550 --> 00:01:39.901 and just being pissed off in general -- at myself, 00:01:39.925 --> 00:01:41.321 my parents, the government; 00:01:41.345 --> 00:01:43.798 not having confidence, not having a respectable job, 00:01:43.822 --> 00:01:46.924 my shitty mini-fridge that I just drove to California and back -- 00:01:46.948 --> 00:01:49.921 I joined the Marine Corps and loved it. I loved being a Marine. 00:01:49.945 --> 00:01:52.983 It's one of the things I'm most proud of having done in my life. 00:01:53.007 --> 00:01:54.173 Firing weapons was cool, 00:01:54.197 --> 00:01:56.632 driving and detonating expensive things was great. 00:01:56.656 --> 00:01:58.764 But I found I loved the Marine Corps the most 00:01:58.788 --> 00:02:01.429 for the thing I was looking for the least when I joined, 00:02:01.453 --> 00:02:02.614 which was the people: 00:02:02.638 --> 00:02:06.218 these weird dudes -- a motley crew of characters 00:02:06.242 --> 00:02:08.624 from a cross section of the United States -- 00:02:08.648 --> 00:02:10.979 that on the surface I had nothing in common with. 00:02:11.003 --> 00:02:12.611 And over time, 00:02:12.635 --> 00:02:14.461 all the political and personal bravado 00:02:14.485 --> 00:02:16.362 that led me to the military dissolved, 00:02:16.386 --> 00:02:19.368 and for me, the Marine Corps became synonymous with my friends. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:19.392 --> 00:02:21.680 And then, a few years into my service 00:02:21.704 --> 00:02:23.783 and months away from deploying to Iraq, 00:02:23.807 --> 00:02:26.672 I dislocated my sternum in a mountain-biking accident, 00:02:26.696 --> 00:02:28.338 and had to be medically separated. 00:02:28.362 --> 00:02:31.295 Those never in the military may find this hard to understand, 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:34.382 but being told I wasn't getting deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan 00:02:34.406 --> 00:02:35.849 was very devastating for me. 00:02:35.873 --> 00:02:39.114 I have a very clear image of leaving the base hospital on a stretcher 00:02:39.138 --> 00:02:42.008 and my entire platoon is waiting outside to see if I was OK. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:42.032 --> 00:02:44.466 And then, suddenly, I was a civilian again. 00:02:44.490 --> 00:02:46.695 I knew I wanted to give acting another shot, 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:48.523 because -- again, this is me -- 00:02:48.547 --> 00:02:52.266 I thought all civilian problems are small compared to the military. 00:02:52.290 --> 00:02:55.047 I mean, what can you really bitch about now, you know? 00:02:55.071 --> 00:02:56.243 "It's hot. 00:02:56.672 --> 00:02:58.904 Someone should turn on the air conditioner." 00:02:58.928 --> 00:03:00.728 "This coffee line is too long." 00:03:01.155 --> 00:03:02.307 I was a Marine, 00:03:02.331 --> 00:03:03.482 I knew how to survive. 00:03:03.506 --> 00:03:05.444 I'd go to New York and become an actor. 00:03:05.468 --> 00:03:06.729 If things didn't work out, 00:03:06.753 --> 00:03:09.737 I'd live in Central Park and dumpster-dive behind Panera Bread. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:09.761 --> 00:03:10.762 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:03:10.786 --> 00:03:13.476 I re-auditioned for Juilliard and this time I was lucky, 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:14.651 I got in. 00:03:14.675 --> 00:03:17.216 But I was surprised by how complex the transition was 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:18.541 from military to civilian. 00:03:18.565 --> 00:03:22.040 And I was relatively healthy; I can't imagine going through that process 00:03:22.064 --> 00:03:23.926 on top of a mental or physical injury. 00:03:23.950 --> 00:03:25.541 But regardless, it was difficult. 00:03:25.565 --> 00:03:27.735 In part, because I was in acting school -- 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:31.296 I couldn't justify going to voice and speech class, 00:03:31.757 --> 00:03:34.588 throwing imaginary balls of energy at the back of the room, 00:03:34.612 --> 00:03:37.175 doing acting exercises where I gave birth to myself -- NOTE Paragraph 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:38.200 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:03:38.224 --> 00:03:40.958 while my friends were serving without me overseas. 