Madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!

American Political Spectrum

Capitalism is an economic system (as opposed to a system of government) that is based on private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods or services for profit (Oxford English Dictionary). If placed on the political spectrum capitalism would land around center-right. Capital accumulation is a central element of capitalism and competitive markets are also usually implemented on the basis of capitalism. There are multiple variants of capitalism, including laissez-fair, welfare capitalism and state capabilities (Capitalism).

A person who possesses capital assets has capital; they are someone who invests for profit in financial and business enterprises and are an advocate of capitalism or of an economic system based on capitalism (Oxford English Dictionary). A capitalist also refers to the class who own factors of production and derive an income based on capital gains, for example buying something and re-selling it for a profit which you may keep (Oxford English Dictionary). Which leads me to the American Project, drawing people in from around the world who wish to re-invent themselves in America in an attempt to spread democracy and capitalism around the world. This gets messy when one realizes that you cannot have democracy without free press and these can often conflict. Yet the message of the “American Dream” is still spread through the use of Hollywood. Interestingly enough The Dark Knight series seems to draw some attention to this idea itself with its inclusion of political views. Though not necessarily one in particular, as it is not a political movie or comic it is simply fiction, but they both remain very american, as superhero’s themselves are an american invention.

Bruce Wayne is a man of capital; his “Wayne Enterprises” has made him a millionaire. Although Bruce Wayne grew up extremely wealthy he is also the most self-sacrificing character within the film regardless of being the richest therefore wealth is not a moral failing In The Dark Knight trilogies or in The Dark Knight Returns. It is a tool Bruce uses for good, he sinks his money into charity and into the tools required to act as Batman, in order to prevent crimes the state doesn’t protect under its monopoly. Which in turn gives back to the city as he tirelessly tries to save Gotham.

A little comic relief from the heavy stuff… and back to it!

I believe Gotham City to politically be placed slightly center right, with the status quo. There is a slight social hierarchy, with Wayne as we said being a man of capital, but the city is also extremely corrupt, and because of this our “bad guys” believe this economically based, pro-capitalism society and government unfit and in need of change. Also explaining why Bane’s first attack on Gotham is the stock market.

For those of you who have not seen The Dark Knight Rise, which is Christopher Nolan’s Third (and final) Batman film, you may or may not have heard this quote from Anne Hathaway as Cat Woman, “…You’re all going to wonder how you could ever have thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.” It was leading us to believe that an extreme leftist revolution was about to take place, but as it turns out only the “bad guys” held the leftist views, and the overall moral was that rapidly switching from a pro-capitalism society would ultimately end in disaster.

The “bad guys” mainly being Ra’s Al Ghul, Scarecrow, The Joker, Bane, Cat Woman etc., within the Nolan trilogy are trying to lead a revolution in Gotham through the use of anarchy. They are attempting to destroy it and everyone within it so that they can build it back up again anew. All in an attempt to upset the established order as The Joker says:

“…you know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all “part of the plan.” But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!”

All these “bad guys” have one thing in common, they are all working under the same belief that the established order is flawed, and that they are going to fix it through their chaos and crimes, or should I say expose the flaws, not fix. It then becomes Batman’s job to prevent the crimes and stop the “bad guys” before Gotham is destroyed, leaving the citizens with a taste of the exposure without the total destruction.

In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane reads aloud Commissioner Gordon’s letter to the citizens of Gotham, and explains how Harvey Dent tried to kill Gordon’s son and Batman took the fall so that the city wouldn’t lose hope. Bane uses the truth as a tool to turn the people against their law enforcement by making them believe that the Harvey Dent Act was a lie and that these people have been wrongly imprisoned along with it. Then with a general vote the criminals are released; immediately causing chaos.

Furthermore when Batman has The Joker and refers to him as “garbage who kills for money,” The joker retorts with:

“Don’t talk like one of them. You’re not! Even if you’d like to be. To them, you’re just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don’t, they’ll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it’s a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they’ll eat each other. See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.”

Sadly, The Joker is right. Batman is dropped at the first sign of trouble and he takes the brunt for Harvey’s actions. Even in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns he is seen as a vigilante for taking the law into his own hands in ways the law enforcement cannot. Moreover the civilized people do turn on each other as well, this is proven in The Dark Knight Rises when Bane releases the inmates and it becomes every man for them self. As well, in The Dark Knight Returns, throughout pages 179-181 we are seeing news clips of people trying to justifying their horrific actions towards one another based on their fear and panic, as if it was good enough reason to kill a priest or trample others.

