8 Video Games That Are Way More Intelligent Than You Think

Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish is essential an understanding what is at play in Arkham Asylum, as Foucault's thought has been already applied to the 1989 graphic novel on which the game is based.

In an article on the topic, Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas P. Richardson claim that the asylum separates the sane from the insane not only physically, but more notably by the opposition of inside/outside. What I mean by that, is the location of an individual - if he/she is confined or not - determines their sanity.

For example, the Joker wants to be in the asylum because of his rejection of norms - he wants to be deemed insane, free from all social obligations. Batman on the other hand, wants to stop the rebellion from spreading outside the walls and leave the Asylum as soon as possible. This opposition is also essential in Batman's construction of himself, as he has modelled himself to reject - and eliminate - those capable of transgressing.

Batman's world is that of clear cut divisions and oppositions. Catwoman is the only questionable character that he allows to function outside of Arkham. Other criminals, despite complicated backstories, as well as clinical insanity, are punished for allowing themselves to break the rules.