00:03:40.982 --> 00:03:43.591 But also, because I didn't know how to apply the things 00:03:43.615 --> 00:03:45.968 I learned in the military to a civilian context. 00:03:45.992 --> 00:03:48.151 I mean that both practically and emotionally. 00:03:48.175 --> 00:03:49.744 Practically, I had to get a job. 00:03:49.768 --> 00:03:51.500 And I was an Infantry Marine, 00:03:51.524 --> 00:03:54.080 where you're shooting machine guns and firing mortars. 00:03:54.104 --> 00:03:57.651 There's not a lot of places you can put those skills in the civilian world. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:57.675 --> 00:03:58.676 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:03:58.700 --> 00:04:00.722 Emotionally, I struggled to find meaning. 00:04:01.103 --> 00:04:03.064 In the military, everything has meaning. 00:04:03.088 --> 00:04:05.341 Everything you do is either steeped in tradition 00:04:05.365 --> 00:04:06.693 or has a practical purpose. 00:04:06.717 --> 00:04:08.070 You can't smoke in the field 00:04:08.094 --> 00:04:10.445 because you don't want to give away your position. 00:04:10.469 --> 00:04:12.764 You don't touch your face -- you have to maintain 00:04:12.788 --> 00:04:14.670 a personal level of health and hygiene. 00:04:14.694 --> 00:04:16.520 You face this way when "Colors" plays, 00:04:16.544 --> 00:04:18.734 out of respect for people who went before you. 00:04:18.758 --> 00:04:20.898 Walk this way, talk this way because of this. 00:04:20.922 --> 00:04:22.802 Your uniform is maintained to the inch. 00:04:22.826 --> 00:04:25.319 How diligently you followed those rules spoke volumes 00:04:25.343 --> 00:04:26.978 about the kind of Marine you were. 00:04:27.002 --> 00:04:29.030 Your rank said something about your history 00:04:29.054 --> 00:04:30.538 and the respect you had earned. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:30.562 --> 00:04:32.394 In the civilian world there's no rank. 00:04:32.418 --> 00:04:33.857 Here you're just another body, 00:04:33.881 --> 00:04:37.088 and I felt like I constantly had to prove my worth all over again. 00:04:37.112 --> 00:04:40.112 And the respect civilians were giving me while I was in uniform 00:04:40.136 --> 00:04:41.762 didn't exist when I was out of it. 00:04:41.786 --> 00:04:43.539 There didn't seem to be a ... 00:04:43.563 --> 00:04:44.763 a sense of community, 00:04:44.787 --> 00:04:47.453 whereas in the military, I felt this sense of community. 00:04:47.477 --> 00:04:49.206 How often in the civilian world 00:04:49.748 --> 00:04:52.982 are you put in a life-or-death situation with your closest friends 00:04:53.006 --> 00:04:56.312 and they constantly demonstrate that they're not going to abandon you? 00:04:56.336 --> 00:04:58.389 And meanwhile, at acting school ... NOTE Paragraph 00:04:58.413 --> 00:05:00.871 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:05:00.895 --> 00:05:02.569 I was really, for the first time, 00:05:02.593 --> 00:05:04.878 discovering playwrights and characters and plays 00:05:04.902 --> 00:05:06.865 that had nothing to do with the military, 00:05:06.889 --> 00:05:09.244 but were somehow describing my military experience 00:05:09.268 --> 00:05:11.815 in a way that before to me was indescribable. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.230 And I felt myself becoming less aggressive 00:05:14.254 --> 00:05:17.457 as I was able to put words to feelings for the first time 00:05:17.481 --> 00:05:19.600 and realizing what a valuable tool that was. