- 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.
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