The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight: Batman Becomes a Westerner

The character of Batman as presented in director Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film The Dark Knight represents many of the iconographic elements that comprise what is known as the Westerner. The caped crusader can more accurately be distinguished as being more medieval (that is, consisting of character traits more attuned to medieval literature) in most of his filmic representations, such as Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), and such a connection does not completely stop with Nolan’s most recent feature as even the film’s title outright labels its hero a “knight.” But despite this, Nolan has introduced the character of Batman to the world of cinema in a new way that displays him more as a western idol reminiscent of the days of John Wayne. American audiences gorged themselves on this newest version of the classic superhero, amassing a domestic box office revenue of over $530 million (second only to Titanic‘s $600 million+), and the reason for this may be found in the social structure of its viewers.

For the sake of record it is important to keep in mind the overall story of The Dark Knight, which continues from Nolan’s 2005 film Batman Begins. Batman (Christian Bale), otherwise known as playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne, has emerged as the dominant judicial force in the crime-saturated city of Gotham, where police corruption and mob influences are ubiquitous. Using physical force and prowess to stem and subdue acts of violence and transgression Wayne’s alter ego has become a symbol for vigilantism, and has in fact inspired other civilian persons to follow suite in similar efforts (though to much lesser effect). What once was a city in supposedly irreparable turmoil has become a place where hope buds slowly but surely in the soul of its citizens. Organized crime has been hit so hard by Batman’s labors that it has actually begun to cower at the thought of falling to his hand; or more precisely, being incarcerated by his hand. It is at this point where a man, known only as The Joker (Heath Ledger), decides to take it upon himself to respond to the sudden rush of justice by countering with sadistic acts of violence against the very city Batman has chosen to protect. If Batman’s emergence was not the beginning of an ebb and flow of violence for purposes of good and evil, certainly the Joker’s surfacing is. Overtop of this war over Gotham is the still ever-present, if maybe figureheaded lawful police force and judicial system. Atop this floundering element is the newly elected District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), whom by all rights can be considered a man with just causes and morally hygienic intentions. The goals of Dent and Batman are the same – to bring peace and justice to Gotham City – although their methods are antithetical. Dent intends to hold firm to ideals and societal obligations of due process and rule enforcement while Batman chooses to fight fire with fire, though he too has a strict moral code from which he never digresses. The Joker, however, adheres to no behavioral code of any kind and because of this he poses the greatest threat to Batman, Dent, and Gotham.

With this loose story in mind, we can identify the setting of the film as one very similar to that of a classical Hollywood western. The city of Gotham represents the lawless and secluded town of the old west, defended by an ineffectual police force and overrun with unchecked crime and violence. Batman characterizes the westerner (in ways that will be detailed later) who decides to take up the mantel of protector and guardian of said town by defending it with the same or similar violence used by the outlaws. And, of course, The Joker and organized crime syndicates are the outlaws themselves. Robert Warshow makes the case that, “The true civilization of the western movie is always embodied in an individual, good or bad is a matter of personal bearing than of social consequence, and the conflict of good and bad is a duel between two men.” If this is taken as true, then certainly The Dark Knight and its battle between Batman and The Joker satisfies such a condition. The part of Harvey Dent is a special one that most closely resembles the role of Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) in the 1962 John Ford western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Stoddard’s role in the city of Shinbone is identical to that of Dent’s in terms of his position against crime by way of law and order and not reciprocating violence. John Wayne, also in the film, plays the role of the westerner named Tom Doniphon, equivalent to Batman, who is on the side of good but nevertheless uses violence as a means to an end. And the main villain, Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), plays the role of the irrepressible outlaw (i.e. The Joker and mob). So, it can be reasonably said then that The Dark Knight is a possible obtuse reworking of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It is not a remake because although the iconographies of the characters are similar the messages of each film are completely different (The Dark Knight glorifies the role of the westerner, whereas The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance looks down upon it).

