Posted on 07/23/2012 12:20:22 PM PDT by Shout Bits
Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises is not an ideological film in the mold of a Clooney or Penn America basher. Those hacks usually beat their audiences over the head with self-satisfied morality, but in Nolan's case, the morality tale is based in its vernacular. Make no mistake, the latest Batman movle is not subtle; it give the audience what it paid for with heavy doses of exhilaration, violence, and melodrama. Beneath the action, however, the movie repudiates the radical Left and the Occupy movement through the use of their own language. Nolan's Batman trilogy holds an unflattering mirror to radical leftists and progressives – A.K.A. thieves.
There are a few very minor spoilers in this article, so read on unless absolute plot purity is essential. Batman's villains use the language of the extreme Left, which is a language of lies. Most Communist nation's names contain the word democratic, which they certainly are not. Thieves who simply want to take what is not theirs cry for 'social justice.' Socialists trot out trite slogans like 'change,' 'move forward,' and 'hope' (socialists used these words long before Pres. Obama was born). Capitalism is racist because US Communists like Frank Marshall Davis said so even while Stalin committed ethnic purges on millions of innocents. The Left's M.O. is to twist words so that previously indisputable values like justice, democracy, and racial tolerance become their own tools for the very opposite of justice, democracy, and tolerance.
In Nolan's first Batman movie, Batman Begins, the villain Ra's Al Ghul cries out for "true justice." Only later does Batman realize that 'true justice' means killing millions of people. Bruce Wayne's father builds a fancy monorail for Gotham to end a depression and bring people "together," but the project is a colossal failure. Women are assaulted on the train, which is riddled with graffiti, and each station is a sordid hell of urban blight. Gotham's police and judges are in the pocket of crime, so Batman works as an individual. Batman shows that a minority of one or two, when right, trumps a majority of corruption.
In the latest Batman, the co-star Catwoman is a jewel thief who justifies her crimes through the language of the Left. She says it is 'justice' to steal from the wealthy; she believes that her thieving benefits the poor much more than anything the rich could do. She tells Bruce Wayne that a "storm" of retribution and "justice" is coming for Gotham's rich. Catwoman is the Left's delusion that stealing from the rich is not theft, but a form of 'justice.' This author overheard a conversation at the Hoover Dam where a young man dismissed the US's budget problems by concluding there is plenty of wealth, it simply must be taken from the rich. Van Jones and Sen. Bernie Sanders are not alone in sharing Catwoman's view that wealth is meant to be taken.
The delicious irony of Catwoman's self-righteousness to Bruce Wayne is that his alter-ego, Batman, actually does much good for Gotham. Here, Batman represents the hidden benefits of Wane's capitalist wealth. As Bastiat proved, it is easy to see the benefit of giving money to an individual, but harder to see the sprawling benefits denied everyone else because of the gift. Elsewhere in the movie, Wayne asks Alfred why one of his charities is underfunded, and his reply is that charities cannot exist without capitalist profits. Catwoman's might occasionally throw a trifle of her loot to the poor for show, but Wayne does the heavy lifting of serving Gotham's poor.
During the darkest moments of the film, the villains hold show trials straight out of Ayn Rand and Stallin's Russia. The judge uses the language of social justice, accusing each condemned of exploiting the weak to benefit himself. His costume is cleverly designed to resemble a chip on his shoulder. As with Stalin, there is only one real sentence – death.
Nolan eviscerates the language and rationalization of the radical Left in his Batman movies, which is praiseworthy. Still, very few people will call out Pres. Obama's use of the radical Left's code words in his speeches (e.g. "Hope," "Change," "Forward," "Together") or vote differently due to a few movies. Indeed, there is no indication that Nolan hopes for this to happen (his political views and contributions are unknown and he denies a political message in his movies). Anyway, the one-time hard sell is not the Hollywood way, rather Hollywood changes attitudes slowly through repeated reinforcement of its standards and values. Nolan seems to understand this with his Batman trilogy, although it will take many more such films to change the industry's course.
Shout Bits can be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/ShoutBits
It was a great movie, and yes, he does a good job of showing what would happen if the OWS punks take control through some revolution. Total anarchy and show trails.
—...he does a good job of showing what would happen if the OWS punks take control through some revolution. Total anarchy and show trails.—
Reminds me of the French revolution. A good rundown of the different perspectives here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dwz_Z62e0s
This bloggers comprehension of the deep hidden truths in Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy are manifest if one wishes to see them, but not necessary to enjoy the series if one is superficial.
The truth is indeed subtle - and Nolan does not bash us over the head with his own morality (if even Nolan shares our Conservative ideology) - rather morality is simply reality woven into the tale.
‘Rises’, builds on those morality themes of current reality and in a twist of prophetic timing, make them applicable to today’s current climate. (Some minor potential SPOILERS follow).
It begins with a question - can a man so broken down by evil, suffering from a broken heart, vilified and hated by his own efforts to save a city from losing hope - rise again to defend Gotham from a new evil?
