The Dark Knight is definitely about terrorism

The most popular and influential movie of my generation (21-29 year olds) is undoubtedly The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan's (2008) BANGER did a lot of things. First, it proved that superhero movies could be grounded, and appeal to a wider audience than nerdy comic book fans. Second, it gave us THE best and most iconic performance by a villain in arguably any movie, ever. I mean, just look at this guy:

This brings me to my third point. The most substantial thing The Dark Knight accomplished, and it is probably a product of the first two, is provide a unique and thought-provoking commentary on global terrorism and the War on Terror.

Think about it.

When the Joker burns half of all the Gotham City mob's money, he is giving a giant middle finger to Capitalism, to America. The way the movie deals with the Joker is as a terrorist; something fundamentally un-American. Compared to the run-of-the-mill campy comic book villain portrayal, like Jack Nicholson's Joker in the original Batman, Heath Ledger's Joker operates under a sound and coherent ideology. He maintains that the world is chaos, and the only sensible way to live is without rules. He believes that human beings are inherently savages, that their moral "codes" are a big joke, something they tell themselves so they can feel good about the actual evil shit they do.

And in the movie, he is proven correct. He successfully corrupts the seemingly incorruptible District Attorney Harvey Dent. In doing so he proves to Batman that madness is in all of us. All it takes is a little push.

*cue maniacal laughter*

But the hidden layer of meaning is this: The Joker's philosophy is a criticism of the U.S.'s approach to fighting terrorism.

Christopher Nolan likens Batman's blunt approach to fighting terrorism (beating people to a pulp with his fists) to America's strict interventionist and authoritarian response to 9/11. Remember, this movie came out in 2008, the final year of George W's presidency. Troops were surging into Iraq and Afghanistan, and a presidency that started with the most violent terrorist attack in American history seemed as if it would end just as bloody. Just peep this 9/11 imagery.

In winning the "battle for Gotham's soul" by corrupting Harvey Dent, Joker proves to Batman that his approach, America's approach, is flawed. You just can't control everything. The world, to a certain extent, is chaos. America tries to control this chaos through occupying the Middle East, and increasing domestic surveillance through things like the Patriot Act, which gives government the authority to conduct a search without obtaining a warrant if they believe a person might commit a crime. The machine Bruce Wayne creates to surveil all of Gotham (pictured below) is quite literally an analogue of the Patriot Act. It is used to win the battle (catch and arrest the Joker) but in doing so, Batman loses the war. Nolan summarizes this point when Lucius Fox resigns as soon as he's done using the machine. It is simply not the way to fight terrorism. You can't claim the moral high ground by infringing on everybody's fundamental right to privacy.

Random side note: How cool is it that this technology uses echo-location? Like a bat. Get it? Batman? Oh, Christopher, you sly devil.

This movie is so damn entertaining for so many reasons. It's jammed pack with so many interesting details, ideologies, and stunning performances that it is worth rewatching dozens of times (and writing 500-word blogs about its themes 12 years after it came out). It's no wonder that portraying the Joker now is seen as an honor. I'm looking at you Joaquin. Not you, Jared.

Seriously... what is that?

We all feel like the Joker sometimes. There's a little madness in all of us. Sometimes we wanna watch the world burn, just to say 'f*** you' and give the middle finger to America, to the government, to Capitalism. The Dark Knight, in commenting on the War on Terror, proved this. It's so cool that a comic book movie can make us feel detached from reality, but still make us think about real-world issues and philosophies. I sincerely hope that Batman's return to the big screen in 2021 will do the same. Matt Reeves is a solid director (Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield) and Robert Pattinson is a gem of an actor. But what Heath Ledger proved is that it is the villains we find the most compelling. Here's to a truly awe-inspiring, thought-provoking, and low-key horrifying cinematic masterpiece.

Bravo, Christopher Nolan. And R.I.P. to a real one.