thoughts on The Dark Knight + icons
I often have a regressive, “WHOA PWN!” reaction to anything adrenaline-pumping I enjoy (I’m an 11 year-old boy like that), so I was pleasantly surprised to find myself actually thinking about the freaking plot for once. It’s especially weird because as a little kid I my tastes included both Tim Burton’s Batman and reruns of the Adam West show on the Family Channel. But I think it has a lot to do with the Joker. Between laughing at his nurse’s outfit and grasping my knees with all of the anxiety of the first time he stuck his knife into someone’s mouth and told a completely different and therefore conflicting story about the circumstances, I was completely into Heath Ledger’s performance. He isn’t going to kill Maggie Gyllenhaal, there’s 2 hours left, idiot, also he's lying-but I got sucked into the tension anyway because he’s that threatening.
Tangentially, I also thought they’d killed Gary Oldman for srs. No really, I was sitting there for fifteen minutes going, “They can’t kill Gordon! That’s not canon! WTF HAVE THEY DONE WITH CANON??” This was related to the fact that I’d read a review somewhere prior to watching the movie that mentioned something like a “rushed response to a character’s death.” So seeing Gordon’s family being the only ones crying really upset and numbed me for a while. I did a mighty fist pump when he resurrected in the SWAT crew.
…Shut up, I’m not stupid, just very emotionally invested.
Anyway, the Joker. He’s anarchy unlimited but I think what’s really scary about his character is the fact that he’s so naturally aware of human behavior. Pitting his bank job crew against one another. Making the enemy mob boss’s three minions fight to the death for a place on his team with a broken pool cue. Pitting the rigged boats against one another. Approving of Harvey Dent’s “decision theory” method. The fucking pencil trick. He says he has no plan (which I honestly didn’t completely understand--the get-out-of-jail free phone call seemed pretty original to me), but I think sometimes he can allow things to unravel on their own after what he’s done because he just knows it’ll all tend towards chaos.
I guess maybe that’s his plan. Especially since he doesn’t mind getting killed in action-guy’s got to have something that will continue in perpetuity, and chaos is it. Even with the rigged boats game, statistically it should’ve worked for him (the idea that the entire boat of rationalizing civilians and the entire boat of criminals would’ve gone guilt-tripping till the midnight deadline is so Hollywood-improbable, which is the only thing I fault Christopher Nolan for) and you can’t help but feel how undeniably powerful he is being unpredictable but fully aware of what will happen to everyone if he jerks his knife an eighth of an inch in any direction. And Heath Ledger knew everything about that feeling, and he manipulated it perfectly as the Joker. The hype isn’t a lie, people.
Another thing I really thought about was the ending. So there’s a weird not-quite learning experience at work in the last scene. Batman decides to take the fall for Harvey’s murders, not to protect Harvey, but to protect the city and the heroism he inspired in them (I guess this is where the improbable boat experiment comes in?).
Just as Alfred keeps Rachel’s letter a secret from Bruce. Alfred knows that while Bruce has his own developed ideals, the prospect of finally getting to be with Rachel is what really played a huge part in Bruce championing Harvey as a replacement protector for Gotham City. If Bruce found out that Rachel was never going to be his, he probably would’ve regressed to the lesser man he was when going after his parents’ murderer, and deprived the city of the Batman protector it needs.
And it was actually Rachel’s strong reaction to his vengeance in the first film that made Bruce rehabilitate and reform into Batman in the first place. Alfred and Bruce both realize that faith sustains people amid chaos, and when dealing with something as powerful as the Joker, they believe that even false faith is better than nothing. While I personally think this line of reasoning can be used to reinforce social atrocity as well as social good, I found it interesting that this was what the film’s message was. I'm not reading anymore into it, because I personally just don't care to, but it's a very vague morality, for sure.
…So uh, I think that was the most intellectual thing I’ve ever written in here. Yep. It’ll probably be the last. Especially how, when I was talking to my other friend on the phone on what she thought about the movie, we started laughing about Maggie Gyllenhaal looking like she had about an hour of sleep during the time they shot the film and the hilariously distracting eyeliner!mayor. Honestly, for a city with a mayor who has impressive makeup, their police department sure arrests a lot of freaks. I plead discrimination.
