Category: Batman

I intend to discuss moral philosophy in the movie, ‘The Dark Knight’. I intend to discuss Batman’s moral position. I agree with his moral position. The comic book character Batman is a representative of justice, as the hero lives to do what is right. The comic book character Batman is a delegate of equity, as the legend lives to make the right decision. All through the numerous experiences that have been delivered, Batman needs to discover approaches to accomplish his assignment of looking for equity, ways that frequently conflict with the law or regular virtues. In this manner, Batman applies his own set standards and feeling of equity to do, what he considers is correct, subsequently giving him the status of vigilante among the specialists of the anecdotal City of Gotham. The possibility of a saint acting as per his own principles so as to do great around him needs a person with solid good convictions, an issue that is essential in numerous accounts of Batman, and especially in Christopher Nolan’s second creation of his Batman set of three, ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008). In the film, morals are a repetitive subject which for the most part focus on how Batman manages moral issues and the choice he makes to achieve his objective while considering the ordinary citizens’ decisions. These moral issues make up the character of Batman, making him a fascinating subject of moral conversation, a reality that Nolan comprehended when composing the film.

Let us think about Batman’s condition, before we investigate his activities. Bruce Wayne is a very rich person whose fortune and friends help run the City of Gotham, his neighborhood. He is very much dedicated to his city as he follows his dad’s thoughts, utilizing the advantages of his organization to help residents of Gotham. Present Gotham City is swarmed with lawbreakers and effective hordes, an issue the Wayne can’t follow up on legitimately. In the wake of being banished and prepared by ninja warriors (‘Batman Begins’, 2005), Bruce Wayne chooses to turn into Batman and broaden his assistance farther than what his organization could, by battling crooks around evening time. The feeling of obligation that pushes Bruce Wayne to bear the duty of ensuring the residents and put on the dark uniform originates from three parts of his life: the profound connection he feels for his city that he gets from his dad, and the knowledge that he has the way to achieve what nobody else can, as an extremely rich person with uncommon preparing, grasping his dread of bats and naming himself Batman.

These three components set him apart from the remainder of the resident and cause the awareness of other’s expectations and feeling of obligation towards the individuals of Gotham. Helping the individuals of Gotham City in all manners conceivable subsequently becomes Bruce Wayne’s push to characterize his personality, which is part between an effective very rich person and the veiled vigilante, who share a similar premium. Duty is a catchphrase here, as such an errand can’t be accomplished without a significant arrangement of ethics, considering the force that Wayne holds and a wide range of ways that it could be utilized. Wayne makes Batman as an image of justice and dread for the hoodlums, an ethical objective for the need of a code of morals to be trailed by the Dark Knight. Wayne understands this and acts accordingly, he has one shining standard: Batman doesn’t execute. Batman’s ethics can be contrasted with Aristotle’s excellence morals to the extent what Batman symbolizes: a righteous defender. The character shows temperance that Aristotle partners with the good being: courage as he faces hazardous crooks, prudence as he achieves his errand, justice which is the fundamental motivation behind Batman’s presence, and kindness as he doesn’t murder anybody regardless of whether they are the lawbreakers as should be obvious in the film he saves Joker’s life during the last arrangements of the film. In light of these variables the brilliant mean of Batman on the off chance that you consider equity as the uprightness falls directly in the inside not all that a lot neither to less. Additionally, he is sufficiently bold to beat his dread of bats and grasping it to turn into Batman. As indicated by Aristotle, Batman does the activity from a firm, constant character and unprejudiced. He considers everybody to be equivalent with regards to equity.

In conclusion, if we see the actions of Batman and his intentions, we know that he is to be considered a ‘hero’. Also, he fits as a virtuous person if we apply Aristotle’s virtue ethics. Over I agree with Batman as a virtuous person as displayed by the director Christopher Nolan.

