I have been thinking about Nolan's Batman movies. and here are some thoughts on themes running through the first two movies.
WARNING! SPOILERS FOR BATMAN BEGINS AND DARK KNIGHT!!!
Being the Batman. The first movie, Batman Begins, asked the question "Why would any man choose to become the Batman to fight crime?" This question it answered by giving us a character study of Bruce Wayne, looking at the world he lives in and comparing him to men such as Ra's Al Ghul.
The Dark Knight expanded that question further and asked "What does it mean to be the Batman?" The movie's answer was you have to "be able to make the choice than no one else will face: the right choice."
I wonder how the Dark Knight will touch on "being the Batman" and what question it will ask.
An Overview of Gotham City. In the first movie the city was stuck in a world of crime, corruption, and fear. The city even looks dirty. Its grimy and filthy. Every scene in Gotham seems to be set in night. It is literally stuck in an abyss where there is no hope. Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Shadows wanted to destroy Gotham as they felt it was no longer worth saving but Batman disagreed and felt that it could be saved. And by the end Batman has shown that it is possible to fight crime in Gotham and that Gotham might be able to come back up. There might be a chance for Gotham.
By the beginning of the Dark Knight Gotham is starting to see that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Crime rates are down, the new District Attorney Harvey Dent has taken on the corrupt cops and has no turned his sights to the mob. Just as things are looking brighter the Joker comes in at the behest of the mob to bring down Batman but instead decides to bring down all of Gotham. The Joker manages to nearly bring Gotham City to its news until Batman stops him.
Fear. Throughout Begins and Knight fear is used by many characters. In Begins the city lives in fear of the criminal element with cops and prosecutors who are not bought off by the criminals are too frightened to stand up to them. The mob uses fear. In return, Batman uses fear to fight them. They put fear into the hearts of the "Good People of Gotham" so Batman uses the symbol of the Bat to put fear into them. Then Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Shadows use fear via Crane's Fear Toxin to try to destroy the city. The very thing which had been keeping the city in an abyss.
At the beginning of The Dark Knight the people of Gotham no longer fear the criminals like they did in Batman Begins. The Joker points this out saying "A year ago these cops and lawyers wouldn't dare touch any of you". The Joker then uses fear against a people who are very used to being afraid and have just now learned that they may not have to be afraid. That fear drives people to be willing to commit horrendous acts.
In the next movie it appears Bane will also use fear, but how remains a mystery.
"Law and Order" and "Rule of Law". This is a long one. When people refer to someone as a "big law and order guy" they typically mean that person wants police on every street corner, harsh punishments for offenders, and really anti-crime. But I don't think that is all Law and Order is. To have Law and Order you must have "Rule of Law". The League of Shadows, if they use this phrase, likely interprets it as meaning that crimes are swiftly and quickly punished without any chance for recourse by men morally fit to pass judgement. I would guess that Bruce Wayne, and therefore Batman, however defines it as meaning that society is ruled by a system of laws and legal processes that ensure the orderly functioning of society and that though these legal processes may sometimes protect criminals from punishments also help to protect the innocent from mistakes and justice gone awry. If this system works well it allows to society to function largely without the need of a Batman. At the start of Batman Begins Law and Order and the Rule of Law simply do not exist in Gotham City. By the end we hear Gordon stating that "crooked cops are running scared", that Batman has "really started something". Gotham finally has the hope. At the beginning of The Dark Knight the city is looking better as Dent's prosecutions of corrupt cops and his election to the D.A.'s office as well as Gordon's work in the GPD brings in the Rule of Law. But the Joker threatens this as his moral tests push the people of Gotham to their limits and eventually brings Harvey Dent. Batman takes the blame for Dent's actions so that the people can believe in the Rule of Law, not Batman and his vigilantism. He'll be the bad guy so they can have the hero "they need": Harvey Dent.
Is Gotham Worth It? That is the recurring question of The Dark Knight Trilogy so far. Ra's Al Ghul does not believe it is worth saving. In his mind it must be destroyed like a cancer and that one of the reasons they can pull off their attack is because they were able to infiltrate every level of the city. Batman believed it can be saved and pleads with him for a chance to save it. Ra's Al Ghul refuses.
In The Dark Knight the Joker puts that question to the test and the question is asked throughout the movie, is Gotham worth it? It seems no. Throughout the movie Gotham behaves like a panicked mob eager to throw a hero they were recently praising under the bus just to save their own skins. This is why Gordon refers to Dent as "not the hero Gotham deserved". His ideals were too good for a city like Gotham. Yet Batman refuses to give up on them, even taking the blame for Harvey Dent's crimes so that Gotham can have a chance.
In the next movie it appears that Bane does not believe Gotham is worth it and wants to destroy the city as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment