The Politics of The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight has been the centerpiece of this Summer's slate of blockbusters. I found it to be surprising intense and cynical for a superhero movie. That said, it was a damn good superhero movie and one worth retrospection. I had some particular thoughts about the political side of the film outlined in a sketch below.

THERE ARE SPOILERS (that, and the unacquainted won't understand what the hell I am talking about. Just see the damn movie already.)



When comic book adaptations come to mind, I've been more disposed to think of the smarmy excesses of Robert Downey, Jr.'s Iron Man or the big, bright CGI cluttered vision of New York in the recent Spiderman series. With The Dark Knight (and like minded forerunner Batman Begins), Christopher Nolan and crew seem hellbent on creating a gritty comic universe, a more realistic reflection of the modern metropolis.

The idea of 'realism' in big screen comic stories is slippery territory. What The Dark Knight has created is a lavish allegory on politics and American manias. Batman is cast- strangely enough for a subterranean, anti-hero- as a conservative superman. Conservatism might be the last tag that comes to mind when thinking of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego but it seems an apt description in Nolan's world.

For one, Batman's dependance on and faith in technology to vanquish his foes is a reminder of America's own technologic and militaristic ventures. 20th century America is bound to be remembered for innovations (often dubious) like the Manhattan Project and the U2 spy plane. This is a nonpartisan fixation but has been marked by distinctly conservative projects like the Regan era Strategic Defense Initiative.

Nolan's Dark Knight takes Batman's traditional utility belt a step further with an endless bevy of vague technological implements that are dispensed with the convenience of plot. If it seems like a bad guy has got Bats on the ropes, then our hero is likely to bust out some obscure device to turn the tables. Batman's cutting edge gear is juxtaposed with the Joker's ramshackle assortment of goods; cell phone rigged bombs and moth eaten suits wired with grenades. A scene late into the movie has Joker in full nurse garb bashing away at a fickle detonator. With Batman cast as conservative hero, this is the perfect image of contrast. Joker is a sexual and political subversive playing with his homemade tech goods.

The film is most aware of this conservative/radical dialectic when Batman employs an experimental radar system to track down the Joker. He creates a city-spanning network that opens up the possibility of spying on any or all of the denizens of Gotham City. This moral dilemma calls to mind the privacy issue in America sparked by Patriot Act. Batman takes advantage of the system despite the resistance of his technological consultant, Lucius Fox. Although the film closes with the destruction of the spy network, a compromise has been made. In the face of defeat, Batman (and in this allegory, America) has suspended morality for the sake of control. While The Dark Knight closes suspended in air, just like the Joker, it does seem to resolve the issue of Batman's heroism with Jim Gordon's epilogue. With Batman re-anointed Gotham's rebel savior, it appears the film endorses his (our) moral lapse.