Film as a visual culture (especially in today’s world) has multiple purpose and aims to educate the viewer while also entertaining them and giving them the chance ponder over the human experiences throughout. Naturally not every film manages to obtain the goals previously mentioned, in fact many don’t even attempt to. Films that manage to entertain and provoke discussion are handy projects that can be used for education. When attempting to create a piece of work that tackles the tricky concepts of moral standing and honesty through a human experience it can often be the case that a filmmaker will fail to capture the audience’s interest. Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ not only entertains the viewer but also opens them up to serious ethical and moral issues which are faced by characters within the film. Instances of these moral dilemmas include different characters lives hanging in the balance and Batman having to choose which one he goes to save. Although the movie itself is a work of fiction, similarities between it and the ethics of human life and wellbeing in modern society are present throughout the film.

From the beginning of the film and right through to the end Bruce Wayne-Batman has a number of times where his honesty is tested. The most important issue that he faces in the film is outlining his own values and then being able to stick to those values while living his life in too very separate ways. One as Bruce Wayne, a billion-dollar company owner. The other is Batman, a crime fighting vigilante. Wayne makes Batman a crimefighting vigilante who where’s a mask, hiding their true identity. Even though Batman is wearing a mask and therefore protecting the man (Bruce Wayne) behind it he still ardently opposes killing people (even guilty criminals) as he knows he is not the law. Both Bruce and Batman stay true to their intentions and retain their honesty and integrity by never killing anyone. This is surprising as Batman regularly finds himself in circumstances where violence is bound to erupt. The figure of Batman allows Bruce to not only tackle Gotham’s criminals but also protects him and the people he loves from harm. It also protects his company from public disapproval.

The importance of the connection but also the difference between Bruce and Batman is put under immense pressure throughout the motion picture by its main villain, the Joker. This firstly takes place when the Joker has planted himself with the various mob bosses that run the Gotham underworld and given Batman a warning: for every day that goes by without the Batman revealing his true identity the Joker will kill someone. The Joker shows his complete disregard for a moral compass here as he is threatening the lives of innocence in order to force Batman into making a decision. Throughout the whole film the Joker is presented as a man with no moral compass and someone who couldn’t care less about ethics. To show that he is serious the Joker begins by murdering a man who had been inspired by Batman’s crime fighting abilities and dressed up as the hero of the film. Here Batman has to know make a very hard choice. He can refuse to reveal his identity and allow the killing of a person every day he does not, or he gets rid of the mask and Batman entirely which risks the safety of his loved ones and himself.

While Bruce tries to track down and capture the Joker, he has to consider what the consequences of the choice he makes will be. Does he keep his identity a secret in order to preserve the image of Batman, Gotham’s primary way of keeping the streets safe? Or reveal his identity in order to bring a stop to the Joker? At first Bruce wants to keep the true identity of Batman a secret however, the Joker begins to kill more people and as a result the choice is trickier. Alfred, Bruce’s butler, is the only person who knows his secret and he argues that Bruce needs to keep his identity as Batman a secret due to the figure of Batman having a platform to make a difference and serve the citizens of Gotham. Alfred also doesn’t think that Bruce should not let a madman like the Joker get his way. There is however another person who knows Bruce’s secret, his childhood love Rachel. She argues that he should give himself up and reveal Batman’s true face in order to stop the innocent people from being murdered. Her argument is tainted by the fact she has told Bruce before that they can never be together as long as he is Batman. There are several moments in the film where Rachel’s integrity is tested. An example of this is when she is confronted by the Joker face to face and is revealing her identity as Bruce’s long-time friend. This put her in immediate harm’s way, and she could’ve been killed yet she remains honest. Rachels committed stance in regard to her integrity acts as a demarcation compared to Bruce and his idea of keeping his crimefighting persona and also his love for her.

Justice is a key idea that runs through the entire film. The whole idea is based on Batman, who fights for justice outside of the law. Batman as a character is juxtaposed with Harvey Dent who is the District Attorney for Gotham. His aim is to fight the crime that has plagued the city as well but compared to Batman, within the constraints of the law. Dent is also in a relationship with Rachel. Although Bruce does not want them together, he also doesn’t want to see Harvey Dent fail as Bruce sees Dent’s success through official legal paths, as a way for him to stop being Batman and be with Rachel. Both Dent and Batman show opposing ways in which justice can be obtained and implemented. At the climax of the film however, their two separate approaches end up colliding first with an ethical dilemma faced by Batman and then Harvey after his moral code has been destroyed and he decides to adopt a new way to dealing justice: through the flip of a coin.

