Dark Night Essay

Andres Llamas

Professor Rowley

Engl 115

21 Oct 2012

Comic Book Chaos in the Real World

In today’s society there are many different aspects that create what is known as a hectic and chaotic life, anything from wake up routines in the morning, to the traffic encountered every day, from the office politics to conducting the miniature circus that most call family at home. No matter what a person’s life may consist of, there is always some form of chaos involved in it, just as how in the 2008 film The Dark Knight the infamous comic book villain the Joker exists to purely create chaos and plunge the city of Gotham into madness. But just as the Joker caused chaos in Gotham, the Batman, the comic book’s super hero, added order and structure back the city. Even in a society when just about every aspect of life is chaotic, it only takes one to add structure and order to the madness that we know as life. This shows how important order is to society because without it, everything we value and hold dear could crumble.

            In Christopher Nolans 2008 Batman: The Dark Knight, the public is introduced into the dichotomy that is the battle between good and evil. In The Dark Knight, the Batman (good) is put up against one of the most infamous comic book villains known in pop culture today, the Joker (evil). In today’s society there are many different people and forces that could be categorized as either of the two; everything from law enforcement, which in special circumstances could be either good or evil just as in the film. In the film we see the Joker trying to wreak havoc on the people of Gotham, trying to “stir the pot.” In today’s world something like, criminals could be compared to the Joker and his antics. Any kind of criminal, whether they are rapists, thieves, or launderers, cause chaos or problems for people in everyday life. Along with the Jokers in society, there are also any different forces that can be called Batman; law enforcement for example could be characterized as the Batman of society trying to restore order to the community. There may be some who oppose my theory but there are also people who share my view on the subject.

            In a critique, edited by Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon, about the Dark Knight movie poster alone, one of the things discussed is how the Joker relates to a very real threat that America faces today and that is terrorists. Since the infamous 9/11 tragedies Americans have become much more alert and unified against terrorist forces. As the editors Maasik and Solomon put it, “This image would be immediately recognizable to American audiences as alluding to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and is a key signifier…” (Maasik, Solomon 370.) The image mentioned in the editors text is of the movie poster for the film which has a burning sky scrapper which is very easily associated with the burning buildings that was the World Trade Center on that dreadful day eleven years ago. The Batman standing in front of the burning building is a symbol to which we can elude the forces of good and aid in reality in real life such as policemen, the army, the navy, and any other forces that provide a positive and reinforcing influence on our society. The example of the movie poster is just one example of how people today associate chaotic events or tragic events with just about anything and how just about any person, group, or object can be eluded to good or evil; order and chaos.

            The Joker of The Dark knight is unlike any other because he is not influenced by the same common things that every other petty criminal is driven by like money, power, or revenge. The Joker is driven by pure madness; he has one goal in mind and that is to cause chaos for the people of Gotham and that is it. There is one specific scene in the film where he is talking to Gotham’s supposed “true hero” Harvey Dent, who later becomes the villain Two Face, in which he explains his motives and philosophy for the first time. The Joker explains that his intentions are not to gain anything, they are not to force control over the people of Gotham nor the mafia factions of the city but simply to “introduce a little anarchy.” (Leger, 2008) Not only does he use his own plans to create chaos and anarchy as is true when he forces the two fairies to choose who will live and who will die but he also creates others such as Harvey Dent to aid him in his plan. Harvey Dent is to the Joker as an intern is to a politician. A politician takes in a young intern or aspiring politician and grooms him/her to take over their seat when they retire. In doing so they impose their beliefs on them and in some way recreate themselves for another term. Just as politicians do today on Capitol Hill, the Joker took Gotham’s white knight, Harvey Dent, and twisted and morphed his perspective turning him into the villain Two Face who is obsessed with luck deciding fate as opposed to any set of social rules to keep balance and structure. The Batman being the city’s real hero quickly acts to amend the abomination created by the master fiend. Seeing what has become of the white knight, Batman decides to try and help him but by this time it is too late. Two Face or Harvey Dent dies in the struggle between Batman and himself; rather than allow the public to lose hope in public heroes or in the organized system, the Batman takes the fall for all of Harvey’s misdeeds, and in turn he himself becomes the villain. This chaos and spread of anarchy is not only seen in films but in the real world as well with everyday people.

            In order to prove that it only takes one to actually introduce some organization to chaos, I myself performed an ethnographic study (a study of an area/location where people gather and socialize and one observes the behavior expressed there.) I went out to a night club where just the thought or mention of the word many think crowded, noisy, and of course, chaotic. As soon as I arrived I saw that there was a lined that had been formed in front of the main entrance doors before actually getting to buy your ticket and entering the club. Obviously the line was not something orchestrated by the crowd itself but b someone else. Now who could have organized all of these energetic, young, rambunctious young adults, myself included, into such an organized matter? As I approached the main doors, I got an answer to my question; it was the night club security. In this somewhat twisted version (for the sake of relativity) of the film, the side of structure and organization is represented by the night club security; we will call them the batman team. The crowd represented the disarray and chaos that is the Joker. Now not only was this little generalization true outside of the night club, but it was also true inside the club. Posted at every door, outside the restrooms and in all of the main passage ways was security. Their job that night was to make sure everything ran smoothly and that nothing got too out of hand. Just as expected, the batman team held strong and no wild Jokers had to be escorted out of the club.

            No matter how hectic or mad any situation, it only takes something as simple as some pre planning or possibly something as complicated as law enforcement or in a national matter, a branch of the army to re-instill structure. Every day can be a constant battle between order and chaos; it’s ironic how the more one tried to avoid it, the more they actually encounter in their life. Just as in the film, the chaos was defeated and order was triumphant. When things seem their darkest and most out of control always recall upon the words of Harvey Dent, “the night is darkest just before the dawn.” (Aaron Eckhart, 2008)