5. Politics And The Failure of a Corrupt System
The film has been chastised by members of both prominent US political parties as boasting party political themes and imagery that subconsciously coalesce as an attack on the Right or the Left (depending on whom you speak to). Such claims are for the large part nonsense but are a testament to the deep thematic resonance that differentiates Nolans latest film from other films of its genre. Also it's fair to say that the comics on which these movies are based usually employ political imagery for dramatic effect rather than for any specific political agenda. In truth the film scorns the partisan policies of both the Right and the Left: key to Nolans message is its jaded vision of how societies begin to buckle under the weight of their untruths and collapse inwards on themselves when their justice system is based on a lie. Just as Nolans previous Batman outings probed the morality of sometimes taking political liberties by using espionage or torture to achieve vital information as a last resort,
The Dark Knight Rises raises the question of whether or not its immoral to base your justice system on a lie if the end result is that you will significantly reduce crime. It's difficult not to see echoes of The Patriot Act in the movies Dent Act, and echoes of Guantanamo Bay in the criminal but wrongly imprisoned foot-soldiers who are incarcerated in Blackgate Prison. The film has a raft of other political overtones that are stirringly reminiscent of key contemporary off-screen events and global concerns, riffing on the "Occupy Wall Street" protests, the need for clean sources of energy, and a frightening warning about the dangers that go hand-in-hand with nuclear power.
Key line: Alfred - " Maybe it's time we stop trying to outsmart the Truth and let it have it's day"