Presentation Evaluation

My presentation in my view was well prepared and had the correct information in it. My overall score was 11, which I think was to high, personally I feel i should have got at least a 8 or 9. My reasons for this is that the information i gave in my presentation was well presented and relevant. For example i had key information on more than one theorist, which related to the text i am studying. Also i included much more media terminology, such as Binary oppositions, media language. The media language on my production was well studied, as i linked it very well to the text and found key examples. I also added important images and detailed descriptions about them, for example the shot of Joker in jail. I talked about connotations and lighting, which not many other people did.

Also with the feedback given from the class, I saw that they thought i understood the text well and explained key issues well. Again some pointed out how i described the images and used media language to help. Another point where they thought i did well was in the use of media language to explain the different character roles.

However there were also some points where i clearly need to improve on. The length should of been longer, and the pace also slower. As i read to fast and only had 8 slides overall. I also should have included a conclusion and introduction, which would have helped make the presentation flow. Another criticism and where i could improve next time was the amount written on the board, it was a little too much, although i did improvise and not read it straight off. And finally slides should be more linked to help the overall flow of the presentation.

Overall i think the presentations analysis was very good, i explained clearly and used a lot off key media terminology. However the actual delivery of the presentation could be improved, eg by adding more images and getting more involved with the audience.

Another Review On The Dark Knight

Rather than have everyone skip ahead, first let's talk about Heath Ledger. He's the linchpin of "The Dark Knight," and he's terrific. Director Christopher Nolan wanted to make an action movie that was different from other action movies - darker, more twisted, more despairing, more bleak - and he has mostly succeeded in this latest Batman installment. He can thank Ledger for a lot of that.

"The Dark Knight" rides on Ledger's performance as the Joker. So does a lot of audience hope, and that's another element at work here. There has never been a situation quite like this: Audiences for the biggest blockbuster of the summer are flooding in, not just hoping an actor will be good but also expecting and needing him to be absolutely amazing. They want something profound, to put alongside Ledger's Ennis in "Brokeback Mountain." They want the fabled gift that arrives six months after the loved one's death.

Ledger's performance can't live up to that. Perhaps no performance ever could, but especially in this case, with the limits built into the role. Nolan and his collaborators set out to deepen the action-movie form, but the Joker remains in essence a great comic book character, not Iago (or even Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men"). Nor will audiences find some of the other things they may be unconsciously looking for - a valedictory aspect or a suggestion that the role was eating the actor alive. The truth is, Ledger's death was a surprise to everybody, and "The Dark Knight" neither hints at it nor makes sense of it. Nothing could.

But shelve those outsize expectations, and, suddenly, Ledger's performance opens up. He comes onscreen and electrifies the movie. With his smeared lipstick and painted white face, he is every clown who ever terrified a child. He speaks in a measured, Middle American accent, enunciating his words carefully, a voice that could tell bedtime stories in hell. (He seems, actually, to be imitating Al Franken.) His simplicity is fascinating, and as the movie goes on, that simplicity in itself becomes genuinely frightening.

One shot, in particular, crystallizes everything that Ledger and Nolan were working for in "The Dark Knight." It's a shot that deserves to be anthologized, YouTube-ized and immortalized: The Joker is in the foreground, walking toward the camera, playing (and really, that's the only word) with a bomb detonator. Huge explosions are going on behind him as he walks toward us, stiff and happy and hobbling, like a toddler. He's a child, and this is pure id. At the heart of existence isn't creation, but chaos.

Not everything in "The Dark Knight" lives up to or even serves such moments of grim clarity. In many ways, and certainly more than "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight" takes the form of a standard-issue action movie. It's a little too long (though never boring) and confusingly (though beautifully) shot. It's overly plotted and has too much rapid-fire cutting. Nolan had big ambitions for the movie, but before he made "The Dark Knight" into a smart action film, he wanted to make sure it functioned perfectly well as a dumb one. He could have compromised less, and should have.

Still, he has taken on a serious subject and a genuine fear. If "The Dark Knight" is about anything, it's about civic catastrophe and the fragility of our institutions in the face of blind, consuming evil. The evil is the Joker, and no one knows what to do about him - not the good guys, like Batman (Christian Bale) or the new district attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and not even the bad guys, like the mob boss played by Eric Roberts. The Joker doesn't play by the usual rules, because he isn't motivated by self-interest. In the words of Alfred the Butler (Michael Caine), he "just wants to see the world burn."

