The Dark Knight, a fictional film, portrays the havoc that takes place on the citizens of Gotham City as Batman, also known as Bruce Wayne, tries to fight injustice while moral dilemmas are being thrown at him. The struggles that he face ties into hegemonic norms, which are the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group (Dr. Burke). This includes the Joker’s challenging the hegemony, the heroic face, Batman’s heterosexuality and male power identity, and Rachel Dawes’s assisting Bruce’s hegemony in anyway that she can. The Dark Knight is not just a tale of good and evil, but a complex puzzle where the citizens of Gotham are blaming Batman for the deaths of innocent people and policemen. While the Joker, …show more content…
Harvey Dent. Batman is the protagonist in this film, but it weakens the idea of the hero who can appear heroic. In order to save Gotham, he believes that Dent can do the job because he sees him as the perfect form of heroism. However, Dent saw this act with the mask of evil. As a result, good couldn’t emerge since the film portrayed the mask as no hero without a mask. Dent earned his heroic figure when he punches the mobster in the face during open court. Ironically, Batman shows himself as vulnerable when the dog bites him with his protective armor. This distinction between Dent and Batman’s vulnerability demonstrates that no one can be a true hero. In contrast with Batman, Dent’s heroism doesn’t involve the experience of loss, but heroic through the identification of goodness. However, his flipping coin that his father gave him introduces the possibly loss into his activities by producing his own luck. This demonstrates his invulnerability by becoming a killer in order to inflict his own experiences of loss on others. When Dent dies, Batman comes in the picture as being heroic because he agrees to be evil when he took responsibility for Dent’s act. This achievement is an act of courage because it leaves him without any recognition of his heroism as he accepts evil as his form of appearance rather than Dent who wanted to be heroic (ejumpcut.org). Overall, this hegemony was based upon who can …show more content…
With every challenge he faces, he demonstratively consolidates his superiority while wearing his costume, denoting his personal sharpness and aggressiveness. Batman’s identity is so tied with male and heterosexual hegemony that any threat to it feels like an attack. This relationship is identified when Batman lost his own parents from a homicidal maniac who was a threat to social order. This explains why Batman reasserts his authority by beating the Joker, a character who seemingly has a “feminine” mind and a “male” body that could be interpreted as a reminder to Batman of the action performed by his father. Batman’s continual beating of the Joker demonstrates strength, which illustrates the dominance of the male and heterosexual hegemony in the society according to the patriarchal guidelines. Batman wants to undertake the Joker in order to prove his physical strength to get the Joker into submission. Batman tries to make his male and heterosexuality gender norms into reality, thus justifying his existence (Peaslee, 140). This assists him in making his normative male and heterosexuality into a powerful patriarchal hegemony that allows him to exceed his
Throughout “The Dark Knight” by Christopher Nolan crime and deviance is seen throughout the film. Crime and deviance in The Dark Knight has two faces as society accepts crime for those whose are helping them and at the same time punishes those who are punished. Society in Gotham accepts crime when the Batman commits it to help for the betterment of society; however, crime is not accepted when it is committed by mob bosses, gangs, criminal cops, and most importantly through the joker. The forms of deviancy/crime which are seen throughout the film is the Labeling Approach, Human Rights Approach, and Human Diversity Approach.
In today’s time and age, I don’t think we will come across anyone, who is oblivious of the legendary pair of a hero and a villain; batman and the joker. Those who haven’t read the comics, must have watched at least a few of the movies that are based on these characters. Batman is seen as the hero. The joker is seen as a villain. There are a lot of variations in the stories involving these two as it has been incarnated a lot times, but their characters remain the same. The relationship between these two is a representation of “yin-and-yang”.
Batman is the fictional character that is either loved or hated. In Andy Medhurt’s essay “Batman, Deviance, and Camp” he argues that Batman is interesting for “gay” audiences. On the Contrary, I believe Batman is heterosexual. Batman should not be judged on cherry picked images, women distract batman, and the Joker’s words cannot be taken seriously.