In The Dark Knight Rises both Bane and Cat Woman wanted to overthrow the existing order. The difference between the former and the latter was that Bane reveled in the resulting destruction, while Cat Woman repented it. I am lead to believe that this was all for cinematic effect, to have subtlety and ambiguity rather than the clichéd ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’, hence why I have used the term “bad guys” in quotations this entire time. Regardless of their evil plotting, there are sympathetic sides to each character. The Joker with his sad tales of how he got this smile, Bane growing up in poverty trapped within that cell, and Cat Women acting as a Robin Hood figure who steals from the rich to give to the poor. I believe that Nolan included this sympathetic element on purpose to draw in the OWS types (Occupy Wall street, a name given to those protesting for leftist views, their slogan was “we are the 99% addressing the growing income inequality and wealth distribution in the U.S between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population” [Occupy Wall Street]) only to turn the tables on them and argue that the destruction of the current order leads to a worse result than the status quo. This is shown when Bane attacks the stock market, then leads a group of terrorist (criminals and civilians) to rebel against the government of Gotham.

Food for thought : “If I am not for myself, who will be? If I am only for myself, what am I?” – Hillel, Pirke Avot

• “Capitalism,” Wikipedia. 2012.
• “capitalism, n.2”. OED Online. September 2012. Oxford University Press. 2 December 2012 ;.
• “capitalist, n. and adj.”. OED Online. September 2012. Oxford University Press. 2 December 2012 ;.
• Miller, Frank. Batman: the Dark Knight returns. New York, N.Y.: DC Comics, 2002. Print.
• “Occupy Wall Street,” Wikipedia. 2012.
• The Dark Knight Rises. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway. Warner Bros., 2012. DVD.

There’s a storm coming Mr. Wayne…

The Dark Knight

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Written By: Frank Miller	The Dark Knight Rises Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Harvey Dent believes his disfiguration revealed a hidden evil side. Bruce pays for Harvey’s reconstruction surgery and psychiatrists allow him to be re-entered into society. He returns to crime and is captured by Batman.  (Miller,  15-17 & 26)	Dent becomes “Two Face” when he loses faith in the law and resorts to the only way he deems fair, “chance”. Yet they allow Harvey to remain a “hero” to maintain hope for law enforcement in Gotham
We are aware that the Mayor is confident and that he is forcing Gordon into retirement, unsure as to who his replacement is. ( Miller, 11 & 59)	It is suggested that “the mayor is laying him (Gordon) off in the spring”
Selina works for Kyle Escort and is dressed as Wonder Woman.	Selina is Cat woman.
Batman is gone for nearly 10 years (Miller, 11)	Batman is gone for 7 years
Children think Batman is a myth (Miller, 11)	The children are all still holding faith in the Batman
“write them a cheque”  says Bruce to Alfred (Miller, 119)	Forgets to write cheques for orphanage because his company isn’t making money since he locked himself away for 7 years
Master Bruce. Whatever happened to your mustache? – Alfred ( Miller, 20)	Bruce has been locked away for a long time; his facial hair has grown out. Upon his return to Batman, he shaves it off.
“….Though given your social schedule of late, the prospects of there being a next generation…” (Miller, 21)	Alfred  tells Wayne he went to Florence, and while he was there he imagined seeing Bruce across the table, with a wife, happy, and though they never spoke it was enough.
Comic shows Bruce’s visions of his parents murder and his mothers pearls getting ripped off (Miller, 24)	Includes the pearls in the film when Cat Women steals them
Mechanical arm splint (Miller, 53)	Mechanical leg split
Rookie goes to shoot at Batman, “go to the car kid” (Miller, 40)	Rookie goes to shoot at Batman and is told to put it away
There is a flying vehicle shaped like a bat (Miller, 182)	Batman has a flying vehicle called “The Bat”
“it’s still dark in Gotham city, it’s still winter in august” ( Miller, 184)	It is winter in Gotham as soon as Bane takes over
Nuclear Warfare between Soviets and America (Miller, 165)	America creates nuclear weapon “fusion project” into a nuclear bomb
People turn against one another almost immediately (Miller, 179-181)	Bane’s threats and promises strike fear in the people of Gotham forcing them to choose sides and turn on one another
The Batmobile and motorcycle is used (Miller, 77 & 54)	“The Tumbler” and the motorcycle is used
Superman stops the Nuclear weapon and nearly dies. ( Miller, 166)	Batman stops the nuclear weapon and “supposedly” dies.

The relationship between Frank Miller’s, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and director Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy (specifically The Dark Knight Rises but also, The Dark Knight) are rather obvious. Frank Miller prides himself on the crime noir genre as seen through his art work in The Dark Knight Returns (and his famous movie, Sin City). Nolan appears to have drawn from the dark version of Batman that Frank Miller created and simplified the story by breaking it down into three parts, making it more realistic to the viewers. There is also his obvious decision to utilize the title “The Dark Knight” which in itself appears to be representative of a cold, senile man (though slightly more optimistic than Millers version) with a grudge that he will never truly shake.

