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Winning Gotham’s Soul: An Ideological Analysis of The Dark Knight (2008)

2012-06-25T23:13:00.002-07:00

Albeit the fact that the Batman set of franchises has already been reviewed enough for the past decades, revisiting the Dark Knight and the ideology behind it makes it worth the annoyance. The Dark Knight is a 2008 film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight series is based on the DC comic character Bruce Wayne, a young billionaire who moonlights as Batman played by Christian Bale. Other noteworthy actors involved in the film include Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman as well as Gary Oldman among others.

Nolan practically based the entire film from his inspiration borne out of the Joker’s comic debut from a 1996 series The Long Halloween which also told the story of how two-face became involved in the fight against Batman and how he acquired the desire to conquer Gotham City. As this is an ideological review, one of the necessary objectives of this article is to dissect the ideological elements apparent all throughout the film. The film maker may not be aware of such elements, he/she may even deny their existence, but through the eyes of an ideologically sensitive film critic, this analysis will attempt to unveil the essential ideologies etched in the discourse of the said film.

Plot

The plot of the film starts with a bank robbery in Gotham city conspired by the Joker and his associates. Consequently, Batman together with the local police chief assigned Harvey Dent, an attorney currently dating Rachel Dawes – Batman’s childhood sweetheart and love interest throughout the series. Bruce Wayne, after realizing the sincerity of Dent’s efforts, held a fundraiser against local mobs. Mob bosses consequently met and planned for furthering crime operations. However, Lau, another local mob boss attempts to flee for Hong Kong in order to escape Dent’s jurisdiction. Joker arrives at the scene and offers to instead kill Batman for half the price in the justification that Batman would only catch Lau in Hong Kong. Naturally, the mob leaders refused Jokers offer. The mob boss Gambol was later shown to be slaughtered by the Joker and soon after, Joker manages to take control over the gang.

Upon reaching Hong Kong, Lau was captured by Batman. His capture proved to be largely beneficial to the en masse imprisonment of other mob leaders as he agreed to testify against them. This frustrated the Joker even more which led him to the final act of killing Gotham citizens once each day until the Batman reveals his true identity. After a series of deaths one after another, Batman finally decides to reveal his identity to the public. However, Dent enters the scene and names himself the Batman in the aim of protecting the truth. Dent is then taken into protective custody by the police (IMDB, n. pag.).

Ushered out of the town, Dent is pursued by the Joker with the real Batman on their tail. Soon over, the Joker reveals that Dent and Dawes were kidnapped and placed in two separate buildings stretching from one side of Gotham to another. In addition, both buildings will explode at the same time. In this scene, Batman is made to choose which one to save – Dent or Dawes? The Now Commissioner Gordon along with the police force pursues Dent whereas Batman followed Dawes’ tracks. Joker used this distraction to escape custody from the authorities. Upon entering the building, Batman sees Dent instead of Rachel and in this particular moment come the realization that the Joker changed the locations of the two hostages. Dent begs Batman to save Rachel instead. However, the bomb exploded killing Rachel Dawes and leaving half of Dent’s face burned from the explosion.

Dent was hospitalized and during his stay in the hospital bed, the Joker paid him a visit and convinced him to take revenge for the people responsible for Rachel’s death. Dent killed Maroni and the two corrupt policemen who handed them over to Joker. The Joker then blows up the hospital leaving with a bus full of people. The Joker, having planned the night quite well, planted bombs in each of two ferries. The Joker tells the people concerned that they are offered the chance to live if they press a button in the knowledge of destroying the other ship in exchange for their survival. Joker expected the civilians to choose life instead of wait in uncertainty knowing the other ship holds the key to their death as well as they do. In a perverse irony, Gotham civilians held on to their faith that none would choose life in exchange for another’s death. In the end, the ships did not explode and the passengers of the ferries were saved.

Batman manages to track Joker’s true location by using a technology developed by Lucius Fox that can spy the entire city. Fox decides to resign from Wayne Enterprises after using the said technology. Batman was also able to apprehend the Joker and during his captive, Joker manages to tell Wayne that he has won “the battle for Gotham’s soul” pertaining to what he (the Joker) had done to Dent and how the public will lose their hope in knowing Dent’s killing spree. Joker was shown being carried by the SWAT team to prison.

Batman returns to the building where Rachel died earlier to find Dent pointing a gun at Gordon and his family. Dent leaves fate to be judged by flips of a coin. The two flips meant shooting Batman in the abdomen and the last one to determine Gordon’s son’s life. Batman, while naturally wearing a vest, manages to stand up and tackle Dent. Dent was shown being killed in the process. In order to cover for Dent’s mishaps, Batman tells Gordon that the public will not know of Dent’s rampage and instead make him (Batman) be shown responsible for the killings hence the fugitive chase for Batman in the films that will follow. In Dent’s funeral, Gordon delivers the eulogy while symbolically destroying the Bat Signal. Meanwhile, Alfred Pennyworth is shown burning the letter written by Rachel that talks of her plans on marrying Dent.

