I like Batman. No secret, that. Visit my cubicle, and you’ll see plenty of evidence: action figures, cardboard masks, artwork, even a book that I wrote about the superhero. No, really. A whole book!
So when we launched Plugged In Rewind—a feature in which we unpack the art, values and spiritual elements of some great, older (but not necessarily family-friendly) movies—I knew we’d have to talk about The Dark Knight.
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, was released in 2008, the same year that Marvel’s Iron Man rolled out. Both transformed the cinematic superhero genre in their own ways. Iron Man, of course, set the table for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, a franchise that has now earned nearly $30 billion worldwide. (And come to think of it, Iron Man’s worth a Plugged In Rewind of its own.)
The Dark Knight didn’t launch a sprawling franchise: Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy (including 2005’s Batman Begins and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises) is pretty self-contained. But it did push the boundaries of what a superhero film could be. It took the superhero out of the comics and put him into a gritty, real-world environment. It set the grim tone for many a DC superhero movie to come. It even helped change the Oscars. After it failed to get a Best Picture nomination, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences opted to include as many as 10 movies in the category. Oh, and it just happened to be the biggest blockbuster that year.
I’m not sure if The Dark Knight includes a single mention of God anywhere. But its stark, difficult ruminations on good and evil, sin and sacrifice, what it means to be good in a hurting, fallen world all give Christian moviegoers plenty to talk about.
So Adam Holz and I talk about those themes and plenty of others as well. Take a seat and listen to us, will you? I think it’s a pretty fun discussion.
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