Autonomy on 2 wheels

There are also a number of material elements and events that connect The Dark Knight to the western genre as a whole. A perfect example is the big chase scene near the midway point in the film where Harvey Dent offers himself as bait for The Joker and his men by riding in an armored truck and being escorted by several police vehicles down barren stretches of highway through downtown Gotham. The Joker pursues Dent via his own trucks and coordinates various attacks from all angles against the convoy using guns and other such weapons. In essence, the scene is a carriage robbery. The chase ends with an extremely intriguing nod to western culture itself and not particularly the filmic genre. Batman, while riding a motorcycle (a.k.a. Bat-Pod) that substitutes for a horse, corrals The Joker’s semi-tractor-trailer by entangling its wheels in a way that forces the entire vehicle to flip upside down, rendering it destitute. In actuality, Batman hogtied The Joker. The Bat-Pod he uses can also be considered a link to classical westerns. In keeping with its signification as a horse, the Bat-Pod (which was previously the Batmobile) symbolizes Batman’s freedom to travel unimpeded about his town and, more importantly, the allowance for him to be autonomous. Having independence and being an individual is just one of the factors inherent in the westerner’s composition. It and many others form the construction of Batman as both a character and a symbol in The Dark Knight. Lastly, the closing images of the film where Gordon’s blonde-haired son calls to Batman as he takes off on his bike reminds one of the ending to Shane.

Because Batman is the central character of The Dark Knight, it is imperative to illustrate how he embodies the role of the westerner. An excerpt from Robert Warshow’s article Movie Chronicle: The Westerner helps illustrate the fundamental makeup of the westerner as an iconic figure. “What does the Westerner fight for? We know he is on the side of justice and order, and of course it can be said he fights for these things. But such broad aims never correspond exactly to his real motives; they only offer him his opportunity.” The answers to these questions can be found in Batman Begins, where we witness the events that lead Bruce Wayne to becoming Batman (the death of his parents, the physical and spiritual training in Asia, etc.); the birth of an outlaw/vigilante. Granted, Batman’s precise motives cannot be unveiled by simply noting the basics of his backstory, but keeping them in mind helps fill the gap between the real answers and the things which “offer him his opportunity.” During The Dark Knight, and particularly at its conclusion, the film attempts to explicitly express the evolving function of Batman as a symbol. That symbol is one that can fairly be described as something that must not and cannot be corruptible by immorality and epitomizes unwavering dedication to justice and order. At the end of The Dark Knight, Batman chooses to fall on his sword and become the common enemy of Gotham in response to the unfortunate corruption and death of public hero Harvey Dent. He does this in order to protect and defend the image of Dent as a sign of hope for Gotham’s future. As Warshow claims, “What [the Westerner] defends, at bottom, is the purity of his own image – in fact his honor. This is what makes him invulnerable. He fights not for advantage and not for right, but to state what he is, and he must live in a world which permits that statement.” This idea is readily transferable to Batman’s position at the end of Batman Begins, when he establishes himself as the symbol of impending prosperity. The conclusion of The Dark Knight is similar, but changed. The idea of the protection of an image is still present, but the image that Batman had been trying to protect is transferred from himself to Harvey Dent. The unique circumstances of the film demand this; however the motivations driving Batman, whether directed towards the purity of the judicial image as worn by him or Dent, are still congruent with the westerner’s.

To further examine Batman’s position as a westerner, an article by Elaine Bapis entitled Easy Rider: Landscaping the Modern Western is worth a look. While commenting on the classical Hollywood westerner (specifically John Wayne in High Noon), she identifies him as what she calls the “male ideal.” According to her interpretation of a quote from Charles Reich, the “male ideal” mirrors the philosophy of the professional world where a man’s value is “derived from the function he performs for society, and whose satisfaction lies in how well he performs his job. Men dominated by technique and training [take] seriously the meritocracy of ability and accomplishment, dedicated to work [towards] goals beyond the individual.” This very accurately describes Batman’s attitude towards his efforts in protecting Gotham City. One need only take note of his manners towards the copycat vigilantes he encounters at the onset of The Dark Knight, as he regards them as unsuitable, incapable, and incompetent. It is also just as easy to note that the “male ideal” described above can be found in numerous films throughout various genres and thus is not relegated to just westerns, but its inclusion in the makeup of Batman”s character here supports and accentuates his westerner classification and therefore the distinction that The Dark Knight is a western as a whole.

