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instep
analysis
Shedding light on ‘The Dark Knight’
Instep delves deeper into The Dark Knight’s characters
and the political undertones associated with the film, all of which
are being talked about as the film breaks box office records.
By Sonia
Rehman |
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“You
have to see the new Batman movie when it comes in the theatre”,
gushes a friend of mine over the phone. She’s been living in
New York City for the past few years and recently got to watch the
much-hyped, The Dark Knight.
“It was brilliant”, she gushes again followed by a generous
sprinkle of expletives and additional approving remarks.
“The lines here were insane! There were people waiting to buy
tickets dressed up as The Joker and Batman!”
Before you judge the film as ‘just another comic-book inspired
flick’, think again. Ripe with political undertones and breaking
multiple box office records just days after its release, ‘The
Dark Knight (TDK) is a fantastically thrilling, dark, intense and
psychological movie, with a reel spanning over two hours!
But what’s more, Heath Ledger’s tragic death on January
22 this year due to a drug overdose may have - in some morbid way
- raised the popularity scales for TDK. |
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Interestingly,
to train for his role as The Joker, Ledger lived in solitude for a
month (in an apartment) in New York.
With a diary at bay - to jot down reflections and feelings that The
Joker may have thought and felt, Ledger dove straight into the “psychopathic,
mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy” (as Ledger
described the character)…not knowing what it would cost him.
And cost him it did - Ledger’s life. At twenty-eight.
Ask yourself: could there have been any linkage to Ledger’s
prescription drug overdose (which resulted in his death) and his heavy-duty
involvement in the character Ledger was meant to portray?
It is speculated that the young actor had trouble sleeping, and the
sleeping pills discovered at his bed could have pointed towards an
overdose. But why would Ledger overdose on sleeping pills?
Was it a planned suicide? Or was it simply a horrible accident gone
wrong? Amidst the questions; only one thing remains crystal-clear;
and that is that Ledger may have gotten far too involved in his role
as The Joker.
Living alone in an apartment in Manhattan for a month, without any
contact with the outside world - and at the same time practicing how
to look, sound, think, feel and live like the crazed character of
The Joker, surely must have affected Ledger on a deeply emotional
and even physical level. |
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Oddly,
TDK’s famous ‘Why so serious?’ tagline couldn’t
be more ironic.
This is because while Ledger dove straight into the seriously psychotic
and deeply troubled role of The Joker, The Joker’s mocking tagline
coupled with his contorted, gleeful expression, seems to sinisterly
ridicule Ledger’s mysterious death.
And that’s not all. Regarding TDK’s political undertones,
a journalist for The Wall Street Journal wrote that Batman plays the
role of Bush and that on a certain level the movie is “a paean
of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by
George W. Bush in this time of terror and war”.
While the aforementioned journalist’s stance on the rather asinine
notion that both Bush and Batman’s characters can be juxtaposed,
the threat of terrorism regarding both Gotham City and America does
seem more or less, the same. However, as another foreign writer intelligently
puts it: “The difference between Batman and the Bush Administration
is motive. Batman is just trying to do the right thing, period. But
the Bush Administration’s version of the ‘right thing’
is weighed down by ornaments of self interest, corporate interest,
and shady dealings. The difference between Batman and George W. Bush
is that one is The Dark Knight and the other is The Greedy King.” |
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Whether or not TDK’s director Chris Nolan was trying to spark
debate by including heavy political undertones and/or subliminally
eulogize Dubya and his Administration’s policies regarding
the ‘war on terror’, is highly debatable.
Yet, if you look into the script and storyline of TDK a little deeper,
you will realize that it “weighs in strongly on the side of
the Bush administration” (as stated by Spencer Ackerman -
a writer for The Washington Independent).
Nevertheless, this isn’t the first time Hollywood has roped
together current political fiascos with men in shiny leather suits,
all the while stirring up baseless propaganda and provoking mind-numbing,
and thought-bending mass outlooks.
But the political undertones (or rather, overtones) and character
linkages to politicians in the real world aside, TDK is a must-see
for anyone looking for solid thrills…especially after Angelina
Jolie’s over-the-top Wanted (also released this year).
A writer for the Rolling Stones sums up TDK quite brilliantly, as
he states: “The haunting and visionary The Dark Knight soars
on the wings of untamed imagination. It’s full of surprises
you don’t see coming. And just try to get it out of your dreams.”
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