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:19.624 --> 00:05:22.104 And when I was reflecting on my time in the military, 00:05:22.128 --> 00:05:24.539 I wasn't first thinking on the stereotypical drills 00:05:24.563 --> 00:05:26.015 and discipline and pain of it; 00:05:26.039 --> 00:05:28.253 but rather, the small, intimate human moments, 00:05:28.277 --> 00:05:29.610 moments of great feeling: 00:05:29.634 --> 00:05:32.259 friends going AWOL because they missed their families, 00:05:32.283 --> 00:05:33.518 friends getting divorced, 00:05:33.542 --> 00:05:35.540 grieving together, celebrating together, 00:05:35.564 --> 00:05:37.499 all within the backdrop of the military. 00:05:37.523 --> 00:05:39.805 I saw my friends battling these circumstances, 00:05:39.829 --> 00:05:42.860 and I watched the anxiety it produced in them and me, 00:05:42.884 --> 00:05:45.470 not being able to express our feelings about it. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:46.026 --> 00:05:49.074 The military and theater communities are actually very similar. 00:05:49.098 --> 00:05:51.823 You have a group of people trying to accomplish a mission 00:05:51.847 --> 00:05:53.910 greater than themselves; it's not about you. 00:05:53.934 --> 00:05:56.902 You have a role, you have to know your role within that team. 00:05:56.926 --> 00:05:59.085 Every team has a leader or director; 00:05:59.109 --> 00:06:01.659 sometimes they're smart, sometimes they're not. 00:06:01.683 --> 00:06:04.287 You're forced to be intimate with complete strangers 00:06:04.311 --> 00:06:05.596 in a short amount of time; 00:06:05.620 --> 00:06:07.667 the self-discipline, the self-maintenance. 00:06:08.132 --> 00:06:10.615 I thought, how great would it be to create a space 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:13.966 that combined these two seemingly dissimilar communities, 00:06:13.990 --> 00:06:16.225 that brought entertainment to a group of people 00:06:16.249 --> 00:06:18.344 that, considering their occupation, 00:06:18.368 --> 00:06:20.812 could handle something a bit more thought-provoking 00:06:20.836 --> 00:06:22.669 than the typical mandatory-fun events 00:06:22.693 --> 00:06:25.754 that I remember being "volun-told" to go to in the military -- NOTE Paragraph 00:06:25.778 --> 00:06:26.780 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:26.804 --> 00:06:29.082 all well-intended but slightly offensive events, 00:06:29.106 --> 00:06:31.757 like "Win a Date with a San Diego Chargers Cheerleader," 00:06:31.781 --> 00:06:33.957 where you answer a question about pop culture, 00:06:33.981 --> 00:06:35.874 and if you get it right you win a date, 00:06:35.898 --> 00:06:38.244 which was a chaperoned walk around the parade deck 00:06:38.268 --> 00:06:40.659 with this already married, pregnant cheerleader -- NOTE Paragraph 00:06:40.683 --> 00:06:41.850 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:41.874 --> 00:06:44.254 Nothing against cheerleaders, I love cheerleaders. 00:06:44.278 --> 00:06:47.390 The point is more, how great would it be to have theater presented 00:06:47.414 --> 00:06:50.638 through characters that were accessible without being condescending. 00:06:50.662 --> 00:06:53.567 So we started this nonprofit called Arts in the Armed Forces, 00:06:53.591 --> 00:06:55.246 where we tried to do that, 00:06:55.270 --> 00:06:58.188 tried to join these two seemingly dissimilar communities. 00:06:58.212 --> 00:07:02.027 We pick a play or select monologues from contemporary American plays 00:07:02.051 --> 00:07:05.725 that are diverse in age and race like a military audience is, 00:07:05.749 --> 00:07:08.098 grab a group of incredible theater-trained actors, 00:07:08.122 --> 00:07:09.975 arm them with incredible material, 00:07:09.999 --> 00:07:12.219 keep production value as minimal as possible -- 00:07:12.243 --> 00:07:15.279 no sets, no costumes, no lights, just reading it -- 00:07:15.303 --> 00:07:17.782 to throw all the emphasis on the language 00:07:17.806 --> 00:07:20.521 and to show that theater can be created at any setting. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:20.545 --> 00:07:21.725 It's a powerful thing, 00:07:21.749 --> 00:07:24.635 getting in a room with complete strangers 00:07:24.659 --> 00:07:27.307 and reminding ourselves of our humanity, 00:07:27.331 --> 00:07:29.728 and that self-expression is just as valuable a tool 00:07:29.752 --> 00:07:31.109 as a rifle on your shoulder. 