Ideological Analysis

There is an apparent and consistent ideological framework present in most superhero films in the 20^th century. The superhero is constantly faced with the existential choice of choosing oneself in exchange for the harm of others or choosing others in exchange for the harm to oneself. This dilemma was faced by Batman when he was threatened by the Joker to reveal his true identity and until then he shall kill Gotham city people every day. Batman almost gave up when Dent saved the scene.

The existential values of this aspect of the film’s story lay in the fact that choosing individual gain over collective harm results in the person incurring existential angst – something even the Batman can’t possibly face. On the other hand, choosing the collective over the individual offers a way to escape existential angst in exchange of subjecting oneself to the idea of vulnerability or dying depending on the situation – this is a brilliant existential device used by the Joker as a means to get Batman do what he (the Joker) wants him to do. In other words, Batman was forced to become Joker’s sidekick.

The same ideological theme was shown in the film particularly the part when the people were forced to choose between blowing up each other or keeping each other alive. This boat scene apparently provides us with yet another effective existential dilemma contextualized in a different way.

Another social reality reinforced in the entirety of the film is Batman’s stereotype of lawyers being corrupt as exemplified in his impression of Dent in the onset of the film. As the story progresses however, Dent is shown to be genuinely serious about his claims against the mobs of the city and corruption as a whole. However, the story of the two policemen who handed them (Dent and Rachel) to Joker’s team implies again the same type of reinforcement used to establish the fact that government officials are corrupt. The value system preserved in the entire film is that justice cannot be served through the traditional means known to man and that one of the ways through which such an abstraction can be humanized is by the emergence of a hero in the form of Batman.

The political battle between the good and the bad throughout this film shows dependence of Gotham city residents on their hope that justice in large still exists as symbolized by Dent in the first parts of the film. Losing this hope would mean the loss of legitimacy in society as expressed in one of Joker’s comment “you have won the soul of Gotham city.” This implication can be interpreted as aiming to send an implicit message that justice is possible through other means and that one must always take into consideration the sake of the greater good beyond oneself. The representation of the judicial system and its popular interpretation among its viewers are supported on one side and challenged on the other. It is also interesting to take note that the film maker was able to manifest the ideology of justice in scenarios that are genuinely thrilling such as the ferry scene with the citizens of Gotham and Batman’s decision to be portrayed as a fugitive in the eyes of the public in exchange of instilling in them a trust for the system in general. Anyway, the final sequel of the Dark Knight series is about to show this coming July 20 on theaters near you.

Works Cited

Dargis, Manohla. Showdown in Gotham Town. The New York Times. 2008. Web.

IMDB. The Dark Knight. Internet Movie Database. 2008. Web.

Harry Potter and the Political Philosophy of Social Change: The Best Means to Employ in Responding to Political Injustice

2012-06-25T20:51:00.001-07:00

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix

The best manner through which one can determine the proper means to respond in situations of political injustice is to analyse an aspect of a certain political philosophy and dissect the underlying socio-cultural implications. In this context, an analogical philosophical paper is needed in order to explain the subject matter in a more comprehensive manner. Essentially, this research seeks to first examine the sociological, cultural, political and philosophical value of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series and analogize it to a working political framework.

There is little literature known on the social and philosophical values of the Harry Potter series. Taking a closer look into its plot and revisiting the events that took place, traces of the ideal British society can be seen such as the prominent inclinations on gender equality, racial parity, and the inherent desire of protecting the civilization against a looming revolutionary social change. It is also apparent in the Potter context that they propose a libertarian solution against the rational revolutionary force that is manifested in the form of Death Eaters. The ideas deduced throughout this philosophical project are not assumed to be in agreement to Rowling’s vision nor is it something inherent in the Potter series. Rather, this research will draw upon textual evidence and compare it to existing literature of the political philosophy being discussed. In light of this, the Potter series will be understood as an analogical tool to spread socio-political ideologies of libertarian political philosophy that which will be discussed in the following passages.

Overview of the Argument

Premise #1: According to the Potter series plot, the protagonists resist the revolutionary forces (villains) through the insistence of a libertarian ideological framework.

Premise #2: J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is an integral part of popular culture and is widely read and accepted throughout the world.

Conclusion: Therefore, the Potter series can be considered as a tool to spread the libertarian political philosophy by instilling a culturally valid version of it in people’s mind. The best way to do so is to become part of popular culture and through literature propagate the idea aforementioned.

