Batman in Theory: Research

Batman: Dark Knight

In Christopher Nolan's 2008 movie, Batman: Dark Knight, we see multiple uses of media theory.

Propp's Character Roles

Using Vladameer Propp's theory of character roles, we can establish that the characters within this movie all have individual roles within the film. These have been created in order to help to develop the plot line. Including a variety of different characters adds more depth to the film and therefore generates more interest from the target audience: whoever that may be.  

For example, we see the joker as a villain in the film. This is implied by the negative actions he performs and characteristics that he has. We know from this characterisation, that he his role has been included to hold opposing motives to the hero. In doing this, contrast and conflict has been created. Perhaps to develop a larger theme in the film. In this film, Batman is clearly pronounced as the hero. 

Other characters roles in Batman: Dark Knight include: 

• The Hero as Batman (Bruce Wayyne)
• The Villain: Joker
• The Donor: Lucius Fox
• The Dispatcher: Jim Gordon
• The False hero: Harvey Dent (Two face)
• The Helper: Jim Gordon, Alfred J Pennyworth
• The Princess: Rachel Dawes
• The Father figure: Alfred J Pennyworth

As we see in a lot of film, characters can be assigned to multiple roles. In Batman:Dark Knight, Alfred J Pennyworth is both a helper, and the father figure. Often these two roles go together. This could be because directors want to enforce the idea of alliances- in this instance, Alfred being loyal to Batman. 

Levi Strauss's Binary Oppositions

In this film, the Joker and Batman are binary opposites, This follows Claude Levi-Strauss’ binary opposites theory. The Joker is represented as an advocate of destruction and chaos whereas Batman is shown to promote order, goodwill and justice. Each of these characters dress and behave in opposing ways. The Joker wears purple and green. The connotations of purple being royalty; perhaps signifying his power as the over-ruling villain. The colour green proposes ideas of money, greed and jealousy. So, overall we see negative connotations presented in his clothing as well as personality.In contrast, Batman wears all black. This makes his character seem mysterious. Untypically, this attire contradicts what an audience would expect a superhero to wear. It could be that this clothing has been chosen to signify Batmans lack of selfishness, performing only good deeds and in return, expecting no recognition.

Moreover, we see the actions of the two characters as widely opposing. Often, the Joker acts in fast and sudden ways, as oppose to Batman who holds back until action is actually needed and justified for good reason.

The Binary opposites explored in this film are: Good vs Evil, Corrupter vs Reality, Insane vs Sane, Dark vs Light and Strong vs Weak.

Toderoy's Equilibrium Theory

The Dark Knight is structured as follows:

Equilibrium: It’s perceived as normal for Gotham City to be under constant threat of death and disruption, so it’s not a surprise when the Joker begins to stir things up.

Disruption to the equilibrium: The Joker causes new corruption and chaos in Gotham City.

Resolution/Recognition of disruption: Batman recognises that he needs to step in to help stop the Joker from causing further damage.

Solution/Attempt to repair: Batman fails to defeat the Joker several times and the deviance continues.

New equilibrium: Batman disappears until there is the presence of new disruption in Gotham City. Harvey Dent becomes the new continuing villain of Gotham City.

Structural/Representation Analysis:

The film follows a linear narrative structure. This is because it is expected that Batman will defeat the Joker and fight other villains throughout the film. On the other hand, the ending of the film does not follow the same structure as Batman chooses not to reveal himself as Gotham’s hero. The structure that we do see is: Batman controls crime, The Joker's character becomes apparent, disrupts this and finally, the film ends with Batman defeating the Joker. Subsequently, the city returns to order. Batman also follows an open narrative as the audience can and has to interpret what is going to happen next before it has happened. The film finishes with a dramatic cliff-hanger which creates anticipation for a follow up from Batman: The Dark Knight (Batman: The Dark Knight Rises). Without this cliffhanger, the audience may assume that there isn't a follow up movie and so there wouldn't be attention draw towards that.

Different ages are represented differently within Batman. We see elderly characters such as: Alfred J Pennyworth and Lucius Fox, presented as wise and less dominant; whereas the younger characters are shown to be rebellious and easily manipulated by negativity. Harvey Dent and Batman are more dominant characters. This is demonstrated this by the Joker using younger characters to help him to rob a bank. We can also see a positive representation of children. Children are shown to be Innocent victims. An example of this can be seen when Jim Gordon’s son is hysterical and acts vulnerably when he's threatened with a gun.

In Batman, we see a prominent representation of different ethnicity's. The mob is foreign, with some Russian, Italian and African Americans being part of it. This gives the audience the impression that these individuals have negative personalities and influences, and so encourages us not to trust them. A good example of this can be seen where a black prisoner takes the detonator from an officer and throws it aggressively out of the window. The incorporation of this violent action criminalises the character and adds to the negative representation of black and Hispanic characters. Additionally, this character is covered in tattoos. Again, the presumption that the audience may have of this character is that they are rebellious and dangerous. However the outcome of this scene contradicts his role as a criminal because a criminal is expected to choose to save himself and blow-up the other boat however he than saves the innocent civilians.

Gender roles are shown to be vastly different in this movie. Men are represented as: strong, powerful, intelligent and quick thinking. This movie has a male protagonist and antagonist. By doing this, we see an emphasis on the dominance of males within the movie. Stereotypes of male characters are exaggerated to draw attention (hyper-masculinity). Batman is seen as unnaturally strong. On the other hand, women are seen as: sexualised, objectified and gold diggers. The classic male gaze theory is clearly incorporated here when Rachel Dawes is interrogating Mr Wong whilst her shirt is un-buttoned. This feature/technique has been used to generate a larger male audience.

Disability is represented in different ways in this film. The Joker represents evil and so he stereotypically has a scared face because he’s the villain.  This shows that he is different to the other characters and that his character is slightly tainted (both physically and mentally). He’s not accepted in society and so, creates chaos and anarchy for his own entertainment. This proves him to be insane and deluded and the audience knows that this is not normal behaviour. Particularly, Harvey Dent is manipulated by the Joker and is turned into a villain, when previously he wasn't. His transition from good to evil, light to dark is shown in scenes where we see him before the accident (Harvey Dent) and after as Two-Face. He doesn’t believe that Rachel’s death was fair or justified and therefore wants to punish those responsible. In addition to this, he does not accept the skin-graft for his burnt, disfigured face because it’s ironic to his Two-Face nickname as he literally has two visually different faces/sides to him.