Presentation Outline - Dark As Knight

Presentation Outline

Batman: The Dark Knight

Character Types

I.               Protagonist (Bruce Wayne – Batman)

Neo-noir Characteristics

A.     Lives a double life as Batman.

1.     Looks to define himself in a hostile usually corrupt world.

B.      Self doubt.

C.     Protects people, but finds himself violating their individual freedom.

1.      Should he abuse his power to save Gotham city?

D.     Batman is constantly restraining himself, which the Joker uses to manipulate Batman into making choices that result in catastrophes.

E.     Batman does not want to sacrifice his moral code.

F.     Playboy persona

1.      Likes to use this against Rachel.

Character Types Cont.

Protagonist (Bruce Wayne – Batman)

Classic noir characteristics

A.     Usually the femme fatale turns on him.

B.     H needs to be suspicious all the time about what is going on around him.

C.     Does not know who to trust, especially after commiting an amoral act.

D.    Bring a dangerous environment unto himself.

Character Types Cont.

II.             The Femme Fatale

A.     Classic noir

1.     The femme fatale is often fatal to herself.  She can be described as frustrated, deviant, half predator, and half prey.  She often falls victim to her own traps.

B.      Neo-noir

2.     The character of Rachel Dawes is the only significant character.  Reduced to a stereotypical female role of a emotional anchor and damsel in distress.

a.      Rachel does not fit the characteristics of a femme fatal.

Character Types Cont.

III.           The Joker

Male form of Femme fatale

A.     Classic noir

1.      Fatal to himself.

2.     Half predator, half prey

3.     Tricks you into doing his dirty work for him.

B.      Neo noir

1.      His aim is to make things unravel.

2.     His agenda is to corrupt the forces that are trying to save Gotham.

3.     Unstoppable.

4.     Madness unleashed.

Atmosphere of the Movie

An Environment of Crime & Corruption

Neo Noir

1.     The protagonist (Batman), if not careful, can become the Joker’s sidekick.

2.     There is a sense of doom in the air, with the city streets being filled with twisted and crazy criminals.

3.     The character is always under constant pressure.

4.     Batman’s small victories lead to defeat.  For example, putting the Joker in jail, and as a result, the Joker escaping, saving Dent instead of preventing Rachel’s murder. 

Atmosphere of the Movie Cont.

A.     Classic noir

1.      Blackmail, accusations, or theft, set the stage where life and death are at state.

2.     Usually the criminal is not obvious to the audience at first.

3.     An oppressive atmosphere of menace, pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion, that anything can go wrong.

Atmosphere of the Movie Cont.

B.     Neo noir

1.      The criminals have stopped hiding, and they are out in public carrying out their business, because no one will stop them.

2.     A police convoy escorting Dent to the county jail in a S.W.A.T. van, was ambushed by the Joker driving a 16-wheeler.

a.     Variety in vehicles used, which was not available in the days of classic noir.  These include: high tech police cars, helicopters, SWAT vans, 16-wheelers, Batman’s new wide wheeled Batpod, Batmobile.

3.      In a night time scene in Hong Kong, Batman enters into a high-rise LSI building by cannon balling through the glass. A C-130 transport plane with a sky hook device flew overhead and snagged Lau and Batman.

Visual Style

Setting of the Film

A.     Standard Noir conventions

1.      Police interrogation room

2.     Dark construction site

3.     Urban streets

4.     Sky scrappers

5.     Low-key lighting brings deep shadows

6.     Skewed cameras angles for unbalanced composition shots.

B.      The Look of Noir

1.      Use of black & White

2.     Gritty construction sites with new technology for example, sonar textured visual tracking

3.     Visual effects done in green screen

4.     Use of IMAX cameras

5.     Production design drops added gold & earthy tones

Anxieties of the Time – 2008

Classic noir VS. Neo noir

Classic Noir

1.      We are a nation that is vulnerable to extreme catastrophe like 9/11.

2.     Consumer’s confidence in the economy.

3.     Bush’s reassurance to Americans.

4.     Bush Administration came under fire.

Neo Noir

1.      Security & danger of people in Gotham.  A vulnerable & desperate city being tortured by its darkest challenges of sticking to the moral high ground.