This time out, Bale is almost a mere member of the ensemble, the first among equals that includes Morgan Freeman as Bruce Wayne's operations chief and Gary Oldman as Lt. Gordon. Skillfully, the movie shifts our attention to Eckhart, who, as Gotham's idealistic young crime buster, has the movie's most involved journey. As our focus shifts, so does that of Bruce Wayne's sweetheart, Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who sees in Harvey the possibility of a stable, happy life.

With its frenetic pace and its many concessions to blockbuster formula, "The Dark Knight" is by no means a complete success. But the more it reveals its dark heart, the better it gets, and at times it seems just a step away from achieving something extraordinary. In the end, it's no leap forward, but it's certainly a step in the right direction: an action blockbuster extravaganza that's sadder than sad and never pretends otherwise.

This is an important review as it focuses on both the negatives and positives of the film. For example it states that the film has too many fast shots, however i feel it needed this to keep up with the action packed in the film.

A film Review By The Times

“Batman” isn’t a comic book anymore. Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is a haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy. It creates characters we come to care about. That’s because of the performances, because of the direction, because of the writing, and because of the superlative technical quality of the entire production. This film, and to a lesser degree “Iron Man,” redefine the possibilities of the “comic-book movie.”

“The Dark Knight” is not a simplistic tale of good and evil. Batman is good, yes, The Joker is evil, yes. But Batman poses a more complex puzzle than usual: The citizens of Gotham City are in an uproar, calling him a vigilante and blaming him for the deaths of policemen and others. And the Joker is more than a villain. He’s a Mephistopheles whose actions are fiendishly designed to pose moral dilemmas for his enemies.

The key performance in the movie is by the late Heath Ledger, as the Joker. Will he become the first posthumous Oscar winner since Peter Finch? His Joker draws power from the actual inspiration of the character in the silent classic “The Man Who Laughs” (1928). His clown's makeup more sloppy than before, his cackle betraying deep wounds, he seeks revenge, he claims, for the horrible punishment his father exacted on him when he was a child. In one diabolical scheme near the end of the film, he invites two ferry-loads of passengers to blow up the other before they are blown up themselves. Throughout the film, he devises ingenious situations that force Batman (Christian Bale), Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to make impossible ethical decisions. By the end, the whole moral foundation of the Batman legend is threatened.

Because these actors and others are so powerful, and because the movie does not allow its spectacular special effects to upstage the humans, we’re surprised how deeply the drama affects us. Eckhart does an especially good job as Harvey Dent, whose character is transformed by a horrible fate into a bitter monster. It is customary in a comic book movie to maintain a certain knowing distance from the action, to view everything through a sophisticated screen. “The Dark Knight” slips around those defenses and engages us.

Yes, the special effects are extraordinary. They focus on the expected explosions and catastrophes, and have some superb, elaborate chase scenes. The movie was shot on location in Chicago, but it avoids such familiar landmarks as Marina City, the Wrigley Building or the skyline. Chicagoans will recognize many places, notably La Salle Street and Lower Wacker Drive, but director Nolan is not making a travelogue. He presents the city as a wilderness of skyscrapers, and a key sequence is set in the still-uncompleted Trump Tower. Through these heights, the Batman moves at the end of strong wires, or sometimes actually flies, using his cape as a parasail.

The plot involves nothing more or less than the Joker’s attempts to humiliate the forces for good and expose Batman’ secret identity, showing him to be a poser and a fraud. He includes Gordon and Dent on his target list, and contrives cruel tricks to play with the fact that Bruce Wayne once loved, and Harvey Dent now loves, Assistant D.A. Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). The tricks are more cruel than he realizes, because the Joker doesn’t know Batman’s identity. Heath Ledger has a good deal of dialogue in the movie, and a lot of it isn’t the usual jabs and jests we’re familiar with: It’s psychologically more complex, outlining the dilemmas he has constructed, and explaining his reasons for them. The screenplay by Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan (who first worked together on “Memento”) has more depth and poetry than we might have expected.

Two of the supporting characters are crucial to the action, and are played effortlessly by the great actors Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. Freeman, as the scientific genius Lucius Fox, is in charge of Bruce Wayne’s underground headquarters, and makes an ethical objection to a method of eavesdropping on all of the citizens of Gotham City. His stand has current political implictions. Caine is the faithful butler Alfred, who understands Wayne better than anybody, and makes a decision about a crucial letter.

