Carelyn Mendez
ENG 2100
Prof. Perry
Fall Semester 2023
Psychoanalytic Criticism: The Dark Knight
Batman is a character who is beloved by many adults and children. His mysterious ways of protecting Gotham city is a story known by almost everyone on the planet. When Christopher Nolan Decided to direct the movie “The Dark Knight” he knew that he had to delve deeply into the mythos as well as the psychology of the caped crusader. But Batman has a story he has a reason as to why he became the symbol that he is for Gotham city or the symbol that he is to everyone in the world in general. The reason Batman became Batman was because of what he believed he needed to be in order to make Gotham a safe place to live. In his mind he is the only one who can keep Gotham safe.
“A group of masked criminals rob a mafia-owned bank in Gotham City. Their operation concludes with a shocking betrayal and only one survivor, the Joker (Heath Ledger), who is revealed as the orchestrator of the crime. Meanwhile, the vigilante Batman (Christian Bale),District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and Police Lieutenant Jim Gordon (GaryOldman) unite to dismantle Gotham’s organized crime. Bruce Wayne, the man behind theBatman mask, throws his public support behind Dent, hoping that Dent’s success will permit Batman to retire. Wayne is also motivated by his romantic feelings for his childhood friend,Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), despite her relationship with Dent.” (Primeo,T.H) during the beginning of the movie there is a lot that happens for starters a bank robbery that is then finished with an escape with the use of a school bus this is one of the first symbols shown within the movie who would expect that a school bus is being used as a getaway vehicle, but as the movie picks up we meet many characters all of whom create the need for batman to exist or believe in what he does one person who does this is Harvey dent Gothams brand new attorney general he is coined the name “Gotham’s White Knight” A direct reference to batman’s “Dark Knight” nickname this simple phrase is supposed to symbolize the fact that they are two sides of the same coin which also is another symbol because those who are informed within the batman myths know that Harvey Dent Later on becomes Two Face a character who is psychologically broken his name being two face is not because half of his face got burned off but because he is two people within the same person Two Face and Harvey dent share the same body but they are complete opposites Two Faces Character is meant to represent how everyone has two sided or in better words two faces the one they hide and the one everyone can see. Batman and Harvey dent being two sides of the same coin is simply because they both share the same ideology the street can be cleaned up if I’m there to make the changes happen but the reason Harvey is the WhiteKnight is because he chose to clean Gotham through the system and batman chose his fist Harvey believed in the system batman believed in himself this dichotomy between both characters is supposed to symbolize two sides of society those who believe with such strength it makes them seem naive and those who have no hope left the ones who believe action is the only way to make change happen.
When you take a psychoanalytic look at this film you will see how all the symbols connect. How can you look at a film with this lens or what in specific is a psychoanalytic look “PSYCHOANALYTICAL CRITICISM” aims to show that a literary or cultural work is always structured by complex and often contradictory human desires.”(Felluga, Dino) when you put the “Dark Knight” below this lens you can clearly see the signs of contradicting ideologies one of the best examples of this is during the movie when the character that Bruce Wayne sees as a father figure also know as Alfred Pennyworth begins to tell him about a time when he had to seek some sort of thief who had stolen very rare and expensive jewels and they believed it was so that the thief would become rich but then Alfred notices that small child is playing with the expensive jewels and he turns to Bruce and says “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical like money, some men just want to watch the world burn” this is one of the best examples of how the character the Joker is a character whose only enjoyment is in creating chaos in every instance where the joker is in the film he is always causing trouble from burning money proving Alfred’s point of how the joker was not looking for anything logical like money he just wanted to watch the world burn this point was proven again when he blew up a hospital and when he pushed Harvey dent to become the very thing that was against the whole point of his character in joker’s mind he was able to create pure chaos and he was caught by batman who left him hanging for the police to find like a wild animal that was hunted and now the reward is to well take it home but then came the final villain Two Face a crazed Harvey dent was out for vengeance on those who he believed wronged him both within the system and those who were outside of it it is during those sequence where he requites himself stating “ You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” this is his way of saying that he has broken free of the belief that the system will heal the city he now only sees the that the city is beyond saving he what he says about living long enough to see yourself become the villain is a phrase that can only be used to describe the metamorphosis that he underwent from being Gotham’s white knight to becoming a murderous criminal is a big change and he did live long enough to become the villain Christopher Nolan’s ability to be able to connect the characters and make both their ideologies twist as well as make the spectator question everything they thought they knew is one of the reasons why this film is so appreciated by many batman fans.