00:07:31.133 --> 00:07:33.138 And for an organization like the military, 00:07:33.162 --> 00:07:36.089 that prides itself on having acronyms for acronyms, 00:07:36.113 --> 00:07:37.536 you can get lost in the sauce 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:40.242 when it comes to explaining a collective experience. 00:07:40.266 --> 00:07:42.110 And I can think of no better community 00:07:42.134 --> 00:07:44.205 to arm with a new means of self-expression 00:07:44.229 --> 00:07:46.251 than those protecting our country. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:46.275 --> 00:07:48.755 We've gone all over the United States and the world, 00:07:48.779 --> 00:07:51.460 from Walter Reed in Bethesda, Maryland, 00:07:51.484 --> 00:07:53.930 to Camp Pendleton, to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, 00:07:53.954 --> 00:07:55.663 to USAG Bavaria, 00:07:55.687 --> 00:07:57.727 on- and off-Broadway theaters in New York. 00:07:57.751 --> 00:07:59.823 And for the performing artists we bring, 00:07:59.847 --> 00:08:01.515 it's a window into a culture 00:08:01.539 --> 00:08:03.699 they otherwise would not have had exposure to. 00:08:03.723 --> 00:08:05.742 And for the military, it's the exact same. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:05.766 --> 00:08:07.753 And in doing this for the past six years, 00:08:07.777 --> 00:08:10.008 I'm always reminded that acting is many things. 00:08:10.032 --> 00:08:13.237 It's a craft, it's a political act, it's a business, it's -- 00:08:13.888 --> 00:08:16.013 whatever adjective is most applicable to you. 00:08:16.037 --> 00:08:17.476 But it's also a service. 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:19.024 I didn't get to finish mine, 00:08:19.048 --> 00:08:20.680 so whenever I get to be of service 00:08:20.704 --> 00:08:23.981 to this ultimate service industry, the military, for me, again -- 00:08:24.005 --> 00:08:26.052 there's not many things better than that. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:26.076 --> 00:08:27.404 Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:27.428 --> 00:08:32.016 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:08:32.040 --> 00:08:35.964 We're going to be doing a piece from Marco Ramirez, 00:08:35.988 --> 00:08:37.682 called "I am not Batman." 00:08:37.706 --> 00:08:40.734 An incredible actor and good friend of mine, Jesse Perez, 00:08:40.758 --> 00:08:41.933 is going to be reading, 00:08:41.957 --> 00:08:44.441 and Matt Johnson, who I just met a couple hours ago. 00:08:44.465 --> 00:08:46.616 They're doing it together for the first time, 00:08:46.640 --> 00:08:47.878 so we'll see how it goes. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:47.902 --> 00:08:49.821 Jesse Perez and Matt Johnson. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:49.845 --> 00:08:52.999 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:00.669 --> 00:09:02.636 Jesse Perez: It's the middle of the night 00:09:02.660 --> 00:09:04.970 and the sky is glowing like mad, radioactive red. 00:09:04.994 --> 00:09:07.116 And if you squint, you can maybe see the moon 00:09:07.140 --> 00:09:10.006 through a thick layer of cigarette smoke and airplane exhaust 00:09:10.030 --> 00:09:11.321 that covers the whole city, 00:09:11.345 --> 00:09:13.643 like a mosquito net that won't let the angels in. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:13.667 --> 00:09:14.707 (Drum beat) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:14.731 --> 00:09:16.217 And if you look up high enough, 00:09:16.241 --> 00:09:19.678 you can see me standing on the edge of an 87-story building. 00:09:19.702 --> 00:09:23.129 And up there, a place for gargoyles and broken clock towers 00:09:23.153 --> 00:09:26.129 that have stayed still and dead for maybe like 100 years, 00:09:26.153 --> 00:09:27.664 up there is me. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:27.688 --> 00:09:28.718 (Beat) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:28.742 --> 00:09:30.326 And I'm frickin' Batman. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:31.389 (Beat) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:31.413 --> 00:09:33.578 And I gots Batmobiles and batarangs 00:09:33.602 --> 00:09:35.997 and frickin' bat caves, like, for real. 00:09:36.021 --> 00:09:37.715 And all it takes is a broom closet 00:09:37.739 --> 00:09:39.683 or a back room or a fire escape, 00:09:39.707 --> 00:09:42.698 and Danny's hand-me-down jeans are gone. 00:09:42.722 --> 00:09:44.618 And my navy blue polo shirt, 00:09:44.642 --> 00:09:48.119 the one that looks kinda good on me but has that hole on it near the butt 00:09:48.143 --> 00:09:51.167 from when it got snagged on the chain-link fence behind Arturo's 00:09:51.191 --> 00:09:53.883 but it isn't even a big deal because I tuck that part in 00:09:53.907 --> 00:09:55.126 and it's, like, all good. 00:09:55.150 --> 00:09:57.067 That blue polo shirt -- it's gone, too! 00:09:57.091 --> 00:10:00.098 And I get like, like ... transformational. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:00.122 --> 00:10:01.122 (Beat) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:01.434 --> 00:10:04.769 And nobody pulls out a belt and whips Batman for talkin' back. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:04.793 --> 00:10:05.810 (Beat) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:05.834 --> 00:10:07.254 Or for not talkin' back. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:07.278 --> 00:10:09.602 And nobody calls Batman simple 00:10:09.626 --> 00:10:11.175 or stupid 00:10:11.199 --> 00:10:12.396 or skinny. 00:10:12.784 --> 00:10:16.003 And nobody fires Batman's brother from the Eastern Taxi Company 00:10:16.027 --> 00:10:18.059 'cause they was making cutbacks, neither. 00:10:18.083 --> 00:10:19.972 'Cause they got nothing but respect. 00:10:19.996 --> 00:10:22.131 And not like afraid-respect, 00:10:22.155 --> 00:10:24.534 just, like, respect-respect. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:24.558 --> 00:10:25.559 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:25.583 --> 00:10:27.090 'Cause nobody's afraid of you. 00:10:27.114 --> 00:10:29.248 'Cause Batman doesn't mean nobody no harm. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:29.272 --> 00:10:30.273 (Beat) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:30.297 --> 00:10:31.851 Ever. (Double beat) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:31.875 --> 00:10:34.312 'Cause all Batman really wants to do is save people 00:10:34.336 --> 00:10:36.083 and maybe pay abuela's bills one day 00:10:36.107 --> 00:10:37.258 and die happy. 00:10:37.282 --> 00:10:39.478 And maybe get, like, mad-famous for real. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:39.502 --> 00:10:40.513 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:40.537 --> 00:10:41.874 Oh -- and kill the Joker. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:41.898 --> 00:10:43.358 (Drum roll) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:43.382 --> 00:10:46.040 Tonight, like most nights, I'm all alone. 00:10:46.064 --> 00:10:48.257 And I'm watchin' and I'm waitin' 00:10:48.281 --> 00:10:49.463 like a eagle 00:10:49.487 --> 00:10:50.657 or like a -- 00:10:50.681 --> 00:10:52.390 no, yeah, like a eagle. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:52.414 --> 00:10:53.415 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:53.439 --> 00:10:56.257 And my cape is flapping in the wind cause it's frickin' long 00:10:56.281 --> 00:10:57.695 and my pointy ears are on, 00:10:57.719 --> 00:11:00.549 and that mask that covers like half my face is on, too, 00:11:00.573 --> 00:11:04.049 and I got, like, bulletproof stuff all in my chest so no one can hurt me. 00:11:04.073 --> 00:11:05.787 And nobody -- nobody! -- 00:11:05.811 --> 00:11:07.850 is gonna come between Batman ... 00:11:07.874 --> 00:11:09.053 and justice. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:09.077 --> 00:11:10.879 (Drums) (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:11:10.903 --> 00:11:12.411 From where I am, 00:11:12.435 --> 00:11:14.022 I can hear everything. