Film analysis – The Dark Knight

Story Arc Breakdown

• You

Bruce Wayne, the protagonist is in his zone of comfort. Fighting against ordinary criminals in Gotham city as usual. No changes need to be make so far.

• Need

Bruce Wayne wants to retire from dismantling organized crime and begin living with Rachel. So, he needs to find someone to replace his job.

• Go

Bruce Wayne consider Harvey Dent as the only one that qualified to replace him. So, he needs to solidify Harvey’s influence in Gotham by giving him the honor of locking up all the criminals. In order to get the evidence of money laundering, he goes to Hongkong, China to catch Lau, the corrupt accountant who hided the money for gangs.

• Search

Joker goes head-to-head with Batman for the first time. He killed Police Commissioner and the Judge in order to threaten Bruce Wayne to reveal his identity. Bruce Wayne protects Harvey from Joker’s murder. He begins searching ways to stop Joker’s killing.

• Find

Batman realized he could retire, but he might have to do it in the way Joker wants – by taking off his mask. But actually Harvey stand out and says he is the batman. So, Bruce Wayne still didn’t get the thing he want. Or maybe he is never looking forward to retirement, he just wanted to keep Gotham away from criminals.

• Take

The Joker kidnaps Harvey and Rachel and puts them separately in different locations. Batman mistakenly saves Harvey, while Rachel dead because of explosion. Bruce paid a heavy price for it. He realizes that Batman can’t retire. Harvey has also changed because of Rachel’s death. Joker also escapes from Major Crimes Unit. Batmen breaks the rule by installing sonar detectors on citizens phone in order to catch Joker.

• Return

Gotham still needs Batman. He recovered from the trauma of Rachel’s death. He needs to stop Harvey’s crazy revenge.

• Change

In order to prevent Harvey’s revenge, Batman has to break his own principles and kill him. Harvey must be established as a hero in order to give the right to the government to approve and imprison the criminals he put in jail. So, Batman takes on all of Harvey’s crimes and becomes the Dark Knight of Gotham. This is also a sublimation of Batman’s heroic image.

Characters Archetypes Breakdown

• Bruce Wayne – Hero

Batman is the protagonist of this film. He fights alone to the point where covered in bruises in order to protect the justice in his heart. He also follows the principle of no killing. He values rules and believes in justice in the beginning, but gradually changes his views in the way of fighting against Joker. With the completion of Hero’s journey, he realizes that he is just protecting the justice in his heart, and it doesn’t matter what others think of him.

• Alfred Pennyworth – Mentor, Allies

He is Bruce’s trusted butler and confidant. He’s been around since Bruce was a kid, and he’s the only one who’s seen Batman grow up. He offered help and advice to Bruce. At the same time, he did not always say yes to Bruce, and he had his own way to help Bruce.

• The citizens in Gotham – Threshold Guardian

They’re the one batman wants to protect. In other words, they provides the basic tests to show Batman’s commitment and worth. On the other hand, the reason Bruce Wayne hesitated to reveal his identity as Batman was also because of the perception of these citizens.

• Gangs’ money was tracked by the police – Herald

It’s the reason of why things turn to chaos from order. Batman and Harvey “breaking the rules” intervened in the money of the gang, so the gang was desperate and hired an unknown person like a Joker to help them.

• Joker – Trickster, Shadow

He desires chaos from his heart. He questioned the rules of the city. He believes that only chaos is the most fair, and like natural law, no plan is the most equal. He does all the thing for fun. He wants to prove that everyone’s heart is evil.

• Harvey Dent – Shapeshifter

He is the White Knight of Gotham before that explosion. But he is corrupted by the joker’s schemes. He wants everyone to feel the pain of losing Rachel.

• James Gordon – Allies

A lieutenant works in the police department. Provide help to Batman.

Timeline for the main character

Batman goes out at night as usual to keep the city safe. – Bruce was impressed by Dante’s ideas at dinner. – The Joker goes on TV and demands that Batman show up or keep killing people. – Batman plans to turn himself in at the news conference. – Dent says he’s Batman and gives Bruce the chance to catch the Joker. – In jail, Joker tells Batman about Rachel and Harvey’s kidnapping. – Mistakenly, Batman saves Harvey while Rachel dead. – Batman tries to stop Joker from detonating the bomb but failed. – Batman uses sonar to locate the Joker and witnesses the selection of both ships. – Batman ends Dent’s life and takes all Harvey’s crimes to his own. From then on he became the dark knight of Gotham.

Research Activity 1

• Settings & Props

The first shot shows where the scene takes place – indoor chemistry lab. Also we can tell that all the characters are student due to the label ‘Miss Muskrat’s Class’ on the door. Every characters are wearing goggles and interacting with beakers. The fox in blue use fire extinguisher to put out the fire gives me the feeling of reliable. All the set dressing behind works together to form the sense of laboratory.

But actually I have doubts with the setting. The pictures of animal skeleton and plants in the set dressing give me the feeling of the laboratory is also for biology class. However, the label said it is Chemistry laboratory. So, I think that might confused the audience.

• Costume, Hair & Make Up

The fox in blue wears a shirt. That may shows he is well-organized and calm. The rat who burn the experiment wears a T-shirt shows he might be sloppy. The female fox wears a dress may shows that she loves beauty.

• Facial Expressions & Body Language

The fox in white looks to the fox with dress when he talk to her. The eyeline goes to her. And audience can see the female fox’s eyeline is straight to her left which shows there are something attract her outside of the frame. Also, the movement of taking out of the goggle show the female fox want to show the spots on her skin because the fox in blue said he like them.

• Lighting and Colour

There is a warm orange tinting cover the whole scene. It’s not the cool colour that I imagined the lab would have. The warm colour forms a humorous and relaxed atmosphere.

• Positioning of characters/objects within the frame

Symmetrical balance was applied in the scene. Also rule of thirds is used to locate the position of characters.

• What role does the shot choice (Cinematography) play in the scene.

First there is a medium shot of the door to tell the audience where the story taken place. Then goes to close up to show their talking. Through the eyeline cut to close up of other two characters. It’s easily to know that there are two groups. We have the deep focus from the beginning to here. Then cut to the dialogue of the fox in blue and the female fox by reverse angle with shallow focus to show their relationship.

Research Activity 2

• Can you describe the mise-en-scene in this picture? How are the characters placed in the frame?

From the quilt and the disposable slippers, I can clearly tell the story happens in a hotel room. There is no special from their costume. But from their hair cut I can tell that the man with white hair seems older than the woman. They looked embarrassed lying in bed. The soft yellow light also creates an ambiguous atmosphere. They don’t look familiar with each. The woman’s pose shows she is nervous. Maybe they will talk after a while. Two characters are in symmetrical balance but the quilt is asymmetric. It also creates a sense of artistry.

Research Activity 3

• Can you describe the relationship between the characters?

The woman wearing white is Mrs. de Winter, the new hostess of this house. The woman wearing black is Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper of Manderley.

• How do we know what the relationship is? Can you describe how the mise-en-scene works together to tell us what the relationship is?

The costume and haircut show the woman in black is housekeeper. And the woman wearing white has a classic hostess haircut. And Mrs. de Winter’s eyeline looks up to her housekeeper. It enables the audience to feel her purity and kind. Mrs. Danvers looks down with a disdainful stare to Mrs. de Winter. Also the soft light on Mrs. de Winter shows her kindness. In contrast with the housekeeper half in black create the feeling of devil and angel. I can see that although the lady wants to build a good relationship with the housekeeper, the housekeeper unilaterally refuses to communicate.

Research Activity 4

• Can you describe the mise-en-scene in this picture?

The costume and architectural style are so distinctive that I can say the story took place in Middle East. And it seems she is worrying about something. The hands position show she’s trying to wrap herself up, giving the feeling of she’s trying to hide something. The red hood has a high saturation give the feeling of tension.

• What type of shot is it?

It’s a medium shot.

• What is the camera angle?

The camera is in eye level.

• Where is the character located in the frame?

The main character is in the middle of the scene. But the surrounding pedestrians give the scene a sense of loneliness.

• What is she wearing?

A red middle east style hood.

• What is the depth-of-field?

It is in deep focus.

• Describe the colour palette?

The colour is kind of dusty. It creates a depressing atmosphere.

• Describe the lighting?

Natural light but sand and dust in the air so the sky looks grey.

I believe the media will deliver information about politics since media as a form of entertainment that was accepted by the masses from its beginning. Politicians will not let go of the media, because the content that media contained is readable and impressive to influence people accepting their political ideas. Of course, most directors or producers want to convey their interpretation of the world to the public, such as anti-war, anti-colonialism, anti-terrorism, or anti-bullying.

In that way, the audiences who believe it will empathize with the characters and stories. And they are willing to share their good experience to their friends in order to build a word-of-mouth advertising. But there is no doubt that the expression of opinions will be loved and hated by different people, and for those who simply enjoy stories, they don’t want too many political metaphors in film, animation or games. Also, I think it’s good to consider whether the producers are trying to convey political metaphors in their work before we praise or belittle it. This can also give us a better idea of what the author is trying to express.

For well-known films, I naturally thought of Batman series and its political ideas of gun control and anti-terrorism. In fact, Batman originally used gun to kill criminals in the comics. Then Batman’s creator changed his mind for many political reasons. It was the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929 and the subsequent presidential assassination that lead the American people to think of gun legislation for safety. Writing about gun-toting vigilante killings when all guns are required to be registered is not in keeping with the policy. So, under the criticism of viewers, Batman has since adopted the no-kill and no-gun rule.

In addition to gun control in Batman, fighting terrorists at all costs is an important element in the latest Batman films. It is also influenced by USA Patriot Act, which allows the government to invade individuals’ privacy in order to fight terrorism. As shown in the film, Batman installed sonar detectors on every cell phones in Gotham to find Joker.

So it’s not hard to see that politics is everywhere in the media. Even the famous board game Monopoly was originally created to educate the masses about the disadvantages of monopoly. And I think the content creator himself will create the work with his own subjective bias. So, any piece of art that tends to tell a story will partly have sort of political element in it.

Reference:

1. NerdSync, 2016. Why BATMAN Doesn’t Use Guns (Except When He Does) || Comic Misconceptions || NerdSync. [online video]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6U7xSgYR30 [Accessed 23 Oct 2021].
2. United States Department of Justice, 2001. The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. Available from: https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm [Accessed 23 Oct 2021].
3. LaFrance, Adrienne, 2016. How ‘Gun Control’ Became a Taboo Phrase. [online] Available from: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/word-choice-and-gun-culture/423108/ [Accessed 23 Oct 2021].