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This is a public service announcement concerning the political themes in The Dark Knight.
John McCain is not Batman.
Repeat:
John Mccain is not Batman. Neither is President Bush.
Furthermore, I’m pretty sure that Batman isn’t even a real person.
Why do I have to say this? Because some conservatives have gone out on a limb and claimed that the stunning success of the Dark Knight at the box office somehow is evidence that the public is clamboring for a Republican victory in November.
I take offense to this on so many levels that I don’t even know where to begin.
I liked the Dark Knight. A lot. I like it so much that I saw it for the 3rd time yesterday. So it dismays me to see a work of art so heinously twisted into propaganda by the arch-conservative portions of the media. The film does not include any presidential endorsements. Aside from the source material author’s intentions, it is open to interpretation. You can see it as a hoorah for America’s foreign policy of the last 7 years, you have every right to. But that doesn’t necessarily make it fucking so.
My first article on the film was a simple review, with a nuanced look at the terrorism themes within the film. Notice how I did not say that Barack Obama is like Batman, or that the film makes any explicit political points, aside from a very clear condemnation of domestic spying.
My second article examined the possibility that The Dark Knight subtly embraced such stalwart conservative ideas as torture, extraordinary rendition, and imperialism. If you pay very close attention to the movie, you can see that the answer is no.
Lumping President Bush and Senator McCain in with a crime-fighting superhero is about as logical as calling Barack Obama the antichrist.
If you really need me to explain the difference, here it is:
As I have pointed out before, Batman does not murder anyone. Even the Joker. Despite his cruel terrorist campaign, Batman simply refuses to kill him. George Bush and John McCain want to hunt down every single terrorist and take their lives.
Batman is not an elected official with standards and laws that he must observe: he is a vigilante that does not have the same responsibilities that a President does. George Bush and John McCain have an employer that they must answer to: the American people, and a document that they must follow: the constitution.
Batman is not a human being: His victims are not made of flesh and blood. The characters that he tortures and cripples in the comics and the movies do not have families, cultures, or lives of their own. Jihadists on the other hand, do have families. They are real people, and there are real reasons why they want to destroy us. When we bomb their cities and towns, real people, who are innocent in the conflict, really die.
If you can’t make the distinction between fantasy and reality, what makes you think that you can make a sound choice when you vote for President of the United States?
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Comments
08.20.08
Tim - you are breaking my heart with this one. Next time, be more sensitive, some of us still believe in fairy tales...
08.20.08
As long as liberals can remember that Barack Obama is not Jesus.
And for the record the "clear condemnation of domestic spying" is really more of calling it a necessary and temporary evil, as Batman had already set up a self destruct on it.
08.20.08
this is key: "George Bush and John McCain have an employer that they must answer to: the American people, and a document that they must follow: the constitution"...
because...uh...perhaps that open to interpretation? like the bible?
08.20.08
This a public service announcement to Time Weaver:
Try reading the post you linked to before making your typical straw-man arguments. For someone who couches virtually all of his political thought in simplistic Good v. Evil morality plays, your comments here are truly pitiful.
08.20.08
Really? McCain isn't Batman? This is news to me.
Good thing conservatives are the only ones taking fantasy to absurd levels.
08.20.08
@Lance - aw, that's a really cute picture of Obama! I like the guy just fine, I just don't want him as our President! Is that so wrong?
08.20.08
You mean you wouldn't want a guy with a sense of humour as your prez. Pfft.
But wait, is that Obama, or just a lookalike?
08.20.08
@torbjorn - I'm pretty sure that's Obama, either way, it's a funny picture.
And a guy with a sense of humor means nothing to me when it comes to President. Although I suppose a hearty guffaw would be appreciated when I send my tax check in...
Even if Obama was my best friend in the world I wouldn't vote for him...personality does nothing for me when considering who to vote for. I want someone whose policies make sense. I try to think like a cold-hearted robot when it comes to Presidents.
08.20.08
@Milena - I pretty much agree.
@torbjorn - The guy in the blue suit? I think he may be a look alike. Hard to tell.
08.20.08
I never drew any connections between Batman and any characters in the real world, certainly not presidential candidates. Harvey Dent on the other hand . . . because he's interested in working the justice system to finish criminals rather than taking them down himself . . . but that's another story.
The problem is that a lot of liberals seem to think that terrorists aren't really that bad, just kind of misunderstood. That doesn't make much sense to me. No one is forcing them to go out and kill others because they don't like them, no matter what their reason is: religion, jealousy, oil, random political differences. That's their choice.
As for following the constitution, if only our officials would! Unfortunately no one whether president, congressperson, or judge has been taking the Constitution seriously for years. Liberals as much if not more than conservatives.
The difference between Batman's treatment of criminals and Presidents like Bush, is not that one of them respects humanity and one doesn't. The difference is that Batman was basically conceding that he was not responsible to make life and death decisions for criminals, that belong to the government. Bush is a part of the government, and therefore has more authority to see that justice is done to murderers. This is why he can push for going all the way, and Batman could not. And if a terrorist is defined as someone who wants to kill civilian Americans, Israeli's and even their Kurdish neighbors just because they disagree, what are we supposed to do? "Osama you've been very naughty lately, you need to go take a time-out until you feel like being more kind."
The type of people who are willing to be suicide bombers and don't really care if they die themselves as long as they kill innocent people at the same time really aren't the most logical, justice-minded people in the world. Do you seriously think that they are going to change their minds just because we try to talk to them? I wish it was that easy.
08.20.08
@Rob- I did read the article that I linked to. In fact, the article also claims that Rush Limbaugh's ratings are further proof that conservatives represent true American values and can do no wrong. I didn't mention it in my post because it's just too ridiculous to entertain.
@Lance- I don't think Obama is Superman, Jesus or even Ghandi. I just think he has a much more firm grasp on reality than Mccain, who thinks there's a border between Iraq and Pakistan.
@Michael- Terrorists are dangerous and there will always be plenty of them to go around. However, invading sovereign nations in the name of combating a very small, extremist portion of their populations only serves to create more terrorists.
08.20.08
If you want further evidence of just how out of touch some conservatives are with reality, here's a few search terms that brought people to my blog in the last 24 hours:
"barack obama resembling the antichrist"
"obama the antichrist?"
"barack obama antichrist prophecy"
"why obama is the spawn of satan"
"why are liberals so naive?"
Ironic, isn't that last one?
08.20.08
@ Tim - search terms, that's a great way to see who's out there and who your blog attracts. In this case, funny that!
08.20.08
@Tim: I don't agree with the post either, but you sure as heck didn't give it a fair read before commenting. So given what you've said, the last search term you referenced isn't nearly as ironic as it is prophetic.
08.20.08
@Tim - obviously search terms could be used by a liberal seeing what kind of weirdo propaganda is out there...I might Google something like that, not because I believe it, but because I'm curious who does!
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