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:14.046 --> 00:11:15.212 (Silence) NOTE Paragraph 00:11:15.236 --> 00:11:16.396 Somewhere in the city, 00:11:16.420 --> 00:11:19.636 there's a old lady picking Styrofoam leftovers up out of a trash can 00:11:19.660 --> 00:11:22.510 and she's putting a piece of sesame chicken someone spit out 00:11:22.534 --> 00:11:23.845 into her own mouth. 00:11:23.869 --> 00:11:27.178 And somewhere there's a doctor with a wack haircut in a black lab coat 00:11:27.202 --> 00:11:29.060 trying to find a cure for the diseases 00:11:29.084 --> 00:11:32.042 that are gonna make us all extinct for real one day. 00:11:32.066 --> 00:11:33.426 And somewhere there's a man, 00:11:33.450 --> 00:11:34.847 a man in a janitor's uniform, 00:11:34.871 --> 00:11:36.804 stumbling home drunk and dizzy 00:11:36.828 --> 00:11:40.580 after spending half his paycheck on 40-ounce bottles of twist-off beer, 00:11:40.604 --> 00:11:43.548 and the other half on a four-hour visit to some lady's house 00:11:43.572 --> 00:11:45.997 on a street where the lights have all been shot out 00:11:46.021 --> 00:11:49.054 by people who'd rather do what they do in this city in the dark. 00:11:49.078 --> 00:11:51.004 And half a block away from janitor man, 00:11:51.028 --> 00:11:53.942 there's a group of good-for-nothings who don't know no better, 00:11:53.966 --> 00:11:56.490 waiting for janitor man with rusted bicycle chains 00:11:56.514 --> 00:11:58.183 and imitation Louisville Sluggers, 00:11:58.207 --> 00:11:59.989 and if they don't find a cent on him, 00:12:00.013 --> 00:12:01.164 which they won't, 00:12:01.188 --> 00:12:04.546 they'll just pound at him till the muscles in their arms start burning, 00:12:04.570 --> 00:12:06.643 till there's no more teeth to crack out. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:06.667 --> 00:12:08.166 But they don't count on me. 00:12:08.664 --> 00:12:10.911 They don't count on no Dark Knight, 00:12:10.935 --> 00:12:13.929 with a stomach full of grocery-store brand macaroni and cheese 00:12:13.953 --> 00:12:15.542 and cut-up Vienna sausages. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:15.566 --> 00:12:16.567 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:12:16.591 --> 00:12:19.147 'Cause they'd rather believe I don't exist. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:19.893 --> 00:12:23.506 And from 87 stories up, I can hear one of the good-for-nothings say, 00:12:23.530 --> 00:12:25.831 "Gimme the cash!" -- real fast like that, 00:12:25.855 --> 00:12:27.598 just, "Gimme me the fuckin' cash!" 00:12:27.622 --> 00:12:31.175 And I see janitor man mumble something in drunk language and turn pale, 00:12:31.199 --> 00:12:32.376 and from 87 stories up, 00:12:32.400 --> 00:12:35.508 I can hear his stomach trying to hurl its way out his Dickies. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:35.532 --> 00:12:37.413 So I swoop down, like, mad-fast 00:12:37.437 --> 00:12:40.452 and I'm like darkness, I'm like, "Swoosh!" 00:12:40.476 --> 00:12:42.931 And I throw a batarang at the one naked lightbulb. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:42.955 --> 00:12:43.994 (Cymbal) NOTE Paragraph 00:12:44.018 --> 00:12:46.146 And they're all like, "Whoa, muthafucker! 00:12:46.170 --> 00:12:47.761 Who just turned out the lights?" NOTE Paragraph 00:12:47.785 --> 00:12:48.786 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:12:48.810 --> 00:12:50.479 "What's that over there?" "What?" NOTE Paragraph 00:12:50.503 --> 00:12:52.096 "Gimme me what you got, old man!" NOTE Paragraph 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:53.286 "Did anybody hear that?" 00:12:53.310 --> 00:12:57.150 "Hear what? There ain't nothing. No, really -- there ain't no bat!" NOTE Paragraph 00:12:57.174 --> 00:12:58.401 But then ... 