A film-noir is a cinematic term primarily used to describe Hollywood crime dramas. Often they emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations (Film Noir). Film-noirs were originally created as a high contrast black and white film and the term neo-noir has also been used to represent modern day film-noirs that utilize many of the same elements but with updated themes or visual elements.  Modern versions of film noirs also incorporate colour while maintaining a majority of night scenes or scenes held in dim light. There is a range of possible plots such as the law-abiding citizen lured into a life of crime or simply a victim of circumstance. I chose these two as my examples as they relate to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises (and the trilogy as whole) as well as Frank Miller’s, The Dark Knight Returns.

The Dark Knight Rises, by Christopher Nolan utilizes low-key lighting schemes and dramatic shadows like many classic film-noirs. Its convoluted story lines and use of flashbacks that at times disrupt the narrative are all signifiers of a neo-noir (Film Noir). Batman being both a part of The League of Shadows and a character that hides in the shadows of the night sets the stage perfectly for this style of film and his character traits make him an ideal neo-noir protagonist. Batman is filled with existential bitterness, the unnecessary death of his parents by criminals lead to his loss of faith in society; thus resulting in his creation of Batman so as to take back control of Gotham in a non violent manor.

Generally a requirement of the protagonist is to be a part of a heist or implicated in con games or murder conspiracies (Film Noir). In The Dark Knight Batman is involved in The Joker’s con-games by force. Not only is he usually involved in them via his attempt to prevent them but this time The Joker literally makes Batman a part of them.  The Joker forces Batman to choose between two locations one being Rachel’s and one being Harvey’s, knowing only one can be saved he must make a decision. So who to choose- his love or the cities hero? This decision of course is made more complicated by The Jokers games.

With this being said, crime is also another tell tale sign of a film-noir, often even murderous crimes; all of which occurs within Nolan’s Batman trilogy(Film Noir). Gotham is a city struck by crime, greed and murder and is inherently corrupt therefore it requires a hero. Even though their true hero is the Batman, as we all know, “he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So, we’ll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight.” Gotham needs more than Batman, it is a city that cannot afford to lose faith and hope in the law. For that reason Batman takes the fall for Harvey’s murders, once more proving his dedication to the city. Crime is also what leads us to our secondary character Jack, who is responsible for the crime investigations. He plays the role of the concerned amateur cop more interested in learning and protecting than investigating. Over all, the convoluted story line, use of flashbacks, murder, external bitterness and a life in the shadows fighting crime show us that Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogies are in fact neo-noir films (as if the Title “The Dark Knight” wasn’t enough of a giveaway.)

I tried to find a clip that showed the shadowy darkness surrounding Gotham in Nolan’s trilogy as well as the corruption and crime within in the city of Gotham.

Similarly, Frank Miller uses a book-noir theme throughout his comic via pictures that are grotesque and dark. Unlike most comics that sexualize women, utilize bright colours and are often directed towards young adults, Frank Millers Comic touch on societal issues such as stereotypes, controversies ethics, neoliberalism and capitalism within American Culture. His anger is evident as he writes this comic (also using more text than the average comic would) and it is this anger and style of artwork that lead to a book-noir. Batman is once more the protagonist filled with existential bitterness, his parent’s death is a constant flashback we as the readers experience. Slowly we are unraveling more information about his bitterness towards society and ultimately his flashbacks are what drive him to become Batman once more. His disdain for crime and the turn of society causes him to act out more violently than your average version of Batman and we are even lead to believe he may even have murdered someone, though this is never proven. Batman is both surrounded by and drawn into con-games, once again by The Joker (who even frames Batman as his own murderer). And once more the society see’s Batman as a vigilante as opposed to a hero. Carrie Kelly plays the role of a concerned amateur detective seeking out Batman (while dressed as Robin) and eventually proving herself worthy of assisting him. Overall the tone is notably downbeat as Frank Miller addresses his issues with society through print culture. The use of dark and grotesque images along with a protagonist who has lost hope for a corrupted society taken over by criminals is the perfect set up for a book-noir.

“re-imagining of a superhero”…”Dark Knight specifically influenced every Batman to come since.”

This is a clip I have selected to try and show the reckless behavior of Bruce Wayne. The darkness, apathy and crime in Gotham, driving Bruce to a point where he can no longer resist being Batman again. All which when combined creates the book-noir.

Fun Fact: Film noir is often associated with an urban setting, and a few cities in particular—Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Chicago (Film Noir). Funny enough, Batman The Dark Knight is filmed in New York and Chicago (and Pittsburgh) and Gotham was a nickname given to New York City by Bob Kane when he was creating Batman.

I also found this blog related to the noir topic, that discusses some of the similarities between Blade Runner and The Dark Knight called Blade Runner meets The Dark Knight. Very Interesting! Take a look. 

• Miller, Frank. Batman: the Dark Knight Returns. New York, N.Y.: DC Comics, 2002. Print.
• The Dark Knight Rises. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway. Warner Bros., 2012. DVD.
• “Film Noir” Wikipedia. November 28, 2012.
• “The Dark Knight Rises ‘Legend’ Trailer” Youtube, 2012.
• “The Dark Knight Returns (2012) Sneak Peak” Youtube, 2012.