2.     Batman realizes that sometimes the truth is not good enough, sometimes people deserve more. 

3.     We are all outcasts waiting for a rescuer who will never arrive.

4.     Batman is sometimes a hero, and sometimes the dishonest person who ultimately sacrifices himself for common good.

Batman: The Dark Knight, Blog Entry 11?

Bibliography

The New York Times

By: Manohla Dargis

Showdown in Gotham Town

July 18, 2008

Accessed: April 22, 2011

Related article:  Film: Batman’s Burden: A Director Confronts Darkness and Death, March 9, 2008

           “The Batman movie feels like a beginning and something of an end,” according to Christopher Nolan.  This movie is darker and deeper than any Hollywood movie of its comic book kind.  “Ambivalence mistaken for pessimism,” according to Nolan.  The director of the movie found a way to make Batman relevant to our time.  Investing him with shadows that remind us of the character’s troubled beginning, but without lingering mustiness.  This article states, “Batman turns into a villain’s sidekick.” 

The Joker is described as; a self-described agent of chaos, a tease who taunts criminals, tries to burn the world down, isn’t fighting for anything or anyone, a terrorist, just terrifying, and finally, likes to linger in the dark, but he doesn’t want to live there.  Have I said enough?

Gotham City is described as a city of distorting  and shattering mirrors.

Batman himself is described as darker, and less obviously human.  He is more of a gargoyle, than a savior, and a demon in a stealthy menace.

In this film, the moment belongs to the villains and madmen. 

With ‘The Dark Knight,’ Film Noir Still Lives

By:  Lewis Beale

Newsday

July 14, 2008

Accessed:  April 29, 2011

           So far this critique speaks comparing classic noir with how it is used today.  Although the review’s main topic is of the movie of The Dark Knight, it does some comparisons and contrast with classic films like Double Indemnity, and The Postman Always Rings Twice.  The critic mainly states that a lot of the old ideas of noir, still exist in neo-noir.  For example, being a dark story in which “Batman deals with his own convictions,” as stated by the director of film, Christopher Nolan.  The critique also does a nice job in describing how classic noir was based around the era of the time, which was the “cultural dislocations of World War II, and the role of women in society, to the ways in which returning veterans attempted to fit in post war world.”  This critique also mentions that “science fiction, allows us to discuss dark territory.”  For example, “allowing  for a more emotionally charged discourse.”  In science fiction, theres some sort of evil out there.  Batman was the first noir superhero.  Nolan states, “the dark streets of Gatham City filled with twisted crazy criminals.”  Dark Knight is a crime story.  Desire in storytelling to have moral ambiguity, which is the basis for film noir.  The fear of anarchy invading society – that’s a very contemporary fear. 

Cinefantastique Online

The Review of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Films

Sense of Wonder: The Dark Knight – Gotham City’s Politics of Noir

Accessed:  April 29, 2011

By: Steve Biodrowski

September 21, 2008

           This critique talks about the movie being a “cultural phenomenon,” instead of a “box office phenomenon.”  What is based around the era of this time is…a positive picture of Bush’s Administration’s War On Terror.  Dick Chaney and company never doubt their moral righteousness, believing ends justify any means, however despicable. 

           Joanne Weintraub of the Milwaukee Journal states, “This film is compared to two different kinds of genres, film noir, and western genre.  The critique implies that this movie is more for guys, calling it a “macho heroic” – “men trying to save the world, being serious work.”  Unlike Mama Mia, being a chick flick – a feel good feminine – friendly. “A frothy chick flick.” 

           The Dark Knight is a scenario of a male dominated world, and calling the character of Rachel – the significant female character, “reduced to the stereotypical female role of emotional anchor and damsel in distress.”  “The Dark Knight is far more than your typical action film.”

           According to the critic, this movie uses a hard-boiled plot, lines laced with machismo.  Its how a man defines himself in a hostile, usually corrupt world.  A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”  What a man’s gotta do is often not nearly enough.  The Joker is described as…madness unleashed.  Unstoppable.  Dark and pessimistic.  A inexplicable villain.  His aim is to make things unravel.  His agenda is to corrupt the forces that are trying to save Gotham.  He turned Batman’s world upside down. 