00:12:58.425 --> 00:13:01.904 one out of the three good-for-nothings gets it to the head -- pow! NOTE Paragraph 00:13:01.928 --> 00:13:04.785 And number two swings blindly into the dark cape before him, 00:13:04.809 --> 00:13:06.618 but before his fist hits anything, 00:13:06.642 --> 00:13:08.546 I grab a trash can lid and -- 00:13:08.570 --> 00:13:09.757 right in the gut! 00:13:09.781 --> 00:13:11.896 And number one comes back with the jump kick, 00:13:11.920 --> 00:13:14.551 but I know judo karate, too, so I'm like -- NOTE Paragraph 00:13:14.575 --> 00:13:18.356 (Drums) NOTE Paragraph 00:13:18.380 --> 00:13:19.531 Twice! NOTE Paragraph 00:13:19.555 --> 00:13:20.556 (Drums) NOTE Paragraph 00:13:20.580 --> 00:13:21.805 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:13:21.829 --> 00:13:23.281 (Drums) NOTE Paragraph 00:13:23.305 --> 00:13:25.065 But before I can do any more damage, 00:13:25.089 --> 00:13:27.288 suddenly we all hear a "click-click." 00:13:28.217 --> 00:13:30.453 And suddenly everything gets quiet. 00:13:31.049 --> 00:13:33.065 And the one good-for-nothing left standing 00:13:33.089 --> 00:13:35.026 grips a handgun and aims it straight up, 00:13:35.050 --> 00:13:36.631 like he's holding Jesus hostage, 00:13:36.655 --> 00:13:39.540 like he's threatening maybe to blow a hole in the moon. 00:13:39.564 --> 00:13:41.836 And the good-for-nothing who got it to the head, 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:43.128 who tried to jump-kick me, 00:13:43.152 --> 00:13:45.645 and the other good-for-nothing who got it in the gut, 00:13:45.669 --> 00:13:48.550 is both scrambling back away from the dark figure before 'em. 00:13:48.574 --> 00:13:50.257 And the drunk man, the janitor man, 00:13:50.281 --> 00:13:52.544 is huddled in a corner, praying to Saint Anthony 00:13:52.568 --> 00:13:54.684 'cause that's the only one he could remember. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:54.708 --> 00:13:55.709 (Double beat) 00:13:55.733 --> 00:13:56.885 And there's me: 00:13:57.310 --> 00:13:58.680 eyes glowing white, 00:13:58.704 --> 00:14:00.711 cape blowing softly in the wind. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:00.735 --> 00:14:01.736 (Beat) 00:14:01.760 --> 00:14:03.257 Bulletproof chest heaving, 00:14:03.281 --> 00:14:05.821 my heart beating right through it in a Morse code for: 00:14:05.845 --> 00:14:06.996 "Fuck with me 00:14:07.020 --> 00:14:08.171 just once 00:14:08.195 --> 00:14:09.346 come on 00:14:09.370 --> 00:14:10.520 just try." NOTE Paragraph 00:14:10.830 --> 00:14:12.910 And the one good-for-nothing left standing, 00:14:12.934 --> 00:14:14.249 the one with the handgun -- 00:14:14.273 --> 00:14:15.424 yeah, he laughs. 00:14:15.448 --> 00:14:16.630 And he lowers his arm. 00:14:16.654 --> 00:14:17.964 And he points it at me 00:14:17.988 --> 00:14:19.439 and gives the moon a break. 00:14:19.463 --> 00:14:21.636 And he aims it right between my pointy ears, 00:14:21.660 --> 00:14:24.609 like goal posts and he's special teams. 00:14:25.444 --> 00:14:28.113 And janitor man is still calling Saint Anthony, 00:14:28.137 --> 00:14:29.493 but he ain't pickin' up. 00:14:30.277 --> 00:14:31.955 And for a second, 00:14:31.979 --> 00:14:33.233 it seems like ... 00:14:35.040 --> 00:14:36.765 maybe I'm gonna lose. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:38.899 --> 00:14:40.057 Nah! NOTE Paragraph 00:14:40.081 --> 00:14:41.097 (Drums) NOTE Paragraph 00:14:41.121 --> 00:14:42.306 Shoot! Shoot! Fwa-ka-ka! NOTE Paragraph 00:14:42.330 --> 00:14:43.481 "Don't kill me, man!" NOTE Paragraph 00:14:43.505 --> 00:14:45.463 Snap! Wrist crack! Neck! Slash! NOTE Paragraph 00:14:45.487 --> 00:14:49.470 Skin meets acid: "Ahhhhhhh!" NOTE Paragraph 00:14:49.494 --> 00:14:50.732 And he's on the floor 00:14:50.756 --> 00:14:51.954 and I'm standing over him 00:14:51.978 --> 00:14:53.887 and I got the gun in my hands now 00:14:53.911 --> 00:14:56.575 and I hate guns, I hate holding 'em 'cause I'm Batman. 00:14:56.599 --> 00:14:57.777 And, asterisk: 00:14:57.801 --> 00:15:01.359 Batman don't like guns 'cause his parents got iced by guns a long time ago. 00:15:01.383 --> 00:15:02.598 But for just a second, 00:15:02.622 --> 00:15:03.940 my eyes glow white, 00:15:03.964 --> 00:15:05.123 and I hold this thing 00:15:05.147 --> 00:15:07.130 for I could speak to the good-for-nothing 00:15:07.154 --> 00:15:08.900 in a language he maybe understands. 