Now we must examine why The Dark Knight has been made into a western, and why American audiences competed to fill theaters to look upon and adore one of their favorite cinematic icons. The answer may be lying in the backbone of American culture. Since its dawn America has been an individualistic society and continues to proudly be so to this day (and in all likelihood tomorrow as well). In any individualistic society the accomplishments of the individual are rewarded, and when those accomplishments are grand in nature and stature they are idealized. Such then is the nature of the American public to idealize the grand accomplishments of Batman. The film itself tells us to admire Batman for his courage and moral fortitude, with the “normal” protagonists (specifically Harvey Dent) claiming explicit pride in “an ordinary citizen standing up for what is right.” The reasons for this admiration by the American public can be related to westerns in general, especially classical ones as they are defined by Warshow and Jim Kitses (Authorship and Genre: Notes on the Western, p.18-29). But the point is not to congratulate who or what started the cinematic trend in America to idealize the individual, it is to recognize that that idealization is still ongoing. Getting back to the film’s promotion of individualistic duty, it is necessary to point out a scene where Harvey Dent is sitting across from Bruce Wayne at dinner with their respective dates. Harvey, as Gotham’s District Attorney, defends his city’s approbation of Batman (see quote above), pointing out the time in Roman history when it was procedure to suspend democracy at a time of war and appoint an individual to protect the capital city, and how that appointment was considered a public service and not an honor. Harvey’s date, and Bruce Wayne’s romantic interest, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) counters this stance with the notion that the last man appointed to protect the Roman republic was Julius Caesar who never relinquished his power (which is incorrect, as Caesar in actuality coerced his power from the Roman senate). Dent finishes his argument by relenting, “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” The irony to this statement is of course that Batman indeed becomes public enemy number one at the film’s conclusion, and Dent’s transformation into Two-Face is a literal materialization of this belief.

The Joker, naturally fascinating because of his morbid persona and eccentricity, shares ideals that are not dissimilar from the values of individualism but go so far in that direction that all original appeal is thwarted. The Joker promotes chaos and anarchy which means every man for himself, and of course you cannot get more individualistic than that. But not everything about the film’s success can be attributed to its adoration of individualism. Much has to do with how the character of Batman differs from other super heroes. Superman, for instance, was enormously popular in the 1940s and 1950s because at that time Americans idealized, most of all, greatness. As General George Patton once said, “When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time” (Patton, 1970). However beginning in the 1960s the American youth began to detest the sterility of such admiration and thus began to go against the grain. The hippie upheaval in the ’60s and surfacing of the social underground, as well as political gaffes, in the ’70s helped pave the way for the championing of the normal and embracement of antiestablishment thought. The Reagan Era’s anticommunist propaganda had attempted to reverse this change in social ideology, being that communism also embraced similitude and scorned ambition, with decent results. However, current events seem to have turned the tables yet again. The political actions (and inactions) of now former President George W. Bush (Iraq war, Katrina fiasco, etc.) have either caused or rekindled distrust and distaste in the establishment. With wars and politics as the paralleling milestones, it is reasonable to suggest a re-adoption of the principles that bear a resemblance to the era of the ’60s and ’70s by the American public. The adoption or neglecting of these principles could then very well correspond to the popularities of various social icons such as super heroes. So, instead of idealizing a “winner” (e.g. Superman) audiences of today are in fact, due to these political and social circumstances, wired to root for a hero who more closely resembles normality (or rather their idea of normality). Superman is alien, has a plethora of super powers, and seemingly always succeeds in quelling the opposition, whereas Batman is human, imperfect, and finds success much more difficult to achieve. So, if the popularity of certain super heroes is indeed an accurate gauge of America’s social flux, then the commercial success of The Dark Knight seems only too appropriate.

No longer America's hero?

The bottom line concerning why American audiences love The Dark Knight is ultimately shaky and precariously fragile. Attributing its success purely to individualism steals credit from its story structure (that of the western style), and acknowledgement of its political circumstances can at worst be thought of as speculatory (although Marxist critics might take offense to such a claim). So then, all reasons mentioned above must be given equal light in discussions about its popularity. It seems that the character of Batman is more appealing to Americans when presented as a westerner, and in the manner that was chosen by director Christopher Nolan. It could be said that our society right now is more sympathetic towards movie characters who adopt the same antiestablishment and individualistic code, especially ones that take the idealism of that code to a higher level like Batman, John Wayne, and other famous and popular westerners. He can be called a “caped crusader”, a vigilante, a “dark knight”, or a hero, but in The Dark Knight Batman embodies the spirit of the great American westerner.

Works Cited

Robert Warshow, Movie Chronicle: The Westerner

Jim Kitses, Authorship and Genre: Notes on the Western

The Landscapes of Hollywood Westerns; edited by Deborah A. Charmichael

Elaine M. Bapis, Easy Rider: Landscaping the Modern Western. p.157-181