virometal
Headphoneus Supremus
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wind016:
Why not intended? What a rich canvas to work with. I do admit to a moment of self-doubt. But the wonderful internet introduced me to similar nuts. Alas, I'm not the most eloquent, so here is Variety blog post I'll quote, which is also skeptical but still open minded. I added a couple of my own notes in the **.
"This brings to mind one of the most unsettling scenes in The Dark Knight, in which Batman beats up the Joker in the police interview room as the police look on, hoping to force him to reveal what he’s done with good guys Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes.
/~/
But then I thought more about the scene. As Batman confronts the Joker, the film cuts away to the police, the normal people, watching them from the other side of the one-way mirror — just as we, the audience *this of course more broadly could be defined as us the world, America and so forth*, are watching Batman and the Joker through the movie screen. *the mould would represent the media, the filter the public is dependent upon*
This is also the scene in which the Joker taunts Batman: “What would I do without you? You complete me,” and warns, “To them, you’re just a freak. Like me.” *remember, at the time of and for a period before the film's release, Bush's approval ratings had slid dismally, and he was widely mocked in world and U.S. press." Those words may come from the mouth of the villain, but the filmmaking suggests the Joker has, like a Shakespearean fool on PCP, hit on a harsh truth: Batman has more in common with his killer-clown foe than with the normal people he means to protect." *Take Bush and bin Laden - both were widely disdained for their acts, yet felt just in their cause.*
I'm a little dusty, but there are several other parallels that can also be drawn. Like say the early Bruce Wayne as a playboy scenes. Yeah, more a construct of Batman. Still think about the story and George W. Bush's own playboy reputation - when he was younger. Bush was also a child of privilege, whom had a moral rebirth later.
So forth and so on... that's the last I'll say about it. I know most roll their eyes at it!
/Edit
Oh one more thing, I forgot the most important evidence of all, which is the overall story arc!
Okay at the end of Batman Begins, Gotham city has suffered a horrible act of terrorism to which Batman is the savior, and the signal is unveiled. That first part sound familiar? The bookend to that would be the signal that is destroyed at the end of The Dark Knight. Okay if you're not following me, think back the Presidency of Mr. Bush. He was a savior in the beginning and enjoyed record approval ratings in the aftermath of 9/11. However, toward the end, his popularity took a dramatic dip as I commented on before. The fights which he doggedly fought just in order to make the U.S. safe (to paraphrase him, I offer no opinion on his politics), also destroyed the public's love for him, ahem just like Batman and Gotham City.
If you saw Batman as George Bush, it's probably not intended, because I definitely did not.
Why not intended? What a rich canvas to work with. I do admit to a moment of self-doubt. But the wonderful internet introduced me to similar nuts. Alas, I'm not the most eloquent, so here is Variety blog post I'll quote, which is also skeptical but still open minded. I added a couple of my own notes in the **.
"This brings to mind one of the most unsettling scenes in The Dark Knight, in which Batman beats up the Joker in the police interview room as the police look on, hoping to force him to reveal what he’s done with good guys Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes.
/~/
But then I thought more about the scene. As Batman confronts the Joker, the film cuts away to the police, the normal people, watching them from the other side of the one-way mirror — just as we, the audience *this of course more broadly could be defined as us the world, America and so forth*, are watching Batman and the Joker through the movie screen. *the mould would represent the media, the filter the public is dependent upon*
This is also the scene in which the Joker taunts Batman: “What would I do without you? You complete me,” and warns, “To them, you’re just a freak. Like me.” *remember, at the time of and for a period before the film's release, Bush's approval ratings had slid dismally, and he was widely mocked in world and U.S. press." Those words may come from the mouth of the villain, but the filmmaking suggests the Joker has, like a Shakespearean fool on PCP, hit on a harsh truth: Batman has more in common with his killer-clown foe than with the normal people he means to protect." *Take Bush and bin Laden - both were widely disdained for their acts, yet felt just in their cause.*
I'm a little dusty, but there are several other parallels that can also be drawn. Like say the early Bruce Wayne as a playboy scenes. Yeah, more a construct of Batman. Still think about the story and George W. Bush's own playboy reputation - when he was younger. Bush was also a child of privilege, whom had a moral rebirth later.
So forth and so on... that's the last I'll say about it. I know most roll their eyes at it!
/Edit
Oh one more thing, I forgot the most important evidence of all, which is the overall story arc!
Okay at the end of Batman Begins, Gotham city has suffered a horrible act of terrorism to which Batman is the savior, and the signal is unveiled. That first part sound familiar? The bookend to that would be the signal that is destroyed at the end of The Dark Knight. Okay if you're not following me, think back the Presidency of Mr. Bush. He was a savior in the beginning and enjoyed record approval ratings in the aftermath of 9/11. However, toward the end, his popularity took a dramatic dip as I commented on before. The fights which he doggedly fought just in order to make the U.S. safe (to paraphrase him, I offer no opinion on his politics), also destroyed the public's love for him, ahem just like Batman and Gotham City.