October 6, 2024 | Cinema and television

If Batman Begins was popular, The Black Knight was a sensation – and a controversial one at that. I remember listening to a radio debate about whether the film should have received a 12A rating due to its darkness and violence, and while it’s never particularly gory, it certainly touches on themes serious.

Christopher Nolan’s second opus is best known for its famous portrayal of the character The Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger. It is clear from the start that he does not follow normal rules and he demonstrates a glee in his violence that often veers into sadism. Even during the first bank robbery, he kills his comrades and leaves the bank manager with a live grenade in his mouth.

But the Joker is more than a comic book villain shown through a darker lens. He is the representation of a new evil facing the West. The interaction between him and his (initially) good counterpart Harvey Dent rises The Black Knight from a well-constructed and entertaining superhero film to a study of the Western psyche of the 2000s. Unlike Batman Beginsthe film’s plot lies less in the motivations of its own characters than in the parallels drawn with the post-9/11 world.

Heroes and villains

The Joker represents terrorists, a lawless evil who, in Alfred’s words, “just [wants] to watch the world burn.” Its terror is unpredictable: it can arise anywhere, at any time and by any means. Even when cornered, he relishes the chaos, daring Batman to break his one rule and kill him. He’s too much, even for Gotham’s ordinary criminals, who see him as a “monster.”

The opposing force is the new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, who serves as an Uncle Sam figure and represents the United States. Dent represents purity and justice and is engaged in a massive operation to clean out the remainder of the Falcone crime syndicate. His dedication is such that he seduces an initially skeptical Bruce Wayne despite his involvement with his lover, Rachel Dawes.

Wayne sees Dent as a path to a future where Gotham no longer needs Batman (and where he can finally settle down with Rachel himself). But the Joker has another destiny in mind for them all. Dent’s famous phrase is prophetic in relation to his own history, but can also serve as an analogy for the reputation of the United States at the turn of the 21st century.

“Either you die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” -Harvey Dent

Action and reaction

A cruel plan by the Joker sees Dent and Rachel tied up in warehouses ready to explode. Batman saves Dent, but Rachel is killed and the feeling of injustice is enough to make Dent turn. Half of his face is blown off in the explosion and one side of his two-headed lucky coin is burned. Harvey Dent is no longer the good guy.

The shots from firefighters stationed in the rubble of the buildings are reminiscent of 9/11, and Dent’s thirst for revenge has parallels with the attitude of the American government and the Western public after such a horrific attack on their own soil. Dent thinks Gordon and Batman are trying to be “decent men in indecent times”, but doesn’t think that’s a sufficient answer to what happened.

His subsequent rampage, where he seeks out those he believes are responsible or who could have better protected Rachel, could be compared to the authoritarian and ultimately misguided War on Terror. The Joker’s actions have destroyed Dent’s integrity, and he violently attacks the world in search of revenge.

“[The Joker] I wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall. » -Batman

Meanwhile, Wayne shows Fox a new toy he has developed: it uses citizens’ phones to map Gotham with sonar to help him trace crime. Fox’s ethical concerns reflect critiques of the increased state power granted by laws like the Patriot Act following the terrorist attacks of the early 2000s and – rather prophetically – the PRISM program revealed by Edward Snowden.

The White Knight of Gotham

The Joker later explains that he believes the people of Gotham will lose faith in goodness when they hear about Dent’s vendetta. Much like real-life terrorist atrocities, the Joker’s actions are already causing them to view their neighbors with suspicion – even going so far as to vote for or against their outburst during the ferry dilemma scene.

The twist, and the icing on the cake that is this masterpiece, is that Batman defeats the Joker not only physically but also in information warfare. He takes responsibility for Dent’s crimes so that his image and legacy remain pure in the minds of the people and their belief in goodness and justice can be preserved.

“Sometimes the truth is not enough… Sometimes people deserve to be rewarded for their faith.” -Batman

The Black Knight ends with perhaps the most iconic moment of the trilogy as the police begin to hunt down Batman. The music swells. Gordon’s son, whom Batman has just saved from Dent, wonders why he is being chased. Unable to properly explain the complex situation to such a young child, Gordon simply remarks that Batman is “the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.”

This film is rightly considered the best in the series, but I think largely for the wrong reasons. It works like a comic book movie – the characters, story and settings are all fantastic – but The Black Knight stands out because it’s not about caricatured good and evil. It’s a snapshot of the world’s uncertain response to a new and dangerous challenge, and the threat to our entire moral compass.

5/5