           The Dark Knight celebrates the struggle – the effort against all odds.  A reluctant warrior forced into action.  Worries about the moral and ethical dilemmas that face him.  Acting outside the law.  Gotham City is describes as “a lawless environment.”

Batman & Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul

By:  Leon H. Brody

Library Journal, LLC

August 15, 2008,

Volume 133, Issue 13, Pages 87-88

EBSCOHOST

           This article looks at the philosophical questions;

·      The nature of personal identity and responsibility, or lack of it.

·      The nature of moral acts, social obligation, political commitment, ethics of right from wrong.

Dark Was The Knight, Cold Was The Clown

By:  Ryan Gilbey

New Statesman

July 28, 2008

           This critique describes the Joker as;

·      Chalky face with charcoal eyes

·      Obscenely smudged kisser and untamed tongue that doesn’t stay in his mouth.

·      Creepiness from hunched posture and scutting dance-like movements.

·      Hops up and down.

·      Offers a contrasting story of how he came to have his mouth slashed into a gruesome grin.

The director describes;

·       Broken laws of back story in the film – making the Joker’s history a blank.

Batman’s struggle is…to defeat the Joker, the enemy without becoming his equal in savagery.

New Political Science

Volume 31, Number 2

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros Pictures, 2008) Film Review

By:  Bruce Baum

June 2009

           Provides a hero and an anti-hero for our specific time, who embody current political and economic contradictions.  The movie is a vivid allegory for our post – 9/11 political economic moment of financial crisis, widespread anxiety, ongoing turmoil in Iraq, and the run-up to the recent presidential election.  The Joker is a haunting psychopath-terrorist.

           Batman frets about the limits of his powers as a vigilante crime-fighter to achieve lasting civic order.  He understands that if justice and civil peace are to last, they must be won by authorized public officials.

           At the end of the movie Batman confronts the reality that his solitary vigilante justice will not bring lasting civil peace and order.  Therefore, he makes up a lie to save the reputation of Harvey Dent, Gotham’s District Attorney, who had been the courageous public face of Gotham’s hopes for civil order and legal justice.

            

Blog Entry #11

The Dark Knight

I chose to do my assignment on The Dark Knight.  This movie combines old noir and neo noir in unique ways.  At times when you think the plot is typical of a noir story line, it quickly changes gears to something totally unpredictable.  I felt like I was at the edge of my seat while I was watching this film.  In The Dark Knight, I feel that there are two protagonist; Batman, who is played by Christian Bale, and Harvey Dent, who is played by Aaron Eckhart.  They are both after the same thing, which is to tear down the Mafia, and get rid of any other bad guys that may come on the way.  They are also after the same women – Rachel Dawes, who is played by Maggie Gyllenhaal.  I really don’t see the character of Rachel Dawes, being a femme fatale.  She is too sweet, and wants nothing more than the best for the two men.  Although, I do see Christian Bale, Batman as making a good femme or male fatale.  He obviously loves the companionship of women, sometimes with more than just one. It just seems that he uses them, and then throws them away like a tissue.  Maybe that is why it is so difficult for him to do what he needs to do to make Maggie – Rachel Dawes his companion for life. 

Works Cited

Baum, Bruce. “The Dark Knight (Warner Brothers Pictures, 2008).” Film Review. New Political Science. Vol. 31, No. 2, Jun 2009. EBSCO. Web. 22, Apr. 2011.  

Booker, M. Keith. “Postmodern Hollywood.” EBSCO Publishing – NetLibrary; printed on 4/23/2011. 10:27:54 PM. Via Antelope Valley College

Bould, Mark, Glitre, Kathrina, and Tuck, Greg. “Neo-Noir.” Wallflower Press. 2009. Print.

Dixon, W. Wheeler. “Film Noir and the Cinema of Paranoia.” EBSCO Publishing – NetLibrary; printed on 4/23/2011. 10:22:48 PM. Via Antelope Valley College.

Dreyer, Randolph. “Clap If You Believe in Batman.” Perspectives in Psychiatric    Care. Vol. 45, No.1, Jan 2009. EBSCO. Web. 22, Apr 2011.