In a movie where good and evil are divided by a very thin line, the Dark Knight rises up to fight against injustice and corruption in Gotham City. An action sequel to the original Batman Begins, this installment is a lot darker filled with more explosion, twists, and suspense. For the first time, a comic has been integrated into the issues of the real world. With the help of District Attorney Harvey Dent and Lieutenant Gordon, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining mob members and clean the streets of Gotham for good. Their success is only short-lived when they encounter the Joker, a mysterious mastermind who is out to prove that nobility cannot hold in a world of anarchy.
The artistic representation of the Batman myth is an important cultural artifact of our time because it represents modern society's thirst for heroic ideals in popular entertainment. Since his creation, readers and viewers have admired Batman's unique ability to battle villainy, transcend the law and administer justice. As cultivators of the noir genre in film as well as in literature, Americans have always identified with this enigmatic hero, who exists on the margins of society and yet represents one of the largest corporations in the world. The evolution of Batman in particular and the superhero genre in general (from comic book to television to film and back again) has seen in the latest adaptation from Christopher Nolan's Batman revamp a veritable tilting point for the character once known as the World's Greatest Detective. This paper will analyze why Batman is an important cultural artifact of our day, how he came into being, what he means for society, and how he will be treated in the future.
The main conflicts in the world of The Dark Knight Returns revolve around escalating crime in Gotham city and forces of the authority attempting to control it. The authority should be a moral force and represent justice. The figures that represent the authority should be selfless and work only to promote the integrity of law and order. Authority proves to be contradictory in Miller’s novel as the authoritative figures express qualities of vigilantism and overall moral ambiguity.
Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne also known as Batman, the protagonist who protects the citizens of Gotham City, but at the same time throughout the movie he is forced to be in difficult situations and has to make difficult decisions. At the same time the police department considers him a vigilante, because Batman acts outside of the law fighting crime differently. The Dark Knight is a plot of a classical paradigm film, but it has some aspect of formalism. In Understanding Movies -13th Edition, “Formalist movies are stylistically flamboyant. Their directors are concerned with expressing their subjective
Another work by Crutcher emphasizes that ‘Many Lives of the Batman’ and ‘Batman Unmasked’ are bought in three areas: popular culture studies, popular culture as it relates to marketing and consumerism, and the nature of the comic publishing industry. Most writers have examined the impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousness, politics, and so on. This antihero construction sparks centuries old dialogues on ethics, the kind of business that comprises the bulk of Batman. “The complexities and graphics in the novel and comic of Batman have been defined as his duality with his villains” (Crutcher 66). Due to popularity and the existence of Batman, people began using the Batman symbol as paraphernalia on personal belongings such as clothing, equipment, and supplies.
The emphasis of these characteristics coupled with the prevalence and narrative authority of superheroes constitute a type of hegemonic masculinity, defined as the “culturally exalted form of masculinity,” which is linked to institutional power and the subjugation of women (Aulette and Wittner 527). Hegemonic masculinity suggests that there is one correct way to hold power, and that it is hypermasculine, a standard reinforced by dominant trends in comic book portrayals of superheroes. Any grand deviation from these stringent ideals creates a subordinated masculinity, one that challenges the dominant narrative of hypermasculinity, though often throwing into question the identity of the man in question (8). On the surface, the characters in Watchmen seem to bend to these ideals, but as each of them lack or challenge key aspects of hypermasculinity they serve to question both its importance and the misogynistic basis of hegemonic masculinity.