Nolan also directed the previous, and excellent, “Batman Begins” (2005), which went into greater detail than ever before about Bruce Wayne’s origins and the reasons for his compulsions. Now it is the Joker’s turn, although his past is handled entirely with dialogue, not flashbacks. There are no references to Batman’s childhood, but we certainly remember it, and we realize that this conflict is between two adults who were twisted by childhood cruelty — one compensating by trying to do good, the other by trying to do evil. Perhaps they instinctively understand that themselves.

Something fundamental seems to be happening in the upper realms of the comic-book movie. “Spider-Man II” (2004) may have defined the high point of the traditional film based on comic-book heroes. A movie like the new “Hellboy II” allows its director free rein for his fantastical visions. But now “Iron Man” and even more so “The Dark Knight” move the genre into deeper waters. They realize, as some comic-book readers instinctively do, that these stories touch on deep fears, traumas, fantasies and hopes. And the Batman legend, with its origins in film noir, is the most fruitful one for exploration.

In his two Batman movies, Nolan has freed the character to be a canvas for a broader scope of human emotion. For Bruce Wayne is a deeply troubled man, let there be no doubt, and if ever in exile from his heroic role, it would not surprise me what he finds himself capable of doing.

Scenes From The Movie

Batman The Dark Knight

Media Representations

• Many of the characters are represented in different ways.
• Batman...Hero e.g shown saving people and beating the "villains" in car park scene.
• The Joker(Villain)...Evil representation...immediately shown with bank robbery scene at the beginning of the movie. Also with killing his own hench men, shows he is cold hearted.
• Rachel Dowes...The love interest in the movie. Represented as a strong female, hence her job and clothing. Can be seen as a Binary opposition (strong female/typical blonde female) (princess)
• James Gordon...Represented in a positive way, shown helping Batman. According to Propps character theory he is seen as the Helper.
• Lucius Fox...Propps character theory can show us that Morgan Freeman plays the role of the Donor, as he supplies Batman with many gadgets to help him on his way.
• Harvey Dent/Two Face...At first represented as a good character, who has a attraction to Rachel. However as the plot emerges he is later seen as Two Face, another criminal. Represented as someone who wants revenge, hence the make up and computer effects to make him look evil. He could be seen as a false hero.
• Alfred...Plays the role of the helper, he is always at Batmans aid when he is needed.

Media Languages and Forms

Each character is represented in a specific way to emphasise their role within the narrative. For example, Rachel is represented as a strong female, which is going against the stereotype we normally see in comic book genres and action movies. The connotations of Rachel are important as they show her to be strong, and may not need Batman's help in the movie. This plays a key role as it is clear they have a love relationship as well as a friendship.

There is one main chance of self representation, where Batman is asked to turn himself in, or the Joker promises to keep killing. This is hard for Batman as he can't reveal his identity but needs to protect Gotham.

Non Verbal Structures Of Meaning

Clothing...For each character a specific costume is used. Rachel is shown in upper class clothing, connotes that she has a good job and is strong. Bruce Wayne is also shown in the same manor, suited and booted as he has an image to up hold as Gotham City's main business man. Joker is also shown is a 3 piece purple suit with extravagant make up, which connotes his psychotic mind and abnormal behavior.

Some of the main Propps used are of Batman's gadgets. These all show his power and money as ways of getting crime out of Gotham City. However they can also be shown as his weakness as without them, he may be seen as a normal citizen.

Positional Communication...Throughout the movie Batman is shown many times at low angles which connotes strength and power. And when he is not in power and his enemies are, the mise en scene becomes much darker and camera angles change.

Mise En Scene is very important in this movie, it plays a key role as it shows how power switches between good and evil. For example when Batman is shown on top of a building at night, the camera pans around showing the rest of the city. This could connote his isolation at that time, as many people in the narrative think Batman is bad, like the police department.

Soundtracks...The soundtrack is fast and slow according to the mood the film is in at that moment, this helps create tension and grips the audience. Also throughout the film many times a soundbrigde is used, where two shots are linked by the music. Again this creates tension and links with the fast flowing nature of the movie, which is key as it it full of action which is typical of a comic book film adaptation.