Blog Entry #10 - "The Gold Coast Section"

The Girl Who Kissed Barnaby Jones would have to be the best example of Noir for me, out of all the 4 reading selections in "The Gold Coast Section."  The qualities of traditional noir that I found are similar with this story are;

• A femme fatale who will do anything to get a guy to help her carry out a murder.
• A beautiful femme fatale, who seduces a guy in hopes of gaining his trust.
• A femme fatale who turns on the guy that she got to help him with a murder.
• A protagonist named Tate, who doesn't know whether or not he should help the femme fatale, or turn her in to authorities.
• The protagonist is a "loser type" individual with no real aspirations.
• The main setting of the story seems to be at night, because the windows of the house are described as dark, and the inside of the house is dark as well.

The story that I felt to be the most difficult to classify as noir would have to be What You See.  I was really frustrated with this story the whole way through.  The main character in the story, made me want to slap him in the face!  It's almost as if he was trying to play a cool guy, but he is actually a big loser nerd with mental issues.  I think the harder this character tried at anything, the more retarded he got.  I almost felt as if he was whining and rambling on throughout the story.  The whole thing just seemed really fake and ridiculous.  The plot was also too predictable.

Blog Entry 9 - Kidnapper Bell & City of Commerce

The City of Commerce for me, gave great detail of past and present.  Although I have never visited that area of L.A. before, I can visualize in my mind what it looks like by the great detail given.  Examples of detail which I found interesting include; 1. Judging by what the main character's wife (Karen) said, I got the feeling that they lived in a city which was probably far from rural Ojai. 2.  I got the sense that the couple lived near the City of Commerce, where apparently a casino or two was.  3.  By the description given on page 230, Commerce use to be a industrialized city with industrialized jobs, but now its changed, and has a couple of casinos.  On page 231, it describes how you have to go thru downtown to get to Commerce.  As I read further, Commerce is a "sooty," industrialized, less definitively part of L.A." (pg. 231).  As the main character further explains, "I get to Commerce, the empty concrete lots, smoke stacks, and shaddy public park.  What else can I think about in such an environment but poker" (pg. 232).  This tells me, this place is nasty!  In regards to The Kidnapper Bell, for me this story focused more on a particular area within a city (L.A. River), rather than discussing a city in itself.  Good descriptions are also revealed, for example; "shallow river that cuts into downtown, on its way to the ocean" (pg.209).  I felt like although the author mentions Chinatown, I got the feeling of more of a description of the restaurant, than anything else.  "Dark corner of favorite bar, wobbly square table, cigarette smoke filling the room."  However, the description of the L.A. River and of what had taken place there, made me feel scared of ever wanting to visit a place like that!  Examples are; East of Chinatown, dark left takes them down an industrial service road, then bike paths that run along the crest of cement lining deep, empty river basin, knee high barrier loose of chain link tops.  Of course, the list just goes on and on.  This place just seemed very creepy, and nasty, and its that creepy, nasty feeling that reflects one of the really bad parts of L.A.

Blog Entry 8 - The Method & Morocco Junction

I actually appreciated the fact that finally a woman was portrayed as both the protagonist and first-person narrator.  Sure it was a new twist in comparison to the original noir story lines.  But being neo-noir from the 20th century, the protagonist and the first-person narrator was consistent with the changing times.  In the 40's and 50's, men were more domineering, but now a days, women are also in domineering roles, like being executives in business, as well as holding jobs that were usually meant for males.  Sure I would consider both of these stories as noir, because of the constant "roller coaster" ride we are taking through the plot.  Nothing is obvious, everything is twisted.  And in both stories the woman took over the role of the investigator, to find out what actually  was taking place in the plot.  If I had to recommend one of these two stories to a friend, I would lean more toward "The Method."  My decision is based on personal choice of course, but I just found a little more action - passion - and mystery in this story.  Plus all the "fucking" that was going on, made the story juicier!  Personally, I just found the story of a younger woman, falling for a older guy more interesting to me.  Maybe because I myself fell for an older guy, and ended up marrying him.  LOL.

Contrast Between Film Noir & Neo-Noir...

