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Eartha Kitt: Purrfect Catwoman for '60s TV An Exhaustively Researched Report by Stephanie Edd The 1960's were a fairly weird time of changing social dynamics and rattling taboos. The wacky acid-colored Batman series that began in 1966 exhibited and reflected some of those sentiments. While, the show often missed the mark of handling the density of the caped crusader, the season of '67/68 showcased a remarkably appropriate choice in recasting. Eartha Kitt came into the mix to replace the statuesque Julie Newmar in the role of Catwoman; the anti-villain who shimmies when Batman shakes. I would argue that casting Eartha Kitt as Catwoman was one of the most appropriate things they did in the show. They should have kept her on. Catwoman as a long-time comic figure has always been a strange antithesis of Batman. She's not exactly his opposite, but almost like a bdzzarob The 1960's were a fairly weird time of changing social dynamics and rattling taboos. The wacky acid-colored Batman series that began in 1966 exhibited and reflected some of those sentiments. While, the show often missed the mark of handling the density of the caped crusader, the season of '67/68 showcased a remarkably appropriate choice in recasting. Eartha Kitt came into the mix to replace the statuesque Julie Newmar in the role of Catwoman; the anti-villain who shimmies when Batman shakes. I would argue that casting Eartha Kitt as Catwoman was one of the most appropriate things they did in the show. They should have kept her on. Catwoman as a long-time comic figure has always been a strange antithesis of Batman. She's not exactly his opposite, but almost like a baracter. I think that as several of the mythos hold Catwoman as being from humble beginnings the real distinction between the two is class. Catwoman is a shade of gray to Batman's inherent goodness. I think she is what Batman would have become had he been from the lower class. He would've been more bitter, more ambiguous, and forced to be much more industrious considering he would have lacked the funds, training, and scientific background to be a true and solid hero. Perhaps having to steal? The convoluted romantic relationship between Batman and Catwoman has always held a strange sense of taboo. She is not entirely good. Though, he cannot destroy her because she is not really bad. She is a product of trauma and an inherently unfair economic and social system. Whether you subscribe to the origins story where she is an ex flight attendant with amnesia or an ex dominatrix, Catwoman has always had a history of service turned tragic. In order to effectively showcase this dynamic of Catwoman's personality and the taboo that her relationship with Batman poses, casting a flirtatious and strong black woman and the feline femme fatale is surprisingly perfect in a television environment. In 1966, post the 1965 various civil rights acts, the situation of African Americans (and women, considering the new feminist movement) was ever present in the media and social dialogue. Having Batman engage with his well-known pseudo romantic other as portrayed by a black woman conjures the long-standing taboos of interracial romance and establishes an idea of both African Americans and women being comparable with a strong white male hero. While this campy production failed so often to really exhibit the metaphors and archetypes of the Batman mythos, the producers found an effective and contemporary device for explaining the Catwoman/Batman problem-relationship in a very clever way. I wish they would have given Eartha Kitt more than three episodes. It would've provided so much more solid content to an otherwise eye-roll-worthy show.