Dark Knight and Terrorism « media lizzy & friends
Ξ August 8th, 2008 | → | ∇ Movie/TV |
Batman – popcorn summer action hero or a spotlight on contemporary America? Having recently seen the movie, an obvious resonance comes to mind already discussed back and forth from the New York Times to Fox News. Batman/Bruce Wayne struggle to determine what the true path of righteousness really is when it comes to keeping Gotham safe from the Joker; we see visual and plot references to rendition, torture, and a smoking Ground Zero. Christopher Nolan presents us with a superhero all too human: susceptible to blind rage, vengeance and fear. As well as enjoying compelling stunts and special effects, we as viewers become participants in moral questioning – how would we keep Gotham safe?
Nolan makes this film more relevant to post 9-11 events by shooting Gotham as definitively New York, not some gothic fantasy city. It’s a complete jolt to the senses; expecting only coded references to the Big Apple, we see a cinematic version of New York at its’ most beautiful since ‘Manhattan’. When bombs start going off and the Joker unleashes hell, it is more terrifying for having this immediately recognisable glinting glass and steel panorama attacked; scenes of smouldering rubble remind all but the most blinded cinema goer of the Twin Towers destruction. The Joker’s terrorism (or anarchism as observed by some commentators) feels more real as a result; abstractions of a writers pen seem very far away as the city burns.
Dark Knight and Terrorism « media lizzy & friends.
