Plot Outline: Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organisations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker.

Aim

•To watch Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ and analyse it as a text.

•This will be one of the texts you can write on in your final exam.

•Part of the Literary Study unit in the course.

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atasteforthetheatrical

How does the teaser trailer for The Dark

Knight introduce us to characters, plot and

themes?

Points to consider…• What characters are introduced? • What themes are introduced?• How are these things introduced? • What do we learn from the trailer

about the film?• Remember to describe but also

importantly to ANALYSE!• You have done this already so focus

on structuring your essay.

Techniques

We will look at the following;• Characterisation• Mise-en-scène• Theme• Use of camera• Sound• Colour• Editing

Leaning Intention

I will understand the main ideas raised in The Dark

Knight.

The Dark Knight

• Directed by Christopher Nolan• Released in 2008• Nominated for 8 Oscars• Genre is crime and action

• Batman is a character created by DC Comics. • He has appeared in many films, television shows,

comics and graphic novels.• There have been many interpretations of the

character. Different directors, animators etc have portrayed the character differently and have enhanced different features of the ‘Batman’ persona.

• ‘The Dark Knight’ is taken from Frank Miller’s interpretation of the character in his graphic novels.

• This interpretation of the character is much more dark and conflicted than the theatrical and camp versions we have seen before.

• How does the ‘Dark Knight’ compare to these versions of Batman?

Title• The title of the text is conflicted within itself. • The role and intentions of Batman are often

confused and the title of the film only adds to this.

• Consider the connotations and contrast between the words ‘dark’ and ‘knight’. What do they suggest?

• What does the term ‘Dark Knight’ suggest about our character, as opposed to ‘White Knight’?

Plot• Revise the plot. • Read plot summary you have been

given. Each number describes a key event from the film.

• In your groups, put the key events in order to show that you remember the plot accurately.

• Keep this as a revision aid for future use.

• Mob bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol and the Chechen meet with other underworld gangsters to discuss both Batman and Dent. Lau, a Chinese mafia accountant, informs them that he has hidden their money and fled to Hong Kong in an attempt to pre-empt Gordon's plan to seize the mobsters' funds.

• In Hong Kong, Batman captures Lau and delivers him to the Gotham City police, where Lau agrees to testify against the mob. In retaliation, the mobsters hire the Joker to kill Batman and Lau.

• The Joker issues an ultimatum to Gotham, stating that if Batman does not reveal his identity to the public, people will die each day.

• When Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, Judge Surillo and Gordon are murdered by corrupt police, the public's increasing pressure prompts Bruce to decide to reveal his identity. Before Bruce can turn himself in, Dent announces at a press conference that he is Batman and is arrested as part of a plan to draw the Joker out of hiding.

• The Joker attempts to ambush the police convoy carrying Dent, but Batman and Gordon, who had feigned death at Loeb's memorial to protect his family's safety, intervene and capture him. In recognition of his actions, Gordon is appointed the new police commissioner, succeeding the assassinated Loeb.

• Later that night, Dent and Rachel disappear. At the police station, Batman interrogates the Joker, who reveals that Dent and Rachel are in warehouses rigged with explosives on opposite sides of the city — far enough apart so that Batman cannot save them both. Batman leaves to save Rachel, while Gordon and the police head after Dent.

• With the aid of a smuggled bomb, the Joker escapes police custody with Lau. Batman arrives to save Rachel but instead finds Dent. Batman, furious with himself, successfully saves Dent, but the ensuing explosion disfigures Dent's face. Gordon arrives at Rachel's location too late, and she perishes when the bomb detonates.

• Aboard a cargo ship, the Joker burns Lau to death atop a pile of the mob's money and has the Chechen killed, before taking control of his men.

• The Joker goes to the hospital and frees Dent from his restraints, convincing him to exact revenge on the people responsible for Rachel's death, as well as Batman and Gordon for not saving her. The Joker destroys the hospital on his way out, and then escapes with a hijacked bus full of hospital patients.

• Out of the hospital, Dent goes on a personal vendetta, confronting Maroni and the corrupt cops one by one.

• The Joker announces to the public that anyone left in Gotham at nightfall will be subject to his rule. With the bridges and tunnels out of the city closed due to a bomb threat by the Joker, authorities begin evacuating people by ferry. The Joker places explosives on two of the ferries—one ferry with convicts, who were evacuated in an effort to keep the Joker from freeing them, and the other with civilians—telling the passengers the only way to save themselves is to trigger the explosives on the other ferry; otherwise, he will destroy both at midnight.

• Batman locates the Joker and the hostages he has taken. Realizing the Joker has disguised the hostages as his own men, Batman is forced to attack both Gordon's SWAT team and the Joker's henchmen in order to save the real hostages.

• The Joker's plan to destroy the ferries fails after the passengers on both decide not to destroy each other.

• Batman locates and subdues the Joker, preventing him from destroying both ferries. The Joker acknowledges that Batman is truly incorruptible, but that Dent was not, and that he has unleashed Dent upon the city. Leaving the Joker for the SWAT team, Batman leaves in search of Dent.

