Super-villains of the "real world": the political use of the characterization of villains in Chistopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Trilogy"

It is almost a tradition that celluloid (or digital) villains are represented with some characteristics that remind us the real political enemies of the producer country of the film, or even enemies within the country according to the particular ideology that sustains the film. The case of Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight trilogy, analyzed here, is representative of this trend for two reasons. First, because it gets marked by political radicalization conducted by the US government after the attack of September 11, 2001. Secondly, because it offers a profuse gallery of villains who are outside the circle of friends as the new doctrine “either with us or against us” opened by George Bush for the XXI century. This gallery includes from the very terrorists who justify the War on Terror (Ra's al Ghul, the Joker), to the “radical left” (Bane, Talia al Ghul) including liberal politicians (Harvey Dent), and corrupt that take advantage of the softness of the law to commit crimes with impunity (Dr. Crane, the Scarecrow).

Clear hero and dark hero in the cinematographic narration

The role of the hero is changing, slightly irregular, but it’s purpose is constant. The line that separates good from evil is frequently so thin that sometimes the main hero can act in a negative way, casting doubts about his own nature in the pursuit of good. This paper aims to inquire into the character’s heroic condition showing two variations of this archetype in the context of postmodern cinema: the “clear hero”, and the “dark hero”. The former keeps the most traditional values of the hero, while the latter provides a dimension which distinguishes it from the previous one: his experience executing evil as a part of his process to heroici­ty. Postmodernity implies an ambivalence in the character’s identity which can be comparable to the hero’s role, and to his way of making good. The “clear hero” does not imply negative features in the active nature of the hero, whilst the “dark hero” does include them. Through the protagonists of Gladiator (Scott, 2000) and Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005) are offered both heroic perspectives based on a selection of their principal ac­tions which have been subjected to analysis according to some parameters: behavior, implication, and cause. The decisive action will also be signalized, according to the narration’s teleonomy in reason of the favorable or unfavorable sense for the hero. Finally, each character will be observed from its archetype. By analyzing their actions from these perspectives, we observe the clear hero and the dark hero as affordable categories for the heroic role.