Towards the end of the film Batmen is in the midst of getting the Joker to tell him where Rachel and Harvey are who have both vanished. The Joker created a scenario in which both Rachel and Harvey are sitting in separate buildings, both surrounded by extensive amounts of explosive. Joker gives Batman the location of Dent and Rachel but only allows time for one of them to be saved. Batman must decide whether to rescue Rachel, the women whom he loves. Or should he rescue Harvey, the one man within the police and government that can bring peace to the city of Gotham. This is a difficult dilemma as not only are the stacks high but also the decision has to be made right in that moment. Although the choice is made to be overly dramatic for the purpose of film making it is not too dissimilar to the decisions a surgeon has to make in an emergency or in a quick amount of time. Many members of the healthcare system have to consider their own morals and values while also considering the patients values and quality of life.

The film ‘The Dark Knight’ is a well-known movie and has earned 8 Academy Award nominations, and has also won 2 Academy Awards. This amount of appreciation is no surprise considering the effort that was put into the movie and the movies significant meaningful story. The film shows many different perspectives from the same story, from a representation of the society to the paths each character takes to achieve the same goal known as satisfaction. Set within a year after the events of ‘Batman Begins’ (2005). Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new DA Harvey Dent have been clearing the Gotham City of criminals and finally, Gotham city has piece. The piece and the calm are soon changed to anarchy and violence when a new mastermind criminal who calls himself the Joker steps into the Gotham City. The Joker’s violence heavily affects the main characters, changing Harvey Dent from a hero to a villain and as Batman presides to stop the Joker, he slowly moves toward crossing the line between heroism and vigilantism. The movie leads the audience into noticing the three different personalities from the three main characters. The director of the film Christopher Nolan manifests the differences in the behavior and personalities found in the three main characters but also showing their connection. By applying the psychodynamic theory to Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ it is clear to the audience that the three main characters Batman, Harvey Dent and the Joker embody the three systems Freud proposed comprised the human mind. Harvey Dent is the superego, Batman is the ego and the Joker is the id. After watching the film, it becomes clear how these three characters act and behave based on their superego, ego or id.

In this film, it is clear that Harvey Dent personifies the superego. Harvey Dent is a virtuous district attorney who works within the law from a moral high ground to fight crime in Gotham his rosy outlook contrasts with Batman’s drab cynicism and his hopefulness only supports his position as the white knight of Gotham City. He acts as the righteous law-abiding citizen that functions as the arm of noble peace and justice in the system. Harvey’s principles come from cultural and societal standards for good behavior and his actions reflect a respect for authority in this case it is respect for the authority of the law. “I don’t leave anything up to chance, I make my own luck” – Harvey Dent. Harvey Dent is referring to his double-headed coin when saying this line. Before making decision Harvey Dent always flips his double-headed coin and calls head for the morally right decision. Meaning that he is always choosing the morally right decision no matter what. This matters because it shows that Harvey Dent values his morals and ethics more than anything, it shows that Harvey Dent does not consider the immoral choice an option. According to the Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “The superego is the ethical component of the personality and provides the moral standards by which the ego operates”. This relates to Harvey Dent by showing how much the superego relies on the moral and ethical standards much like Harvey Dent. The superego can be represented as the law. As they are the ones setting rules and standards for what’s right and what’s wrong.

