Batman Research Paper

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Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) is a typical Hollywood superhero blockbuster and it was very successful. Most superhero movies such as Superman and Spiderman have similarities that main characters have superpowers and live a double life as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Most of them are about the good triumphing over the evil and Batman also follows this formality. The only difference is that Batman made and raised his power by using fabulous power with his own choice and volition. The success of Batman series created other superhero series such as X-Men (2000) and Spiderman (2002), and the public response to these movies were very positive. As an industry, Hollywood constantly expanded and reproduced itself, by using all kinds of technology. Especially,…show more content…
Christopher Nolan filled the insufficient content and theme and opened a new era of the blockbuster. Remarkably, The Dark Knight ranked at No. 5 in the all-time US box office with $534,858,444 lifetime gross following Avatar (2009), Titanic (1997), Jurassic World (2015), and Marvel’s The Avengers (2012). The Dark Knight is not only handling philosophical topic that the dilemma between good and evil very deeply, but also presents dramatic interest and developed imagery that does not lose out in any Hollywood blockbuster. So, how did Christopher Nolan make this kind of movie and how could he success in both criticism and box office? I will answer to these questions by analyzing the film production of The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight is a superhero movie, but it is more like a gangster crime thriller when it comes exactly. Batman or villains are different with other superheroes that have superpowers. Actually Christopher Nolan constantly preferred the crime thriller genre from his debut film Following (1998) to the recent film The Prestige (2006). However he used a philosophical monologue in most of his films approaching to human identity and the dilemma between good and evil with a complex plot. He focused more on the essence of a man and moral dilemma that are revealed by a crime than solving the…show more content…
The most important motives in this film are the mask, contrast of brightness and darkness, obsession, game, and money. For instance, the mask is related to all of the three main character of the film. Batman acts as a billionaire Bruce Wayne during the day, but he wears the mask and acts as the Batman at night. Just like as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one character shows incompatible behavior by using the mask. The Joker also use clown makeup to replace a mask. Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face after he lost Rachael and burned in the half of his face. His half-burned face can be considered a mask as well. For another example, the imagery of this monochrome-like color film is one of the important motives. Brightness and darkness are compared to good and evil, which indicate the Batman and the Joker. These motives are important irony of this film at the same time. Duplicity of Batman, Joker, and Two-Face is the irony of characters. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire Casanova during the day and a guardian of justice at night. Joker always has a smiling face, but he does evil things without hesitation. Harvey Dent has a half-face of spokesman of justice and a half-face of

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