In anticipation to this month's release of The Dark Knight Rises, I'll dedicate this edition and the following two to The Dark Knight Trilogy. I'll start with 2005's Batman Begins, which marked the triumphant return of the world's greatest detective to the big screen.
“Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.” -Thomas Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth
From start, one of the topics of Batman Begins (BB) is falling down and getting up again in life to move on. We first hear this quote when Thomas Wayne says it to his son, Bruce, after he fell into an abandoned well full of bats. Years later, when Bruce becomes Batman and feels that he failed to save Gotham City, Alfred repeats that message, officially establishing his role as a father to Bruce. The cherry on top for this touching moment is when Bruce asks Alfred once again: "You still haven't given up on me?", which Alfred answers by saying, in his lovely English accent, "Nevah!"
“If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely – a legend, Mister Wayne.” -Henri Ducard/Ra’s al Ghul
One of the things I like about Christopher Nolan's vision of Batman is that he wants to establish this character as a legend. Of course, this can be seen on many comics, but previous films failed to position the Caped Crusader as such, thus making him look like a cartoon. In BB, inspired by Henri Ducard's advice, Bruce decides that in order to fight crime more than efficiently and to be indestructible, he must use a symbol not only to terrorize criminals, but also to help him achieve a legendary status. This theme will be part of The Dark Knight Rises, since marketing for the film uses the tagline "A legend ends", obviously referring to Batman. We've also seen in trailers a kid drawing with chalk a bat-shaped figure. Speaking of symbols and as a curious fact, psychiatrist Carl Jung made contributions to the study of symbolization. Jung was mentioned by Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in the film –"Jungian archetypes"–.
One of the things I like about Christopher Nolan's vision of Batman is that he wants to establish this character as a legend. Of course, this can be seen on many comics, but previous films failed to position the Caped Crusader as such, thus making him look like a cartoon. In BB, inspired by Henri Ducard's advice, Bruce decides that in order to fight crime more than efficiently and to be indestructible, he must use a symbol not only to terrorize criminals, but also to help him achieve a legendary status. This theme will be part of The Dark Knight Rises, since marketing for the film uses the tagline "A legend ends", obviously referring to Batman. We've also seen in trailers a kid drawing with chalk a bat-shaped figure. Speaking of symbols and as a curious fact, psychiatrist Carl Jung made contributions to the study of symbolization. Jung was mentioned by Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in the film –"Jungian archetypes"–.
This is one of the most badass moments and quotes from the entire TDK Trilogy. Batman interrogates the corrupt Detective Flass, whom he has hanging upside down, under the rain. It's one of the scenes in which we see a very angry Batman and his raw nature: it's a definition of who he is. I remember seeing this image in one of the Batman's comics shown on the bonus features for the BB DVD, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find the image nor the issue.
“It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” -Batman
When childhood friend Rachel Dawes sees Bruce after 7 years of his absence, he seems to be partying with girls and behaving in shallow ways. Although he's constructing a playboy image to conceal any connections with Batman, he wants her to know that isn't the real Bruce Wayne. When he says to her that he's more than that, Rachel responds by saying: "It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you." As Batman, Bruce later makes this quote his own when Rachel asks for his name, therefore revealing his true identity to her.
When childhood friend Rachel Dawes sees Bruce after 7 years of his absence, he seems to be partying with girls and behaving in shallow ways. Although he's constructing a playboy image to conceal any connections with Batman, he wants her to know that isn't the real Bruce Wayne. When he says to her that he's more than that, Rachel responds by saying: "It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you." As Batman, Bruce later makes this quote his own when Rachel asks for his name, therefore revealing his true identity to her.
While defeating Ra's Al Ghul in the train, Batman decides Ra's fate with this controversial decision. It's controversial in the sense that Batman has one rule, which is not killing (a rule that was also later explored in The Dark Knight). Yes, Batman doesn't kill Ra's with any weapons or other methods, yet he chooses not to save him of the impending destruction of the train, which would probably end the villain's life. In a way, he leaves up to chance Ra's death, but it could be also interpreted as an indirect way of killing him. In my opinion, this was a consequence of Ra's actions, since he put himself in a dangerous situation in the first place. I think he knew that he was risking his life, regardless if he succeeded with his plans or not. We could be hours debating the ethical implications of this, but there's no denial that this is an amazing quote with philosophical content. The panelists of Modern Myth Media had an excellent debate about it on their 75th podcast that's worth listening.
Yes, I'm aware this is quote #6, but exceptions will be made in these kinds of posts. ;) In the final scene, Batman and Lieutenant Jim Gordon reunite to debut the bat-signal and to catch up on things that still needed to be fixed in Gotham. Then, Gordon starts talking about a new criminal whose impact is already being felt in the city. When I started hearing those lines on my first viewing of BB, I began to think that something huge and familiar was coming up. It only took a couple of frames of a playing card to reveal the next villain to terrorize Gotham: The Joker! When Batman flipped the "calling card", all of us in the theater cheered and clapped. At that moment, I wanted to see the sequel immediately. The scene ends with a memorable exchange between the lieutenant and the Caped Crusader, when Gordon tells him "I never said 'thank you'" and Batman replies "And you'll never have to."
Even though you don't want us to thank you, we will. Not only we'll thank you, Batman, but we'll also thank Christopher Nolan and his crew for the beginning of an amazing journey for us Bat-fans.
Honorable mentions:
“You’re not the devil. You’re practice.” -Bruce Wayne
“You never learned to mind your surroundings.” -Ra’s al Ghul and Batman
“The training is nothing! The will is everything! The will to act.” -Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul
“Would you like to see my mask?” -Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
“Didn’t you get you get the memo?” -Mr. Earle and Lucius Fox
Got any other quotes from BB that you feel were left out? Share them on the comments section below!
Got any other quotes from BB that you feel were left out? Share them on the comments section below!
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