Support for the Argument

The political philosophy of libertarianism teaches us that the government’s primary interest is to protect the personal liberties of each of its citizens. These personal liberties are also said to have a particularly high moral value that the government’s legitimate role is left with protecting its citizens from cases such as theft, fraud and force among others. This is reflected in the characters created by Rowlings herself such as Albus Dumbledore who represents political libertarian small-government in accord to the writings of Gregory Bassham (p. 113).

Furthermore, Bassham argues that the ideology of political libertarianism is highly integral in the entire plot and morality of the Harry Potter series that its story would not be logical without the libertarian elements embedded in the decisions made by its characters. In other words, without the elements of libertarianism, the Potter series would be a typical adventure novel without any traceable amounts of academic and philosophical value.

Interestingly enough, Prinzi (2008) posits that while the Potter series reflects such political philosophy aforementioned, it does so in a way that avoids the mistake of ideological obsession. For instance, its proposition towards racial inequality as expressed in the condition of elves that are forever bound to slavery is not entirely pondered upon in the book. Rather, it is presented only as a part of a larger context that is to be revealed in the latter parts of the storyline. The action taken by Hermoine Granger, one of the protagonists of the story, is also notable as she attempted to create a civil rights movement advocating the fair treatment of elves in the Hogwarts kitchen and in the entire wizarding world in general (Prinzi 226).

In addition, Prinzi maintains that the Harry Potter series also contains some strands of Christian theology especially expressed by Rowlings herself in her 2008 Harvard commencement speech stating:

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch each other people’s lives simply by existing. (qtd. in Prinzi 223)

The statement “what we achieve inwardly will change outer reality” most especially appeals to Christian theology. Christian theology specifically demands that social change can be achieved only through individual changes among the people. Once an inward change occurs to a certain individual, a person who adheres to the principles of justice, love and mercy is necessarily born (Prinzi 224).

Aside from this statement’s connection to Christian theology, it is also extensively associated with the group called Fabian society. The Fabian society is basically a collective that believes in gradualism and gradual change as opposed to the ideals of revolutionary social change. According to George Bernard Shaw (2006), a Fabian member himself, socialism is possible considering the aspects of contemporary society. The Fabians can also be considered as neo-Marxists in general due to their common anti-capitalist sentiments with the Marxist revolutionary forces throughout the globe. On the other hand, Adrian Sinfield, Alan Walker and Carol Walker (2011) presents the sociology of Peter Townsend towards social planning that advocates the eradication of poverty, political inequality and injustice. Townsend’s philosophy is comparable to that of the libertarian spirit as professed in the Potter series (Sinfield et al., 69).

Critical Section

Going back to the political loyalty of Dumbledore, Bassham further proposes that Dumbledore was considered libertarian not because of his direct adherence to the ideals of a “nightwatchmen state” or stating that “the government that governs least governs best.” Rather, the conclusion that Dumbledore is libertarian was reached because of his actions towards governing Hogwarts and holding key positions in the wizarding world such as the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Bassham 121).

Bassham further posits that Dumbledore poses no direct connection to libertarian political philosophy. He does not express adherence to monarchist, communist, fascist, liberal democratic or anarchic styles of government. Prinzi points out that the libertarian ideals existing in the plot cannot be pointed out individually. Rather, it could only be described through circumstantial events that took place in the book. For instance, Dumbledore’s apparent distrust of political power is narrated through the Ministry of Magic serving as an obstacle towards the capture of Voldemort. Dumbledore is portrayed as a man who has witnessed various cases of tyranny and misuse of power (Bassham 115).

Furthermore, the Ministry is shown to be impotent especially at the point wherein Voldemort repetitively attempted to rise to power. In essence, this event functions as a critique of the government’s excessive bureaucracy. Instead of spending time to pursue justice or prevent catastrophes, they become engaged in paper works all in the name of officiality and order only to be met with chaotic destruction when Voldemort succeeds to regain his strength. In this sense, Dumbledore was shown to be operating in the background as he successfully thwarts the plans of Voldemort but pays a fatal price at the end.

In addition to this, the Ministry is shown to perform unjust decisions especially in the part where they suspended Dumbledore from headmaster duties in Chamber of Secrets, the charge of underage use of magic against Potter in Order of the Phoenix as well as the condemnation of Buckbeak the Hippogriff in Prisoner of Azkaban. These events attest to Dumbledore’s adherence to libertarian political philosophy in contrast to the existing government represented by the Ministry of Magic as an institution. In essence, the libertarian principles in the book are shown in such a way that will counter the status quo and will serve as an alternative to a rational revolutionary force represented by Voldemort and the Death Eaters. In this context, Voldemort was portrayed as a fascist as well as Snape in the first parts of the book.

In the last book The Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore admits his distrust with political power saying “power was my weakness and my temptation” and that he had “learned that [he] was not to be trusted with power” (Rowlings 448). However, Bassman also counters that the argument is non sequitur meaning that libertarian thinkers do not have a monopoly on the concept that power corrupts. Various political theories adhere to the idea that power corrupts and so the argument that Dumbledore is inherently libertarian-minded based on his actions as foretold in the Potter series is necessarily invalid. In this context, Prinzi offers a new perspective on Dumbledore’s political philosophy saying that he is an advocate of gradual change similar to the Fabians as mentioned in the onset.

