The Dark Knight -- Political undertones?

charlietwo · 08-06-2008, 23:16

Anyone else feel like a breath of fresh air was coming from the Dark Knight movie? At times it almost seemed as if they were promoting the warrior culture! It was as if Hollywood blinked for just a moment, allowing a true piece of art to slip through that champions those who grit their teeth in the face of terror and fight back. In addition, it decried those who cower to danger, or worse, those who develop a resentment towards their protectors.

The movie itself was simply a masterpiece. Definitely one of the better movies made in recent memory. The Joker was sadistic, and hilarious with very dark sense of humor... like a team guy gone wrong. Bear in mind, I am very cynical when it comes to movies, so this put a huge smile on my face.

On a side note, the first trailer at the Dark Knight showing was for "The Watchmen" coming in March '09. It's based off a graphic novel written during the Cold War, and directed by the man behind "300". The actual novel was recommended to me by our resident medic/comic-geek. I read it all in about 72 hours and I will say that it simply floored me. As close to a modern classic as you will find, from a very interesting medium. It contains very strong political undertones as well, showing liberalism/socialism/communism for what it actually is -- a mere idea in the face of reality. Simply put, very well written. I would recommend this and it's trailer to anyone.

Trailer for "The Watchmen" -- http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/07/...tely-stunning/

jatx · 08-07-2008, 07:13

I loved comics as a kid and I'm enjoying this sub-genre - about heroes with humanity and demons of their own, instead of superpowers. Batman Begins, Dark Knight, Ironman, Hancock, all have been great.

jwt5 · 08-07-2008, 09:27

I caught those undertones too. Especially the "sonar phone" part. Ya know, using people's cellphones to tap into what they were saying etc, reminded me of the unpopular "Patriot Act".

And the whole, being unpopular for having to make the decisions others wouldn't...

ZonieDiver · 08-07-2008, 11:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwt5

I caught those undertones too. Especially the "sonar phone" part. Ya know, using people's cellphones to tap into what they were saying etc, reminded me of the unpopular "Patriot Act".

And the whole, being unpopular for having to make the decisions others wouldn't...

The message I got there was that sometimes you have to trust the people you placed in power to "do the right thing" with potentially dangerous technology in fairly desperate times when lots of lives hang in the balance. Also, that true leaders are willing to be the "bad guy" as regards popular opinion in order to "do the right thing"! Like others, I could scarcely believe this was the intended message in a major, Hollywood blockbuster.

Sten · 08-07-2008, 12:00

Why are messages always hidden in stuff? Is it possible that it was just a cool idea in a movie based on a comic book?

charlietwo · 08-07-2008, 14:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sten

Why are messages always hidden in stuff? Is it possible that it was just a cool idea in a movie based on a comic book?

I would argue it was less hidden than you're implying. It is a cool idea based off a comic book, but art imitates life. In this case, it's mirroring the tough decisions that are being made in the face of death. (West vs. Islam/Fascism)

AF IDMT · 08-07-2008, 14:27

I caught a couple shows about the Dark Knight on the History channel a few weeks ago. Pretty interesting stuff from a psychological standpoint. The gadget portion of the show was pretty cool, too.

Chris Cram · 08-07-2008, 15:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwt5

I caught those undertones too. Especially the "sonar phone" part. Ya know, using people's cellphones to tap into what they were saying etc, reminded me of the unpopular "Patriot Act".

And the whole, being unpopular for having to make the decisions others wouldn't...

Tangent Thought :
China says..."We don't need no stinking patriot-act... We will put microphones in ~70,000 taxi in the region..."

http://www.wsj.com/public/article_pr...193713959.html

**Kyobanim** · 08-07-2008, 16:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sten

Why are messages always hidden in stuff? Is it possible that it was just a cool idea in a movie based on a comic book?

Maybe the message of the movie was 'have a good time, we did making it.'

Besides, there hasn't been a good movie with a message in a long time. As long as shit is blowing up, I'm liking it.

MVS2 · 08-07-2008, 17:10

...The Dawn of the Dead remake is another one with some political messages planted throughout, and equally entertaining in my opinion.

As for The Dark Knight - good movie! One unsatisfying point - the ultra-quick transition of Harvey Dent into Two-Face. If they had made him completely insane, like yelling and screaming and bleeding from the pain and attacking Batman simultaneously, it would have been a little more entertaining.

JCasp · 08-07-2008, 17:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by MVS2

...The Dawn of the Dead remake is another one with some political messages planted throughout, and equally entertaining in my opinion.

The survival of the human race falls on the shoulders of conservative warriors holed up in a fortress shooting at hordes of brainless zombie liberals being shepherded by their equally brainless liberal celebrities? Nice pickup!

MVS2 · 08-09-2008, 17:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCasp

The survival of the human race falls on the shoulders of conservative warriors holed up in a fortress shooting at hordes of brainless zombie liberals being shepherded by their equally brainless liberal celebrities? Nice pickup!

They (the survivors) all get killed at the end, it seems.