Spring of Hope, Winter of Despair

“We had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way— in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

INTENSE and brutal, The Dark Knight Rises followed in the footsteps of the previous two Batman movies as the maniac supervillains with tragic backgrounds attempt to destroy Gotham and are vanquished at the last possible moment. Maybe I am just a sap for superhero flicks (although I think most of the movie-goers groaned along with me after the Superman preview), but I left the theater thoroughly entertained and smiling. There is the predictable good-triumphs-over-evil ending and obligatory cheesy lines, yet the characters and the story interested me for a couple of reasons.

(One of those reasons is absolutely not because I thought it was an insightful critique of class warfare, which was apparently one of the messages of the film.)

Underdeveloped villains are usually a problem in superhero movies. They might be mean and destructive, but they seek domination and power because they are aliens (The Avengers), jealous stepbrothers (Thor), jealous Royal Marines (The Incredible Hulk), jealous competitors (Iron Man), crazy Russians (Iron Man 2), or the Nazis/scientists (Captain America). Few antagonists are as tragic as the Batman bad guys. The horror and heartbreak accompanying the motives of Miranda and Bane evoke a remarkable sympathy. Could a child ever experience more extreme social conditioning than Miranda, who was raised in the deepest, darkest hell on earth? And there must be some good in the man who sacrificed himself to protected her. Their stories are gruesome, but Nolan does not allow it to be an acceptable excuse for their actions. Consumed by anger and destruction, they see themselves above the common masses with a truer understanding of reality and more profound experiences. Batman does not concede to this posturing.

The film displays the ugliness of humanity without reaching the conclusions of despair or nihilism. Low and debased men are not the natural state, nor true representatives, of mankind. The Batman villains are juxtaposed to Batman himself, who was also a child of tragic circumstances, but chose to see the “collective” as individuals that he had the ability to defend. Even in the face of a French Revolution-esque anarchy.

Beyond the unique characters, it was delightful to hear the well-placed literary reference in Gordon’s eulogy, and the passage he read is one of the most memorable from Dickens’ novel:

“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, though long to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out… It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

Apparently the tone of the movie was based on A Tale of Two Cities, according to an interview with Christopher Nolen. But as far as I could tell, the direct quote was the only similarity. Nolan said his draft of the script was “all about A Tale of Two Cities,” and Jonathan Nolen said that the film was being developed, “before the recession, before Occupy Wall Street or any of that. Rather than being influenced by that, I was looking to old good books and good movies. Good literature for inspiration…” Maybe the people’s court that sentenced city leaders and fat cats to exile or death (by exile) was reminiscent of the Reign of Terror in France, and the redistribution of wealth (to herself) was Selina Kyle’s modus operandi, but Gotham was hardly pre-revolutionary Paris, where the poor were starving, wretched, and trampled upon. The rich were not raping and killing impoverished women, exercising their Right of Nobles and wiping out whole families who stood up to them. In fact, it was my impression that Gotham was a rather pleasant, peaceful city before Bane incited the class warfare. And really, Bane’s Gotham was barely even a glimpse of bloody France during the Revolution.

For a truly poignant story of love, human depravity, injustice, sacrifice, and hope, read A Tale of Two Cities. For a highly entertaining, enjoyable two hours of superheroism, watch The Dark Knight Rises. Of course everyone has an opinion – not enough action, not enough Batman, too improbable, does he really die (?). But hyper-analyzing a superhero movie is as pointless as attempting to become a connoisseur of ballpark hot dogs. It’s just good, old-fashioned entertainment.

Contributed by Samantha Burtner