From what I gathered from the reading of the article that Mr. Toth provided, for me it was saying that neo-noir imitates classic noir at times.  It expresses anxieties, but to a modern condition.  It exists in a postmodern frame of mind.  I liked the following quote from the article, "The world is too warped and incomprehensible, and our access to it is so flawed, that we cannot make sense of it."  This quote reminds me a lot of how the story line goes in film noir.  The article goes on in mentioning that neo-noir finds "absolute truth, as meaningless."  And then, it describes this statement by suggesting that "Obsessions with labels and brand names are as important than the products themselves; image is all-important in the postmodernist era."  This quote I think would be a good comparison to the movie Fight Club.  Lastly, I would like to mention that I found it interesting to know that neo-noir tends to demonstrate drastic changes in employment patterns for men and women, increasing gender role reversals, in having stay-at-home dads, and having mom's work outside the home. 

To Agree, Or Not To Agree?

The film review that I chose by The New York Times, illustrates the movie as being a "refrigerating effect,".  The film review also describes the movie as being suspenseful, which is a character of the film that I feel we can all agree upon.  The film review does a good job describing the plot of the film.  Right in the first paragraph, it tells us how Baraba Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray set out to achieve the perfect murder, in such a way, that not even a cleaver insurance adjuster (Keyes) can figure it out.  I liked how this film review does a good job describing the ambiance felt about the movie.  I wasn't so sure though, about what to make out of the comment from the NY Times quote "Such folks as delight in murder stories for their academic elegance alone should find this one steadily diverting, despite its monotonous pace and length.  Okay,...monotonous means in one varying tone, so how exactly does this word tie in with this movie?  I saw this film being far from monotonous.  Then the critic of this article says, "No objection to the temper of this picture; it is as steel."  This statement I do agree with, because the film dealt with how the characters had a sense of toughness in their attitude, giving the characters a sense of foundation or accomplishment.  Lastly, the critic states that "the very toughness of the picture is also the weakness of its core, and the academic nature of its plotting limits its general appeal."  Again a conflicting statement by a critic which I feel, didn't make his opinions clear as to whether or not he truly liked the film.

An Uncertain Ending

An uncertain ending that left me wanting more.  Chapter 14 gave me the feeling of many "possibilities."  It wasn't a "final chapter," but rather a opening to something more.  Its kinda like when you come to a fork in the road, but with more than two options.  Escaping from it all to another place, marry Phyllis, or even suicide!  On page 113 Walter says, "Ive been thinking about something else.  Phyllis smiled then, the sweetest, saddest smile you ever saw.  "I thought of the five patients" she said.  "The three little children, Mrs. Nirdlinger, Nirdlinger, and myself.  It didn't seem possible that anybody that could be as nice as she when she wanted to be, could have done those things."  Walter then asks her, "What were you thinking about?"  Then Phyllis says "We could be married, Walter."  Walter replies, "We could be.  And then what?  The notion of uncertainty surrounds them, bringing almost a desperation to which way they should retreat.  "She started it again.  There is nothing ahead of us, is there Walter?"  "No.  Nothing" says Walter.  I almost feel sadness and pity for this "dynamic duo."  But like the saying says, what goes around, comes around, and that is exactly what happened to them.  Walter and Phyllis's relationship started, and then ended just as quickly, the same.  For two unforbidden lovers, found themselves going separate ways at the end. 

Blog Entry #3, The relationship between Walter and Phyllis....

In the start of this section in the novel, I believe that what Phyllis and Walter shared was lust for each other.  Of course, with an added bonus of the accident insurance money to share.  It seemed like Walter was really looking out for Phyllis, making sure she wouldn't do anything to mess up their scheme.  In actuality though, I feel like Walter was actually only looking out for his own interest.  I that that the deeper he got involved with this plot, the more he felt insecure about it.  Not only for himself, but too that he didn't want Phyllis to mess up on anything.  After getting to know Lola more and more, Walter quickly realized who he actually had fallen for.  Being filled with feelings of guilt for having to kill Lola's father, made Walter's feelings for Phyllis look less attractive.  Although he knew he just couldn't kick Phyllis out of his life, it was because he needed her, even if it were to be only temporarily.  So many important quotes in this section describe the love-hate relationship that Walter and Phyllis shared.  Their feelings for each other were not based on love, but rather for convenience.  Phyllis and Walter build a dependency on each other.  An example of this was when Walter becomes paranoid about having the murder discovered.  He constantly needs to check with Phyllis to make sure she is taking the right steps during the investigation of the murder.  Throughout this section, Phyllis and Walter learn to predict each others moods.  For me, they are much more alike then they really want to admit to.  They are both really lonely, twisted, and insecure people. 