The spirit of gradualism, as explained by Shaw (2006) and Sinfield et al. (2011), is a neo-Marxist tradition whose commonality with the revolutionary Marxists lies in their anti-capitalist sentiments. At this point, it is imperative to take into consideration the fact that in the Potter series, there are three opposing movements – 1) the Death Eaters who represent a loyalty to revolution and the overthrowing of the state, 2) the Order of the Phoenix led by Dumbledore and the protagonists in the story such as Harry Potter, Hermoine Granger and Ronald Weasley as well as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin all of which represent the libertarian or gradualist (Fabian) trend to social change and 3) the Ministry of Magic that represents a stubborn and reactionary resistance to social change as offered by the two groups.

Equally important is the fact that the Order of the Phoenix is opposed to the revolutionary forces of the Death Eaters as well as to the incompetent government of the Ministry of Magic. In this sense, libertarian political philosophy can be located at the center of the political spectrum due to its opposition to the government and to the radical change offered by leftists. This rather ambiguous situation is reflected in the plot of the Potter series as the two opposing groups or political actors struggle to claim power in the wizarding world. However, it should be noted that the libertarian side of the story does not necessarily agree with claiming power – its primary goal is to instil a seed of gradual inner change among the people similar to that of Christian theology and the Fabian society (Simon 36). In further assessment, Fabian socialism is largely the gist of Christian theology in terms of their mutual agreement to inward and gradual change, the only difference is the former’s aversion to religious sentiments which Christian theology is necessarily tied with.

On another point, John Locke’s Second Treatise approves of the right to revolution on the part of the Death Eaters. Prinzi even goes as far as saying that the Death Eaters’ revolutionary ideal is rational at best. Locke says that in the spirit of liberty similar to that of Thomas Hobbes’ The Leviathan, humans have the freedom to determine what the state of nature requires of them to do. Locke also proposes claims against the practice of slavery, private property as well as the concept of representative government among others. However, while Locke’s political philosophy can be applied to the condition of Death Eaters, it can also be interpreted as a libertarian principle as he expresses in the following passage:

People in this state do not have to ask permission to act or depend on the will of others to arrange matters on their behalf. The natural state is also one of equality in which all power and jurisdiction is reciprocal and no one has more than another. It is evident that all human beings – as creatures belonging to the same species and rank and born indiscriminately with all the same natural advantages and faculties – are equal amongst themselves. (Locke 106)

Locke, in this passage describes the objective conditions of the natural state he proposes to be the ideal representative government. This can be applied to the actions taken by Dumbledore which, for the purposes of this paper, is considered Fabian and libertarian in essence as well as the revolutionary tactics employed by Voldemort himself. It is also reflective of the state of the existing government represented by the Ministry as having been responsible for the unjust limitation of rights thereby undermining the natural state of equality among human beings. In other words, Locke primarily criticizes the bureaucracy of the reactionary government and prefers a rather libertarian mode of public administration while aversive of Marxist leanings in general (Locke 108; Christman 144).

Conclusion

This research outlined the political philosophies underlying the Potter series written by Rowlings. It discusses the popular belief that characters such as Dumbledore as well as certain fictional institutions like the Order of the Phoenix represent a libertarian ideal while referring to the Death Eaters as the revolutionary force against the Ministry which in turn represents the government. The entire discussion can be concluded as a meta-analysis of the best way to employ responses to political injustice. On the other hand, the Potter series being part of popular literature is in itself an effective means to spread libertarian ideology in coherence with the Fabian society and Christian theology’s political philosophies.

Works Cited

Bassham, Gregory. The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts for Muggles. London, Routledge. 2010. PDF.

Christman, John Philip. Social and political philosophy: a contemporary introduction, London: Routledge, 2007. Print.

Locke, John. Essay Two: Concerning the True Original Extent and End of Civil Government. pp. 105-216. 1689. PDF.

Prinzi, T. Of Fountains, Fabians, and Freedoms. Harry Potter and Imagination ch. 12.

Rowling, Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 1998. Print.

Rowling, Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 1999. Print.

Rowling, Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 2000. Print.

Rowling, Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 2003. Print.

Rowling, Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 2007. PDF.

Simon, Thomas. Democracy and social injustice: law, politics and philosophy, New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Print.

Sinfield, Adrian, Walker, Alan and Walker, Carol. Fighting poverty, inequality and injustice: a manifesto inspired by Peter Townsend. The Policy Press, 2011. Print.

Shaw, George Bernard, Fabian Essays in Socialism. Cosimo, Inc., 2006. Print.