benhs1898

31Jul12

I love your comments on Nolan's Batman films. I think people get too hung up on their own assumptions. One of the greatest errors in criticism is to assume an artist's intentions then attack their work based on those assumptions. Most criticism I've read makes this error. "I didn't like it because I think you were trying to say this." Nolan's films succeed in a couple key themes. What is true justice and what motivates a human to do good, evil, or something in between. The Dark Knight, to me, is all about two men with the most genuine sense of justice putting their faith in a very vulnerable man. Throughout the film Gordon and Bruce put their faith in a man who displays frequent weaknesses; weaknesses that the Joker eventually exploits. This was an interesting exploration of justice. A friend of mine said to me that she didn't like how Bane's character was revealed to be a bit more sympathetic in the end. To me, this completed the trilogy's theme of motivation. No villain was without some motivation. There really was no "pure" evil. Ra's Al Ghul believed in justice, only his ideology was informed by his life experiences. Therefore he was much more vengeful and untrusting of society. The Joker may not have had an origin, but it is clearly implied that he suffered an extreme trauma early in his life. His madness is not evil, it is psychological disfunction caused by a tumultuous life. Bane's actions were fueled by an almost numbing physical trauma and his blind submission to love. Perhaps the characters are not written well enough to carry any emotional weight for some, but I find that the way they are woven into the themes gives them great depth.