Reading Response One: Double Indemnity (3 to 33)

As I started reading Double Indemnity by James M. Cain, It quickly made sense how this story is attributed to being a work associated with film noir.  As the examples given on the hand-out of "Primary Characteristics and Conventions of Film Noir: Themes and Styles" state, mystery, moral corruption, paranoia, murderers, and insecurity quickly came to mind.  In only the first thirty-three pages of this story, I saw examples of each of these convictions being displayed.  Starting with the first kiss to a married woman, all the way to a "speedy loan" for the daughter of a soon to be murdered man.  A characteristic of the first section of the novel that I felt related to the following quote is..a twisted plotting of a plan to create a perfect murder.  The quote I picked was from page 24, in Double Indemnity, " If that seems funny to you, that I would kill a man just to pick up a stack of chips, it might not seem so funny if you were back of that wheel, instead of out front.  I had seen so many houses burned down, so many cars wrecked, so many corpses with blue holes in their temples, so many awful things that people had pulled to crook the wheel, that that stuff didn't seem real to me anymore."  For me this quote speaks of a non-shullant attitude to what happens in life.  Kind of like, live life as it comes.  For me, this character (Huff) is portraying himself as a expert in the field of corruption, who knows the ins and outs of how to get around from being caught.  This story was one big roller-coaster ride for me, with many climaxes.  A "desperate married woman,"  named Phylis is introduced in the novel, whose true intentions are nothing but inhumane.  She wants to collect on an insurance policy of her husbands', not caring about who she involves in her plot.  Hurting the feelings of her husbands' daugther Lola, at the thought of her father being murdered, is furthest from this woman's mind.  Even Mr. Huff, the insurance man, who becomes blinded by this woman's beauty finds himself mesmerized at helping her in her scheme to "get rid of her husband" in order to collect on his accidental death policy.  On page 26 in the novel of Double Indemnity it states the character of Mr. Huff states, "But what bothered me wasn't that.  It was the witness that Phylis brought out.  I thought she would have some friend of the family in to dinner.  She didn't.  She brought the stepdaughter in.  The more I looked at her, the less I liked it.  Having to sit with her there, knowing all the time what we were going to do to her father, was one of the things I hadn't bargained for."  For me this made me feel that Mr. Huff did have some compassion in him, probably more so than Phylis, but even this was not enough for him to say, let's just call the whole thing off!

Why does noir seem to appeal to a limited audience today, instead of enjoying a wider following? The Neo-Noir '90S

After reading the article on "Film Noir," I agree with the notion that in todays world - 'Hollywood,' this kind of films would best be appreciated by someone who has a clearer understanding and appreciation for this kind of art.  From my understanding, "Film Noir," was born after the war of World War II, in the time where people looked forward, as the article states, as with "peace and prosperity."  A contrast that I found interesting is that "Film Noir," is described to us by the article as being with "dark and troubling fantasies of a dangerous, corrupt new world, where the lines between good and evil got crossed."  So then, when did this type of noir develop during a time of peace and prosperity?  And as far as women's statuses back then, where few to no rights for women existed, did women be portrayed on noirs as the article states, "ambiguous, sexy and treacherous?"   I think that in today's time, if you were to ask a teenager if they prefer to watch a film noir, or a horror flick, they more than likely not pick the noir.  I guess cause this type of film is outdated.  Lastly, back in the times after the World War II, these film noirs were considered to be great budget films, but unlike the times we live in now, these kind of film can only exist as low-budget movies.  Of course these films back in the 40's and 50's were great blockbusters, it only makes sense with all the new technology that has come out, for instance 3-D movies, that these noirs will eventually become extinct.  For me, technology should keep going forward, instead of trying to be stuck in it.  Sure it's great to preserve it, for the people that still enjoy it, but I feel that the reality is, that its died out.