TDKR - post 1 - SPOILERS UNDER CUT
Jul. 24th, 2012 04:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
loony_moonyOkay, as I wind down from this weekend, my Batman thoughts accumulate, and I really need to get them out of my brain.
This first post is going to be about TDKR as a political allegory and why that's total bs.
One of the reviews of TDKR that peaked my curiosity was Salon's, in which the idea of the Nolan trilogy being fascist was not even discussed, but stated as a fact.
That's...problematic. And kind of stupid. Because the idea of fascism is that a nation is more important than an individual. You're supposed to be sacrificing your comforts, your habits and sometimes your life for the good of the public. Looked at it from this way, Batman is certainly a fascist character functioning in an ideally fascist surroundings (Gotham). Bruce Wayne, the rich playboy who spends all his money on defending his city, almost at he cost of his life. Gotham is an allegory for the US, and Batman is the mirror of Captain America.
This not only belittles Batman as a character, but also belittles political idealism, America and everything inbetween. Gotham is a microcosm in the US; a detached, New York-Chicago hybrid of a city that does function in the US, and the US continuously disappoints it in every possible way. Batman is a heavily emotionally damaged man who shuns working for law enforcement, even turning on it when needed. Batman is better than your government, better than your law officials, better than your army.
If that's fascist, I'm Christian Bale.
Moreover, the incorporation of the Occupy movement into the storyline of TDKR is about as essential to the plot as 9/11 was for TDK. That is to say, if you think it's really the point, you got Nolan'd (like being Loki'd, but with less Tom Hiddleston in a Mario Brother mustache). If anything, TDKR's "power to the people" hostile takeover only highlights how non-violent the OWS movement is, and how violently it was taken down by the police in all major US cities. Chris Nolan doesn't really care about documenting a specific era in his movies; he cares about capturing the atmosphere of an era. Batman Begins was about the paranoia of life in an era of global terrorism. The Dark Knight was about the loss of faith the American people have in their Bush era government. The Dark Knight Rises is about the civil unrest that comes with a global political upheaval.
And lastly, many people have pointed out that in the wake of the Aurora shooting, TDKR is actually a great movie to watch, gun-unease aside. Batman is a strict no-guns superhero. He never uses guns on anyone. The movie goes further to depict John Blake self disgust when he accidentally kills two suspects, using his gun in self-defense. It also uses the idea of gun usage as an aspect of further moral ambiguity in Catwoman, as she acknowledges Batman's views on the subject, but loath to take them for herself.
In conclusion, don't play political mindgames with Chris Nolan. You'll end up thinking you got incepted.
This first post is going to be about TDKR as a political allegory and why that's total bs.
One of the reviews of TDKR that peaked my curiosity was Salon's, in which the idea of the Nolan trilogy being fascist was not even discussed, but stated as a fact.
That's...problematic. And kind of stupid. Because the idea of fascism is that a nation is more important than an individual. You're supposed to be sacrificing your comforts, your habits and sometimes your life for the good of the public. Looked at it from this way, Batman is certainly a fascist character functioning in an ideally fascist surroundings (Gotham). Bruce Wayne, the rich playboy who spends all his money on defending his city, almost at he cost of his life. Gotham is an allegory for the US, and Batman is the mirror of Captain America.
This not only belittles Batman as a character, but also belittles political idealism, America and everything inbetween. Gotham is a microcosm in the US; a detached, New York-Chicago hybrid of a city that does function in the US, and the US continuously disappoints it in every possible way. Batman is a heavily emotionally damaged man who shuns working for law enforcement, even turning on it when needed. Batman is better than your government, better than your law officials, better than your army.
If that's fascist, I'm Christian Bale.
Moreover, the incorporation of the Occupy movement into the storyline of TDKR is about as essential to the plot as 9/11 was for TDK. That is to say, if you think it's really the point, you got Nolan'd (like being Loki'd, but with less Tom Hiddleston in a Mario Brother mustache). If anything, TDKR's "power to the people" hostile takeover only highlights how non-violent the OWS movement is, and how violently it was taken down by the police in all major US cities. Chris Nolan doesn't really care about documenting a specific era in his movies; he cares about capturing the atmosphere of an era. Batman Begins was about the paranoia of life in an era of global terrorism. The Dark Knight was about the loss of faith the American people have in their Bush era government. The Dark Knight Rises is about the civil unrest that comes with a global political upheaval.
And lastly, many people have pointed out that in the wake of the Aurora shooting, TDKR is actually a great movie to watch, gun-unease aside. Batman is a strict no-guns superhero. He never uses guns on anyone. The movie goes further to depict John Blake self disgust when he accidentally kills two suspects, using his gun in self-defense. It also uses the idea of gun usage as an aspect of further moral ambiguity in Catwoman, as she acknowledges Batman's views on the subject, but loath to take them for herself.
In conclusion, don't play political mindgames with Chris Nolan. You'll end up thinking you got incepted.