Also, note the icon. Threesome of Justice!! Batman's the rubber-monger mastermind and tragic one, Harvey's the bitchy, popular, damselish, also-tragic one, and Gordon wears the pants but keeps having to yell at the other two to get them back. And as much as I like the Joker I just can't ship him with anyone. It's weird. Although if he got with Scarecrow I'd probably read that...
Also, I made a few icons. They're non-spoilery (as in from promo pics), just be careful how you scroll on the page. I left some blank space just to make sure.
.
Tangentially, I also thought they’d killed Gary Oldman for srs. No really, I was sitting there for fifteen minutes going, “They can’t kill Gordon! That’s not canon! WTF HAVE THEY DONE WITH CANON??” This was related to the fact that I’d read a review somewhere prior to watching the movie that mentioned something like a “rushed response to a character’s death.” So seeing Gordon’s family being the only ones crying really upset and numbed me for a while. I did a mighty fist pump when he resurrected in the SWAT crew.
…Shut up, I’m not stupid, just very emotionally invested.
Anyway, the Joker. He’s anarchy unlimited but I think what’s really scary about his character is the fact that he’s so naturally aware of human behavior. Pitting his bank job crew against one another. Making the enemy mob boss’s three minions fight to the death for a place on his team with a broken pool cue. Pitting the rigged boats against one another. Approving of Harvey Dent’s “decision theory” method. The fucking pencil trick. He says he has no plan (which I honestly didn’t completely understand--the get-out-of-jail free phone call seemed pretty original to me), but I think sometimes he can allow things to unravel on their own after what he’s done because he just knows it’ll all tend towards chaos.
I guess maybe that’s his plan. Especially since he doesn’t mind getting killed in action-guy’s got to have something that will continue in perpetuity, and chaos is it. Even with the rigged boats game, statistically it should’ve worked for him (the idea that the entire boat of rationalizing civilians and the entire boat of criminals would’ve gone guilt-tripping till the midnight deadline is so Hollywood-improbable, which is the only thing I fault Christopher Nolan for) and you can’t help but feel how undeniably powerful he is being unpredictable but fully aware of what will happen to everyone if he jerks his knife an eighth of an inch in any direction. And Heath Ledger knew everything about that feeling, and he manipulated it perfectly as the Joker. The hype isn’t a lie, people.
Another thing I really thought about was the ending. So there’s a weird not-quite learning experience at work in the last scene. Batman decides to take the fall for Harvey’s murders, not to protect Harvey, but to protect the city and the heroism he inspired in them (I guess this is where the improbable boat experiment comes in?).
Just as Alfred keeps Rachel’s letter a secret from Bruce. Alfred knows that while Bruce has his own developed ideals, the prospect of finally getting to be with Rachel is what really played a huge part in Bruce championing Harvey as a replacement protector for Gotham City. If Bruce found out that Rachel was never going to be his, he probably would’ve regressed to the lesser man he was when going after his parents’ murderer, and deprived the city of the Batman protector it needs.
And it was actually Rachel’s strong reaction to his vengeance in the first film that made Bruce rehabilitate and reform into Batman in the first place. Alfred and Bruce both realize that faith sustains people amid chaos, and when dealing with something as powerful as the Joker, they believe that even false faith is better than nothing. While I personally think this line of reasoning can be used to reinforce social atrocity as well as social good, I found it interesting that this was what the film’s message was. I'm not reading anymore into it, because I personally just don't care to, but it's a very vague morality, for sure.
…So uh, I think that was the most intellectual thing I’ve ever written in here. Yep. It’ll probably be the last. Especially how, when I was talking to my other friend on the phone on what she thought about the movie, we started laughing about Maggie Gyllenhaal looking like she had about an hour of sleep during the time they shot the film and the hilariously distracting eyeliner!mayor. Honestly, for a city with a mayor who has impressive makeup, their police department sure arrests a lot of freaks. I plead discrimination.
Also, note the icon. Threesome of Justice!! Batman's the rubber-monger mastermind and tragic one, Harvey's the bitchy, popular, damselish, also-tragic one, and Gordon wears the pants but keeps having to yell at the other two to get them back. And as much as I like the Joker I just can't ship him with anyone. It's weird. Although if he got with Scarecrow I'd probably read that...
Also, I made a few icons. They're non-spoilery (as in from promo pics), just be careful how you scroll on the page. I left some blank space just to make sure.
.