00:15:08.924 --> 00:15:10.471 Click-click! NOTE Paragraph 00:15:10.495 --> 00:15:11.508 (Beat) NOTE Paragraph 00:15:11.532 --> 00:15:14.097 And the good-for-nothings become good-for-disappearing 00:15:14.121 --> 00:15:17.816 into whatever toxic waste, chemical sludge shithole they crawled out of. 00:15:18.784 --> 00:15:20.760 And it's just me and janitor man. 00:15:21.555 --> 00:15:23.025 And I pick him up, 00:15:23.049 --> 00:15:26.182 and I wipe sweat and cheap perfume off his forehead. 00:15:26.206 --> 00:15:27.642 And he begs me not to hurt him 00:15:27.666 --> 00:15:30.196 and I grab him tight by his janitor-man shirt collar, 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:31.507 and I pull him to my face 00:15:31.531 --> 00:15:33.611 and he's taller than me but the cape helps, 00:15:33.635 --> 00:15:36.028 so he listens when I look him straight in the eyes. 00:15:36.052 --> 00:15:37.773 And I say two words to him: 00:15:38.467 --> 00:15:40.075 "Go home." NOTE Paragraph 00:15:41.282 --> 00:15:42.528 And he does, 00:15:42.552 --> 00:15:45.020 checking behind his shoulder every 10 feet. 00:15:45.044 --> 00:15:47.633 And I swoosh from building to building on his way there 00:15:47.657 --> 00:15:49.061 'cause I know where he lives. 00:15:49.085 --> 00:15:51.889 And I watch his hands tremble as he pulls out his key chain 00:15:51.913 --> 00:15:53.622 and opens the door to his building. 00:15:53.646 --> 00:15:54.917 And I'm back in bed 00:15:54.941 --> 00:15:57.213 before he even walks in through the front door. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:57.548 --> 00:15:59.167 And I hear him turn on the faucet 00:15:59.191 --> 00:16:01.447 and pour himself a glass of warm tap water. 00:16:01.796 --> 00:16:03.692 And he puts the glass back in the sink. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:05.800 And I hear his footsteps. 00:16:06.630 --> 00:16:08.685 And they get slower as they get to my room. 00:16:09.758 --> 00:16:12.883 And he creaks my door open, like, mad-slow. 00:16:13.953 --> 00:16:15.781 And he takes a step in, 00:16:15.805 --> 00:16:17.161 which he never does. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:17.677 --> 00:16:18.677 (Beat) 00:16:19.167 --> 00:16:20.797 And he's staring off into nowhere, 00:16:20.821 --> 00:16:23.486 his face, the color of sidewalks in summer. 00:16:23.510 --> 00:16:25.091 And I act like I'm just waking up 00:16:25.115 --> 00:16:27.524 and I say, "Ah, what's up, Pop?" 00:16:28.452 --> 00:16:30.723 And janitor man says nothing to me. 00:16:31.753 --> 00:16:32.914 But I see in the dark, 00:16:32.938 --> 00:16:34.311 I see his arms go limp 00:16:34.335 --> 00:16:36.449 and his head turns back, like, towards me. 00:16:36.473 --> 00:16:38.849 And he lifts it for I can see his face, 00:16:38.873 --> 00:16:40.739 for I could see his eyes. 00:16:40.763 --> 00:16:43.135 And his cheeks is drippin', but not with sweat. 00:16:43.704 --> 00:16:45.485 And he just stands there breathing, 00:16:45.509 --> 00:16:47.941 like he remembers my eyes glowing white, 00:16:47.965 --> 00:16:50.655 like he remembers my bulletproof chest, 00:16:51.513 --> 00:16:53.456 like he remembers he's my pop. 00:16:57.575 --> 00:17:00.531 And for a long time I don't say nothin'. 00:17:02.583 --> 00:17:04.609 And he turns around, hand on the doorknob. 00:17:04.633 --> 00:17:06.061 And he ain't looking my way, 00:17:06.085 --> 00:17:08.627 but I hear him mumble two words to me: 00:17:10.253 --> 00:17:11.667 "I'm sorry." NOTE Paragraph 00:17:14.317 --> 00:17:17.596 And I lean over, and I open my window just a crack. 00:17:18.697 --> 00:17:20.382 If you look up high enough, 00:17:21.036 --> 00:17:22.612 you could see me. 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:24.936 And from where I am -- NOTE Paragraph 00:17:25.641 --> 00:17:26.912 (Cymbals) NOTE Paragraph 00:17:27.692 --> 00:17:29.442 I could hear everything. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:32.076 --> 00:17:40.500 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:17:40.544 --> 00:17:41.761 Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:41.801 --> 00:17:49.140 (Applause)