Batman the morally gray and anti-hero of the movie personifies the ego. his character is the result of a wicked world forming the hard exterior of a man who’s not afraid to operate outside of a pure righteous morality to achieve a practical goal of saving the city. Batman sacrifices his reputation by taking the blame of the murders Harvey Dent committed after being corrupted by the Joker, he sacrifices his love Rachel Dawes to save Harvey Dent whom can save the city, he was willing to reveal his identity to save the city. His sacrifices are synonymous with the reality principle associated with Freud’s ego. the reality principle states that the ego operates according to a delay in gratification to achieve real-world objectives. The film itself tells the story of Batman’s sacrifice. “Perhaps both Bruce and Mr. Dent believe that Batman stands for something more important than the whims of a terrorist, Miss Dawes, even if everyone hates him for it. That’s the sacrifice he’s making. He’s not being a hero. He’s being something more” – Alfred. During this line Alfred also known as Batman’s butler is explaining to Rachel Dawes, how Batman is willingness to sacrifice his reputation in order to achieve his goal. The balance between these two extremes superego and id is found in batman in the form of ego. In order to achieve his goals, he will sacrifice what’s his. His goals are good and his sacrifice does not harm others. According to Cherry, “The reality principle forces us to consider the risks, requirements, and possible outcomes as we make decisions by temporarily halting the discharge of the id’s energy until a suitable time and place”. And this is a perfect representation of Batman he does consider risks or immoral choices in order to achieve his needs but he ensures that his goals, decisions, and risks does not harm others. Batman or the ego represents the public as most consider risks but also consider the harm that might follow.

The Joker embodies the id. The Joker, on the other hand, is the chaotic hurricane who seeks to undermine all authority and promote anarchy by killing and terrorizing the populace. His motives are nothing less than malevolent and he will do anything to anyone to achieve his ends. In fact, his motivations can even change in an instant setting him down completely different pathways because he sees one as being more fun than another. “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical like money they can’t be both bullied reasoned or negotiated with some men just want to watch the world burn these” – Alfred. The Joker operates according to the pleasure principle. “The pleasure principle is the driving force of the id that seeks immediate gratification of all needs, wants and urges” (Cherry, ‘How Freud’s Pleasure Principle Works’). The Joker’s insanity dominates his persona and his ceaselessly aggressive and merciless actions make him a chaotic tyrant vying for control or more accurately destruction of the moral code of Gotham City. The plot of ‘The Dark Knight’ centers around the fight for the soul of Gotham City a fight for the morality of its citizens whether they would return to their crime-ridden past or move beyond it and beyond fear of Gotham’s villains Harvey Dent and Batman worked together and are successful in cleaning up the streets of Gotham for a while before the Joker is hired by the mob to remedy the situation despite the Joker success and killing off many of Gotham’s prominent citizens his motivations soon become clear he’s only working for himself and his own ends he only wants to see chaos and proof that Gotham is just as twisted as he. He is eventually thwarted by Batman but not before corrupting Harvey Dent by killing his fiancee. The id represents capitalist companies in the society. They do not care what paths may be taken as long as the goal is achieved.

By the end of the film, Harvey Dent represented as superego gets corrupted and dies this shows lust for goodness is not necessarily good and can lead to madness. “As you know, madness is like gravity…all it takes is a little push” – the Joker. The Joker represented as the id is caught by Batman and arrested showing that lust for evil eventually leads to failure. Batman, on the other hand, is the only character standing by the end of the film showing that the ego, also known as the balance of the two extremes, is the only one surviving.

‘The Dark Knight’ is by far the best superhero movie ever made to this day. Eleven years later to its initial release date it will always remain my top choice. Directed by Christopher Nolan who has helped produce many famous movies like ‘Inception’, ‘Interstellar’, ‘Dunkirk’, and as we know the Batman trilogy. The Batman trilogy has changed the superhero movie scene, all other movies are striving to be more like ‘Batman’. Every other superhero movie that has come after it has not been able to match the effect ‘The Dark Knight’ has left on the superhero community.

To begin with, the Joker played by Heath Ledger was one of the greatest performances ever to go on screen. He had the right kind of crazy in him for the movie to describe the Joker perfectly. The Joker is typically known as a guy who laughs when situations go wrong for himself basically a ruthless psychopath. To prepare for the movie the Joker read comic books trying to learn the role. He practiced his voice for the role and his evil laugh which he ended up mastering. In addition, his makeup was like no other Jokers before, he just made you cringe because it was so creepy, no other Joker from before has the messed up smeared, gross look how Ledger did. Throughout the movie it progressively got worse as the movie got more intense and Ledger was ruining Gotham City. In the end he did not succeed in destroying and overtaking the city however he did cause mass destruction and a lot of people to die. After all of Ledger’s work mastering this role, he did win an Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. Unfortunately, he was not able to accept the award due to his death before the movie was released. Therefore, Ledger’s role in ‘The Dark Knight’ helped this movie separate in a positive way from competing superhero movies.

