Essays on The Dark Knight

(Student name removed for privacy) Analysis Report: Inception (2010)

Background

Christopher Nolan directed Inception and co-produced it together with Emma Thomas in 2010. Nolan was the one who wrote the script for the film and kept in the drawer of his table until the year it was released. The main roles were played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page and Tom Hardy. The score of the film, composed by Hans Zimmer, is said to be one of his most notable works. The production companies Legendary Pictures and Syncopy and distributed by Warner Bros. Paul Franklin ...

Introduction

Superhero is a term that is socially accepted and widely revered in today’s society. We are fed with information about their supreme powers and ability to save humanity from evil. Every popular media form has been used to ensure our society fantasizes about their presence and accept their critically maligned narratives (King 167). Vigilante, it’s a word taken from Spanish and it was first introduced to America in the mid-19th century. A vigilante is someone who operates alone or in a group, “takes the law into their own hands” (Butler 1). These people are not endorsed as ...

Batman: The History of Origin

Created by the artist-writer duo of Bob Kane and Bill Finge, the superhero character of Batman first made an appearance in Issue Number 27 of the popular DC Comics’ series Detective Comics in May 1939. So instant was the popularity of the orphan boy who uses his intelligence and ingenuity to develop cutting-edge gadgets to fight crime in his native Gotham city, that DC Comics launched an entire new comic book series dedicated to the new character that was titled ‘Batman’ in 1940 . The secret identity of the superhero was that of the heir Bruce Wayne, who witnessed the ...

Capstone / WA 3

In this project my purpose is to analyze the changes that have taken place in the film portrayals of Batman between the original Batman: The Movie feature from 1966 and the trilogy that was directed by Christopher Nolan, which ended with The Dark Knight Rises. My major question was whether or not the shift in tone from campy to dark and introspective was a sign of shifts in American culture. The subquestions included such inquiries as whether or not the movies’ success tracked with their ability to mirror the slow darkening in the cultural mood and whether the writing ...

While the films in the Batman cycle speak powerfully for themselves, the reception of the films – and the resulting commentary – go a long way toward showing the different culture in which the movies were made, and which they reflect. In 1965, when the original Batman: The Movie came out, the focus was on action and humor. A review from the time (Variety Staff) indicated that the film is “packed with action, clever sight gags, interesting complications and goes all out on bat with batmania” (Variety Staff, web). The reviewers also noticed that the “script retrieves every trick from the ...

Frank Miller’s seminal graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns presents a relatively innovative and unprecedented interpretation of Bob Kane’s Caped Crusader, Batman. Instead of the heroic, principled crime fighter in his prime found in most DC comic versions of the character, Miller’s Batman is a terrifying, fearful middle-aged man dealing with both his own obsolescence and the conservative anxieties he has about the implications of Superman’s powers and abilities. On top of that, Batman has a much more absolutist, black-and-white version of justice, in which Batman’s inherent vigilantism is taken to its furthest conclusion. ...

Frank Miller’s seminal graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns presents a relatively innovative and unprecedented interpretation of Bob Kane’s Caped Crusader, Batman. Instead of the heroic, principled crime fighter in his prime found in most DC comic versions of the character, Miller’s Batman is a terrifying, fearful middle-aged man dealing with both his own obsolescence and the conservative anxieties he has about the implications of Superman’s powers and abilities. On top of that, Batman has a much more absolutist, black-and-white version of justice, in which Batman’s inherent vigilantism is taken to its furthest conclusion. ...

If you look at the portrayal of superheroes in film over the past three or four decades, it is clear that the characters are becoming darker in their personal nature, their motivations and the way they act in the films. If you look at the way that Adam West acts in the Batman film from the 1960s and in the television program, it is fairly clear that the emphasis of the show is campy in nature, and while his Batman does state lessons in a paternal sort of tone, the humor of the show makes the whole thing seem ...

Creating the Image of a Supervillain in Six Minutes

Superhero films are expected to offer an explosion of action, and starting the film with an action scene sets the viewers’ expectations high. The initial scene of Christopher Nolan’s “Batman: The Dark Knight” gives viewers an adrenaline rush, which makes them feel even more excited about the rest of the film. However, in this film, the initial scene has an even more important function because it introduces the film’s antagonist, the Joker. The film relies on viewers’ prior knowledge of the character in order to reveal the main antagonist of the film in this scene. Even though ...

Comic book Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986) written by Frank Miller tells story of 55-year old Bruce Wayne who after tiring inner struggle decides to come back to his alter ego. Wave of crime is about to sink Gotham forever and retirement of Jim Gordon only worsen the state of being. Thus, in this book Batman has to fight villains and criminals again, therefore creating questionable way of actions that illuminates Gotham`s weaknesses in police system. These lines describe the very essence of Batman`s turmoil and motifs “You don't get it, son. This isn't a mudhole ...