• At the remains of the building where Rachel died, Batman finds Dent holding Gordon and his family at gunpoint. Dent judges the innocence of Batman, himself, and Gordon's son through three coin tosses. Because of the first two flips, he shoots Batman in the abdomen and spares himself. Before Dent can determine the boy's fate, Batman, who was wearing body armor, tackles him over the side of the building. Gordon's son is saved, but Dent and Batman fall to the ground below resulting in Dent's death.

• Batman and Gordon realize that the morale of the city will suffer if Dent's murders become known, so Batman persuades Gordon to preserve Dent's image by holding Batman responsible for the murders. Gordon smashes the Bat-Signal, and a manhunt for Batman begins.

Themes• In your groups, mind map the themes

explored in ‘The Dark Knight’. • For each theme, fully describe how each

theme is conveyed. Is it through a character, a key scene etc?

• Your mind map is vital to your understanding of the text so make it as detailed as possible.

Themes• Choice• Terrorism • Heroism• Bravery• Corruption• Good v.s. evil• War• Fear• Trust • Power

How are these themes represented?

Characters• The characters in the text are complex and

interesting.• What were your initial impressions of the main

characters when you watched the film? • In your groups, discuss and label the pictures

of your characters to show your understanding of them. Basically annotate the images!

• Think about what the characters represent, what they look like and what this tells us etc.

• We will discuss your ideas as a class.

Characterisation

Task

•List the main characters in ‘The Dark Knight’

•Now decide if they are good or bad (they might be both).

Batman

•Played by Christian Bale.

• “This city just showed you that it's full of people ready to believe in good.”

Batman

• Isolated• Conflicted• Courageous

• What else?• How do we know this?

Bruce Wayne

•Played by Christian Bale.

• “It's happening now. Harvey is that hero. He locked up half of the city's criminals, and he did it without wearing a mask. Gotham needs a hero with a face.”

Bruce Wayne• ConfusedIsolated

• Confused• Isolated• Rich• Unfulfilled

• What else?• How do we know • this?

Harvey Dent

•Played by Aaron Eckhart.

• “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Harvey Dent

• Idealistic• Dedicated• Heroic

• What else?• How do we know this?

Two-Face

•Played by Aaron Eckhart.

• “You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. But you were wrong. The world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance.”

Two-Face

• Emotionally scarred• Violent• Seduced by evil

• What else? • How do we know this?

The Joker

• Played by Heath Ledger.

• “Don't talk like one of them. You're not! Even if you'd like to be. To them, you're just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don't, they'll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these... these civilized people, they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.”

The Joker

• Childlike• Clownlike• Disturbed• A terrorist

• What else?• How do we know this?

Rachel Dawes

•Played by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

• “I'm not sure the day will come when you will no longer need Batman. I hope it does and if it does I will be there, but only as your friend. I'm sorry to let you down. If you lose your faith in me, please keep your faith in people.”

Rachel Dawes

• Brave• Empowered• Trustworthy

• What else?• How do we know this?

Commissioner Gordon

• Played by Gary Oldman.

• “Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”

Commissioner Gordon

• Selfless• Courageous• Moral• Uncorruptable

• What else?• How do we know this?

Relationships• There are many conflicting relationships in

the text. • Characters may act or behave in certain

ways because of their relationship with fellow characters. They thrive off of each other.

• In your groups, identify the main relationships and describe them fully.

• Comment, in detail, on the effect these relationships have on the action.

• Complete the table in your study pack and be ready to discuss your ideas with the class.

Setting• Gotham City, present day. Gotham City is

fictional • The name suggests that it is a dark and

sinister place.• There have been many interpretations of

Gotham city but Nolan’s interpretation could be based on a collection of American cities.

• It is industrial, dark and dominated by skyscrapers which tower above the ground.

Setting• These buildings tend to be grey,

however Wayne Tower is black and stands out from the surrounding skyscrapers.

• Much of the action in the film takes place on or in these skyscrapers. What might the skyscrapers represent?

Setting• Interior shots tend to show decaying

and rusty buildings. What does this suggest?

• Bruce Wayne lives in luxury but this is destroyed when the Joker invades Wayne’s party. What does this suggest?

Setting• Look at the following images and

analyse them.• What does the setting tell us about

the characters, plot and themes? • Annotate your images in your

groups and be ready to feedback to the class.

Hero Questions

•How would you define a hero?

•Do you think heroes are ‘made’ or ‘born’?

Hero Questions

•What choices are set up for the hero(es) in The Dark Knight?

Hero Questions

•Are heroes and villains clearly delineated in The Dark Knight or is there ambiguity between roles?

Choose a film which deals with the subject of “good versus evil”.

Briefly explain the struggle and show how your sympathy was

engaged on one side or the other. In your answer you must refer to

the text and to at least two of: characterisation, editing, mise-en-

scène, or any other appropriate feature.

2004 SQA paper