- Dec 9, 2004
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I've seen Nolan's Batman a number of times and I just have to wonder - is this movie the ultimate sponsorship of the modern American liberal?
Batman starts out lost and seeking nothing but revenge for his parents death (reference to conservatives after 9/11) but he soon learns that justice and the law are above revenge. This is a direct kick in the face to the ideas and actions of our Conservative leadership and their followers - Guantanomo - Abu Ghraib. When he does finally find the right path he brings the fight back not to the petty thugs and gangsters like Joe Chill (Republicans advocate harsher penalties without seeing the big picture with crime) but to the organized crime element which obviously has an embedded relationship with law enforcement and parts of the government (Reagan and the Cocaine he pumped into New York through the contras - Nixon - a lot of Republican presidents had shady dealings). Towards the end of the movie Ras Al Ghul takes on a Bin Laden-esque role talking about 'purging fires' and the need to destroy a city once it has gone too far out of hand. Batman is caught between - on the one hand - a corrupt city in which the poor are taken advantage of and manipulated - and the Al-Qaeda like organization that Ducard controls.
I sort of see myself in this position, I see a lot of the points Al-Qaeda makes about our civilization - the sex, violence, absurdity, murderous tendencies but I also see a good side to American society that occasionally does show its face. Now I'm in no way comparing myself to a hero (I know some people were going to pull the ego thing in), but I can sympathize with a lot of the movies messages.
There were also a lot of other small things - like the fact that the desert warfare machine (I mean come on) comes back to attack its makers. Or the whole boardroom scene when the guys are arguing about going into Heavy Arms dealing. I think the final straw was when the corrupt executive trying to cover his own ass gets completely owned. Completely reminded me of Bush's pals at Enron and Halliburton.
Batman starts out lost and seeking nothing but revenge for his parents death (reference to conservatives after 9/11) but he soon learns that justice and the law are above revenge. This is a direct kick in the face to the ideas and actions of our Conservative leadership and their followers - Guantanomo - Abu Ghraib. When he does finally find the right path he brings the fight back not to the petty thugs and gangsters like Joe Chill (Republicans advocate harsher penalties without seeing the big picture with crime) but to the organized crime element which obviously has an embedded relationship with law enforcement and parts of the government (Reagan and the Cocaine he pumped into New York through the contras - Nixon - a lot of Republican presidents had shady dealings). Towards the end of the movie Ras Al Ghul takes on a Bin Laden-esque role talking about 'purging fires' and the need to destroy a city once it has gone too far out of hand. Batman is caught between - on the one hand - a corrupt city in which the poor are taken advantage of and manipulated - and the Al-Qaeda like organization that Ducard controls.
I sort of see myself in this position, I see a lot of the points Al-Qaeda makes about our civilization - the sex, violence, absurdity, murderous tendencies but I also see a good side to American society that occasionally does show its face. Now I'm in no way comparing myself to a hero (I know some people were going to pull the ego thing in), but I can sympathize with a lot of the movies messages.
There were also a lot of other small things - like the fact that the desert warfare machine (I mean come on) comes back to attack its makers. Or the whole boardroom scene when the guys are arguing about going into Heavy Arms dealing. I think the final straw was when the corrupt executive trying to cover his own ass gets completely owned. Completely reminded me of Bush's pals at Enron and Halliburton.