I like the metaphor. Can We as a people, so broken down by evil, suffering a broken heart of our fellow countrymen vilifying us and hating us for our principles, can we rise from being downtrodden to overcome an even greater evil than what brought us low to begin with?
The second metaphor easily seen, is how quickly a people are able to succumb to self-destruction in the name of social justice. Not even caring that the method being employed is by terrorism. Many OWS similarities have already been pointed out by those who have seen the movie; willing dupes going along with the big and bad, to get ‘their fair share’, not knowing they are just pawns in an actual plot to destroy the entirety of Gotham City and everyone living in it. A plot that has been attempted several times before in the course of the Wayne legacy by ideologues who view their ideology as a moral obligation. This league has come back to finish the job - and this time, with the help of the Takers and immoral, seek to punish the very people who have kept the city functioning.
The appeal to pillage accomplishes only one task - control. It gets a larger army of useful idiots to help Bane terrorize the citizens into cowering in fear, while the mechanisms of ‘social justice’ are being administered by an insane criminal sentencing all those who were ‘rich’ in a kangaroo court that serves only to pronounce the sentence of death. NONE of them realizing they are just helping to bide time, because the goal of Bane and his league, is to turn Gotham into ashes with no survivors. Criminal, citizen, Leftist, Patriot - makes no difference to him and they make no distinctions, because the plan is for the death of everyone.
To me, this metaphor is of the MarxoFascist Left now in charge of everything of whom Obama is the ‘Bane’. They have duped the entirety of the Left into joining their ‘war’ on the rich and the White middle class, but they are just pawns to help impose control and bide time. Because I contend the goal of our current Bane sitting in the White House, is our destruction. The Ruling Class are like the mercenaries who are helping the entire process along, thinking that they will have a seat at the power table, when they have no clue that they are just pawns to ensure the complete destruction of liberty and the Rule of Law.
Alfred postulates to Bruce Wayne that he sees only one end to his journey - and that for the truth to have it’s day, a man has to rise from the darkness.
I see that more as a question for us as a people than I do a metaphor.
The question is asked about what happens the moment they attempt to resist Bane’s control - and the answer by Batman is one word: “War.” It’s all on the line - so either they go full tilt to stop the enemy, or die trying.
And to save the city - lots of risk takers lose everything, including their lives.
That’s not Hollywood. That’s reality.
One subtle truth that I thought of as the credits rolled - The Dark Knight Rises puts in visual entertainment form - what it means when men of principle say “We pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor” on the line to defend those principles.
All three of those things are laid on the altar of freedom in Nolan’s Batman.
Absolutely right. These are great movies with or without any symbolism we receive from them.
On the other hand, as you point out, perhaps the reason many people like them is because they are based on the reality we know rather than on a propaganda lie as are most Hollywood movies (evil scientist, evil businessman, etc.)
Very interesting. Thank you. I might even go see it, because of your analysis.
The conspiracy minded might even leap to the conclusion that the Aurora incident might have been designed to mute that conservative message from gaining a populist foothold.
Nolan’s Batman trilogy may be one of the best conservative trilogies ever made.
The first movie, Batman Begins, is about the strength of the individual ... how with determination one man (or a few men) can make a dent in a completely corrupt culture. It shows that good and evil exist, and that government isn’t necessarily on the right side (lots of corrupt cops).
The second movie, The Dark Knight, is the best counterterrorist allegory I’ve ever seen. There were articles at the time by leftists complaining about it being Bush Administration propaganda. Nobody comes out with completely clean hands. Nobody can.
The third, The Dark Knight Rises, is about a villain (Bane) who uses the “democracy and justice” languange of the left to seize complete control of a society and to bring it to its knees.
Chris Nolan claims no political agenda. I’m not sure I believe him. This is a truly conservative trilogy.
SnakeDoc
I saw it yesterday, and your analysis is spot on.
I was particularly struck by the scene when Catwoman and her friend are in the home of one of the wealthy, and it is trashed and full of low-lifes. Catwoman picks up a broken picture and laments that they are in a family’s home, and her friend says, “No, this is now the ‘peoples’ home.’ Isn’t this what you wanted?” Catwoman appears to then realize what the end result of her earlier wishes really mean.
I was frankly surprised by the parellels to OWS, and the strong case the movie made against that type of thinking.
“The conspiracy minded might even leap to the conclusion that the Aurora incident might have been designed to mute that conservative message from gaining a populist foothold.”
I would not make that leap. Everything suggests that the gunman was just plain deranged.
That’s the scene when I came to the realization and then the “sentencing hearings” nailed it down.
To the contrary, the planning to keep himself from being harmed was meticulous and took place over a significant period of time. Everything from pre-loading his body on pain meds, using body armor, and throwing blinding and confusing tear gas, followed up with an immediate surrender when the police arrived, point to this being a deliberate mass murder/terrorism act by a sane, evil person who is pretending to be insane and who fully intended to live through the massacre.
Agreed. Deranged is different from insane.
It was a great movie, and yes, he does a good job of showing what would happen if the OWS punks take control through some revolution. Total anarchy and show trails.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.