A film review by Roger Ebert agrees with the way Christopher Nolan decided to portray Batman, even calling the film a leader for comic book films ““The Dark Knight” move the genre into deeper waters. They realize, as some comic-book readers instinctively do, that these stories touch on deep fears, traumas, fantasies and hopes. And the Batman legend, with its origins in film noir, is the most fruitful one for exploration. In his two Batman movies, Nolan has freed the character to be a canvas for a broader scope of human emotion. For Bruce Wayne is a deeply troubled man, let there be no doubt, and if ever in exile from his heroic role, it would not surprise me what he finds himself capable of doing.”(Ebert)
Roger Ebert seems to have enjoyed the film but he also states that Christopher Nolan is one of the first directors to really see what is in between the lines for a character like batman. Christopher Nolan’s portrayal of the batman character makes you question is Bruce Wayne wearing the mask or is the mask wearing bruce Wayne in every instance that batman is portrayed directors try to take their own approach at this most recently with Matt Reeves “The Batman” in this film we see a brand new Gotham city as well as a new and unfamiliar Bruce Wayne in this film we can see a new bruce Wayne struggle with what he is supposed to be during the duration of the movie he struggles with discovering that he says “I am vengeance” claiming to be the spirit of revenge for Gotham he alone will clean up the streets and keep the city safe but with this he leaves no time to be bruce Wayne and his Alfred tells him that he is wearing the mask but he should not let the mask wear him also solidifying the fact that the ideology behind Batman is not to protect it is because bruce Wayne feels that he alone is responsible for the safety of his city “The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves from a script he wrote with Peter Craig, navigates a familiar environment of crime, corruption and demoralization in search of something different.Batman’s frustration arises most obviously from the intractability of Gotham’s dysfunction. Two years after the city’s biggest crime boss was brought down, the streets are still seething and the social fabric is full of holes. Drug addicts (known as “drop heads”) and gangs of hooligans roam the alleys and train platforms, while predatory gangsters and crooked politicians party in the V.I.P. rooms.”(Scott) Although the batman has changed the symbols and dilemmas remain the same when you look at a character like the batman you realize that he is just a man who feels that he is the only answer to combat crime, this is the reason for batman becoming a symbol of “Fear and Vengeance” because he believes that the only way to combat crime and all the other bad things going on in Gotham are all due to the fact that the system is not enough to take out these criminals the system alone will never clean the streets batman believes that he is the push that the system needs to work no matter what storyline, comic, movie or any other form in which Batman is portrayed. This belief will forever be immortalized the system needs batman and batman needs crime Christopher Nolan’s portrayal of batman is in the books for one of the greatest comic book films but it deserves the spot for one greatest films of all time this movie was able to look deep within all of the characters and break them down in a way that made all of their ideologies somewhat digestible from being a symbol of fear to becoming a white knight Christopher Nolan understood the importances of batman and symbols without symbols batman cannot exist Batman is a symbol he is the very definition of human will the will to accomplish your dream is what Batman was originally meant to display but since his first ever appearance batman has become more batman is a symbol.
Works cited page
❖ Ebert, Roger. “The Dark Knight Movie Review & Film Summary (2008): RogerEbert.” The Dark Knight Movie Review & Film Summary (2008) | Roger Ebert,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-dark-knight-2008. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.
❖ General Introduction to Psychoanalysis,www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/english/theory/psychoanalysis/psychintroframes.html#:~:text=PSYCHOANALYTICAL%20CRITICISM%20aims%20to%20show,and%20often%20contradictory%20human%20desires. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.
❖ Primeo. “The Dark Knight (2008) Plot Summary & Movie Trailer.” TotallyHistory, 19 May 2023, totallyhistory.com/the-dark-knight-plot-summary/.
❖ Scott, A. O. “‘the Batman’ Review: Who’ll Stop the Wayne?” The New YorkTimes, The New York Times, 1 Mar. 2022,www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/movies/the-batman-review.html