Sound and Visual Techniques...Editing is key in this movie. It is very rare that we see a dip to black or white, many of the scenes are linked by direct cuts. This adds pace to the movie as it is a very intense and fast moving movie. Also camera positions are important, many shots are used to show the city of Gotham. They are constantly high angled shots showing a vast variety of structures, this connotes that it is a very urban city and the one thing standing out is Wayne Enterprise. Sound again is used to mainly create a tense atmosphere, e.g. loud bangs and and quick sounds help create a quick pace rhythm which syncs with the shots and storyline. In some shots the soundtrack is played when people are talking, e.g. throughout of the whole of the bank robbery scene at the first 10 minutes of the movie, which is a great way to start and gives us an insight to the narrative.

How is the narrative organised and structured?..

The narrative shows how power shifts between good and evil. Through most of the movie, Joker seems to be in control and Batman is conveyed in a negative manor.

The audience is sometimes left to use their own judgement on Batman. Throughout the movie Joker kills people, due to Batman not revealing his identity, and this leaves the audience to question his morals. Should he be letting people die, Why does he no reveal himself?, these are a few enigma codes created for the audience by the narrative. This is clearly the disequillibrium in the movie (Todorov) as the main hero has encountered various obstacles.

Villains and Heros?

In the movie it is very clear who is good and who is evil. Joker we clearly see is psychotic and evil as he is always killing. He even goes as far as dressing into a nurses outfit. This connotes he is insane and evil. Batman is clearly shown as the good guy as he is trying to save everyone. Mobsters are also stereotypically shown in suits and in large gangs with main members. This shows us they are villains. The mobsters are shown to be the money role in the narrative. They have power and money and also want to stop Batman. Therefore they form an alliance with Joker and forms a clear binary opposition(Strauss) of good v.s evil. However Harvey Dent is shown to be on the good side, and as the narrative roles on he edges to the evil side.

The role of sound, Music, Mise en Scene and Editing.
These are all used to create a dramatic effect to fit in with the narrative. Mise en scene, e.g when Rachel and Harvey are shown, they are often at court and offices, this connotes they are middle class and earn a lot of money. Wayne Enterprise building is also shown, which again shows wealth of Bruce Wayne. Batman's layer is shown and connotes how Batman wants to isolate himself and not be seen which is why it is underground. Editing, quick shots and soundbrigde all help in creating a quick pace. The music used changes when there is a power shift, or when a villain is on screen. This helps us identify good from evil, as well as creating a more dramatic effect for the audience.


Major Generic themes in the movie: Love, Action, Violence, Betrayal, Death.


Genre: Action/Comic Book. We can also percieve this film to be of a hybrid genre, as it is has conventions of a thriller, action, comic and romance genre.


Generic Conventions, Are they fulfilled?
An example of a generic convention is Batmans Costume, most superheroes are expected to have some sort of costume. Another is for the Hero to have a hidden identity, again this is fulfilled by the text as Batman is also Bruce Wayne and only a few people know of his 2 identities. A key generic convention is the love interest of the movie. Rachel is captured by Joker, which is expected stereotypically, the villain gets hold of the Hero's love. However death is not always expected in comic book movies, but in this movie much death is shown, which helps us relate to the title, "Dark Knight".


One of the main things associated with the film is DC comics, the institution that invented Batman. And Batman himself is the Star, however Heath Ledgers Joker was an Oscar nominated performance. And was quite different to the take of the old joker, much darker.


The name of the media institution is DC COMICS.




Media Audiences.
The target audience stereotypically with comic book movies would be young. However this movie holds a suprisingly yet gripping dark twist, that may not capture the eye of a young child. However one way we can see that it is adressed to the slightly older audience is the institution and how old it is. DC COMICS have been releasing comics long before someone in their teens was born, which indicates it could be targeted to a slightly older audience. This is backed up by the vast violence and bloodshed shown in the text.
By watching this movie, we can assume that the target audience is into dark movies, with themes of death and betrayel. Therefore we can almost say this movie is a thriller, which stereotypically we do not think of as a comic book movie.


Some reviews on Batman:Dark Knight.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/jul/25/actionandadventure1
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/film/article1365223.ece


Both of these articles are useful as they are both from leading newspaper industries, The Sun and The Gaurdian. Each outling why the film was so brilliant, especially the performance by Heath Ledger.