The city in Gotham is in chaos. They no longer know what they stand for and are starting to wonder if fighting evil is, in fact, creating more evil. One man who stands strong even when the public is second-guessing is Harvey Dent played by Aaron Eckhart. He is the new district attorney and is respected by the entire city for stopping corruption all over the town. He is a clean-shaven man with blonde hair and blue eyes who presents himself as a very proper man. This mise en scene proves that this man is a good man. If he were unshaven, had dark eyes, and dark hair it would be hard to consider him a truly good man. The director realizes this may not be true with everyone but it is a typical stereotype in our society today. As the movie goes on the enemy, who is forcing him to second-guess his values, tests him time and time again. Being an honest man is no longer putting criminals away; they are always one step ahead. By the end of the film, the Joker crushes Harvey’s values and blinds him from what his true goals were in life. His two-sided face shows this visually after being burned in the explosion. Also, Harvey has a coin with a head printed on both sides. This coin never can land on tails but Harvey
There are two main characters that the storyline revolves around, Batman and the Joker. Batman serves as the guardian of Gotham City. The Joker, however, stands as the villain who strives to create a world of chaos. Hobbes’ theory on state of nature says that society is the sole reason that humans act civilized. Hobbes’ believes in the “state of war,”, which is a way of life that is proven to be brutal and short. The Joker’s main goal is to prove that people have the natural capability to do evil. While he attempts to prove this throughout his many twisted plans, he is driven to eliminate the one thing that keeps Gotham City from turning hopeless and chaotic, Batman. Without its protector, Gotham City would soon turn to a “state of war.” Hobbes’ also says, “Fear makes natural man want to escape the
I would like to state the importance of an actor performance and mise-en-scene of the male hero to portray the representation of masculinity in this film. Connells (1995) addresses that Bruce Wayne’s character is the definition of the hegemonic representation of masculinity which embraces and exploits the over exaggerated standards of masculinity of them being serious, unnaturally strong, wealthy and cool. His facial expressions also help contribute to this
The Dark Knight (2008), directed by Christopher Nolan, demonstrates the idea of good versus evil. Batman is known as the protagonist, and Joker is known as the ultimate villain. The representation of crime in the film is seen from the actions of both characters. The film essentially depicts the act of deviance meaning, “behaviour that violates social norms, including laws”. In normality the government would have the greatest amount of power, but in the Gotham city, power is complex. There is minimal structure of law and order in Gotham city due to powerful people like Batman and the Joker. Citizens of Gotham city can no longer fight for themselves in a world filled with supernatural powers. Therefore, the only hope that citizens have rest in the hands of Batman. Although Batman attempts to save Gotham city from Joker’s criminal intentions. Batman, however, also plays a role in deviant activity while attempting to catch the Joker. Realistically, Batman violates the moral code due to destructive behaviour, and putting the lives of citizens at harm. He does not care for social norms, nor whether his acts are of legality. He is devoted to combat organized crime with Harvey Dent, a district attorney in Gotham city. Batman is in fact, the definition of crime, he understands but does not abide to individual rights and social contracts which make up the rule of law. In addition, the man behind Batman, Bruce Wayne also portrays a form of deviance by disguising himself as Batman.
“Their morals, their code, it’s a bad joke” said Joker, looking straight into Batman’s eyes and his soul. “They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. I’ll show you, when the chips are down, these civilized people, uh, they’ll eat each other.” Joker gives a rather chilling observation of how people would behave in the absence of laws. Along with this scene, there are many other scenes in The Dark Knight where Joker suggests the evil nature of humanity. However, this is a movie after all right? What Jokers can’t be that true, right? Or is he? The Dark Knight is the second installment in the Nolan’s Batman trilogy. In this movie, Gotham faces a new, much more sinister threat in the form of Joker and Batman rallies hard to find the line between Vigilantism and Heroism. According to Movie Pilot, the nature of humanity is determined by the choices made while Pop Mythology asserts that human nature is evil due our animalistic desires and instincts. While humans may perform good and bad actions, overall it is quite difficult to determine whether the human nature is definitively good or evil as there is constant change in the human nature.
Batman’s character is based on his will to fight for justice. Batman relates to the modern law through the unique ways in which he uses his intellectual abilities to reason. His reasoning provides insight about ‘true justice’ by operating externally to