Going along with the Joker, Batman and the Joker had the most badass rivalry in comics. They wouldn’t always fight physically sometimes it was more of a mental battle to see who was going to crack first and watch Gotham fall or watch Gotham prosper again. The Joker vs Batman beef has been going on for decades now and has evolved into a crazy ‘they both need each other kind of situation’. Batman needs him to prove to himself he is still a decent person and will not kill him. Also killing the joker would go against Batman’s morality. The Joker needs Batman because without Batman there is no Joker even though he would try and kill him if he has the chance. In a way they have created something from being rivals in who controls Gotham. Batman just wants to do what is good for the community and the Joker wants all the power he can get his hands on. Over the years of their conflict, they have created a relationship in which they feed off each other unintentionally. Batman is unable to give up his cape and the Joker doesn’t ever want to stop being the Joker. Therefore, if one does something and the other reacts, and in a way, they both love it on the inside. This creates one of the best superhero vs villain stories of all time, better than any other superhero just fighting your everyday criminal. Nobody else developed a relationship with a villain as they did even though they still beat the shit out of other every chance that was given.

All in all, this is an opportunity to appreciate how good the movie producers in the past, and up to this movie (Christopher Nolan) have done. Obviously, Bruce Wayne and Heath Ledger did a fantastic job in doing their part the exact way it is supposed to be played. Speaking that Ledger did receive an Oscar for his acting, it was by far deserved. Christian Bale also won the 2008 People’s Choice Award for Best Superhero. In addition, both actors, Heath and Bale, received ‘Best Onscreen Chemistry’ for 2008. If that doesn’t say a lot about their relationship in the movie, I don’t know what will. Unfortunately, we won’t ever get to see these together again due to Bale stepping down after the Batman trilogy. That’s why we have to appreciate the best superhero movie made and it was produced during our time. Also, we won’t get the see ledger finish out his career being such a great actor for any role.

‘The Dark Knight’ was the first billion-dollar superhero movie and was the 6th highest grossing movie in history according to Forbes magazine. This movie may have been the first to really go more into gore and fighting. This could have boosted the movie’s ‘ability’ in way that Christopher Nolan was able to do more intense fighting and violence in the movie. In addition, the film won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Action Movie. ‘The Dark Knight’ is one of a kind compared all other superhero films. In 2008 the other competing superhero movies were ‘Ironman’, and ‘Hancock’. Which in the end, Batman ended up blowing each of those out of the water by a long shot. Rotten tomatoes gave them a score of 94% and audience score of 94% also. All in all, this all provides the clear-cut evidence that ‘The Dark Knight’ is the best superhero movie of all time and will be for a long time. You could look up any reviews and they will all tell you, to this day ‘The Dark Knight’ is the best. Also, the whole trilogy did something no other sequels or other trilogy of movies can do, they made all the other film makers look up to the Batman trilogy. You could almost argue they are all better than each other in certain ways, that’s how much of an impact Nolan left on the trilogy.

Everyone should consider watching the trilogy but specifically looking deeper in ‘The Dark Knight’. As I stated earlier in the essay, Heath Ledger accidently committed suicide before the movie even came out. We should all take into consideration that there will be no other Bale and Ledger movies. Especially with a performance that Ledger put on for all of us. Sadly, he had an overdose in his New York apartment, however his job in Batman will never be forgotten.

In conclusion, ‘The Dark Knight’ will always remain the best superhero movie of all time in my opinion. It won many awards and deserved every single one of them. Unfortunately, we will never see another superhero movie like this again due to Bale and Ledgers absence. Hopefully many people come to realize how good this movie actually is if they are against Batman. It will always be above all due to the great production of this movie.