"Sometimes the truth isn't enough." And neither is a cliche.

“Sometimes the truth isn’t good enough.” And neither is a cliché. Postmodern Hybridization in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight

Melanie Benford March 15, 2013

Hybrid? What’s That?

“Two basic tendencies are at work in

postmodern noir, revivalism, which

attempts to retain the mood and

atmosphere of classical noir, and

hybridization where elements of noir are

reconfigured in a complex generic mix,”

(Andrew Spicer, 150). Although Cox

might argue that this movie lacks

complexity and depth due to clichés, The

Dark Knight is truly composed of

elements such as plot, characterization,

and theme that are from noir which makes

up a hybrid.

Postmodern Hybridization

The Guardian’s David Cox writes that the

characterization, plot, and themes

(specifically the destruction of moral

authority of The Dark Knight (Christopher

Nolan, 2008) are lost through Hollywood

clichés. I see where Cox is coming from.

For example, the plot of The Dark Knight

is about the rise and fall of a superhero

(Christian Bale), a conventional good

versus evil story. Moreover, as the Joker,

Heath Ledger plays the typical villain who

looks for revenge and finds pleasure in

causing mayhem. Finally, a common

theme of self-reflection presents itself in

this movie when the superhero and

Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart)

discovers things about themselves

due to the life or death situations

they are put it in. said, I would argue

that all of these Hollywood clichés

in The Dark Knight actually

reinforce the film’s status as a

postmodern, hybrid neo noir.

“Sometimes the truth

isn’t good enough,

sometimes people

deserve more.

Sometimes people

deserve to have

their faith

rewarded…”

Batman

Batman (Christian Bale) looks over

a corrupt Gotham City.

“Ah, the good cop, bad cop routine?” –the Joker.

Here we have the her o, Batman, ready take down the villain, the Joker as they come

face-to-face. The Joker still has some tricks up his sleeves in this complex narrative.

Neo Noir

• revivalism

• hybridization

• complexity

antics. In the movie, the story

goes deeper than just the hero. It

shows the fall of a superhero and

makes the audience question what

is right and what is wrong. In the

“5 Days of Batman: The Dark

Knight Revisited” by Umar

Shameem, he states: “Since this is

a more realistic depiction of

Batman, each of the questions of

morality is far more complex than

what would ordinarily be shown

in movies or comics.”

For example, Batman (Bale)

wants to stop the Joker (Ledger)

and his mob from corrupting

Gotham City, like any good

versus evil story, but Batman

must go to extreme lengths to

stop him. The Joker requires that

the Batman reveals himself to the

townspeople. The secret identity

of the Batman is what makes him

just that…the Batman.

The Hero versus The Villain

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The Hero is Batman and the Villain is the

Joker. Postmodern noir would argue this

story isn’t cliché but complex

First, let’s focus on the story line of this movie.

Is it about good versus evil? Yes, it is. However,

the “cliché” good versus evil, hero versus villain

story has actually been a part of classical noir for

some time now. Chinatown, Touch of Evil, and

Maltese Falcon are just a few classic noirs that

are based on the “good guys” versus the “bad

guys”.

The Dark Knight makes references to classical

noir both in story and style which makes up one

part of this postmodern, hybrid neo noir.

Postmodern noirs are about the conception of a

corrupt city along with feelings of paranoia and

complex narratives that become intensified

(157).

The superhero, Batman, is known to audiences

for his crime fighting and saving the world

“Alright, so listen why don’t you

give me a call when you

want to start taking things

a little more seriously…Here’s my

card.”

-Joker

Heath Ledger does a superb job in bringing the Joker

alive in this movie. The Joker is the typical villain who

corrupts the city with his evil ways and causes

paranoia amongst the townspeople. However, referring

to film noir, his character can be viewed as a serial

killer and psychopath.

Characterization of the Joker in Neo Noir

The

Hero

Versus

The

Villain

This is just one of the complex

obstacles the superhero must

face in dealing with the Joker.

The plot also can be categorized

as a postmodern hybrid by

focusing on the end of the

movie. The ending is not your

typical Hollywood happy

ending. Harvey Dent (Eckhart)

becomes corrupt and dies yet

Batman takes the fall for Dent

wanting the townspeople to still

think highly of him. Meanwhile,

the Joker doesn’t die and is put

into mental institution while the

image of the superhero becomes

tarnished. The way this story is

told through cinematic style is

even intensified to make this

become a postmodern hybrid.

The awkward and enclosed

angles, the shadows, low

lighting, vertical lines, excess,

and fast action sequences all

work in unison to create an

unconventional plot in neo noir,

not to be confused with a

Hollywood cliché.

“Why so serious?

“This interest in amoral, disturbed

personalities has been most fully

developed in a distinct subgenre of

noir-horror that depicts the serial

killer, the ultimate transgressor, a

mythical figure composed of

Gothic elements together with the

deviant criminal and noir

psychopath. All of these facets are

condensed in serial killer narratives

which are themselves hybrids of

Gothic romance, police procedural,

murder mystery, horror story, and

noir thriller,” (162). In agreement

with this statement, it can also be

considered that The Dark Knight is

a psychological noir thriller as well

as Heath Ledger’s character

possesses the characteristics of a

deviant criminal, conscienceless

killer, and a mastermind.

For instance, within in first ten

minutes of the movie the Joker

(Ledger) arranged a bank robbery

with the intentions of keeping the

money he steals for himself. In

arranging the robbery, it is clear

that he instructs every man who is

a part of this robbery to kill one

another which would leave the

Joker the last one standing. He

kills people with no remorse or

conscience.

Characterization of the Joker in Neo Noir

The Joker is a mastermind

and is very strategic on

who he kills and how he

constructs his mayhem. It

is understandable that Cox

would believe this

character is cliché because

he gets caught and goes to

jail, however while in jail

the Joker is still able to

cause chaos by kidnapping

and planting bombs in

different areas causing a

psychological twist to the

audience which is not very

cliché.

They may have got him in jail, but the

Joker has another plan to cause

mayhem in Gotham City.

Batman determined to save Harvey Dent

and Rachael Dawes’ lives.

"Sometimes the truth isn't enough." And neither is a cliche.

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