The Batusi

[The Laughing Fish]

I was watching the first episode of the show the other day and got curious about the cultural impact of the Batusi dance, and found this blog.

https://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2017/07/19/batusi-best-fad-dance-ever

According to the blog, the Batusi was derived from the song The Wah Watusi. If you look at the scene where Batman walks into the bar and meets Molly, everyone in the background appears to be performing the Watusi dance.

Adam West's rationale behind the inspiration of the dance is pretty amusing:

I worked it out on my own, made it a singular moment of madness inspired by the ongoing debate in the media about whether drug use was mind-expanding or debilitating. I wasn't trying to make a social statement. I just felt it would be funny and abstract to have Batman slightly out of his well-trained mind, losing control as a result of the drug.

I guess the morale of the story is...Batman should never drink while on the job. 

For me, the one parody that stuck in my mind was West making an appearance in The Simpsons back in the early nineties, comparing his era with Keaton.

It is goofy, but you have to love the way Batman is portrayed as this approachable, revered figure of society in this show. You can definitely see why people growing up in this era seeing Batman as this deputised officer of the law would have a problem with a darker interpreation of the character such as Keaton back in the late eighties and early nineties.

The latest parody I've seen today was this clip of Bruce Wayne doing the dance in the second season of Titans.

[thecolorsblend]

Vincent Vega threw a few Batusi moves into his dance with Mrs. Mia Wallace.