"Quotes Mix Tape" is a series of posts in which I present and discuss five quotes from films, literature, TV series, or music that made an impact in my life.
In anticipation to this month's release of The Dark Knight Rises, I'll dedicate this edition to 2008's The Dark Knight, which was the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.1. "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." -Harvey Dent and Batman
Harvey Dent was the symbol of hope that Gotham City had been waiting for a long time. Besides Batman, he was an authority who was willing to fight against corruption and crime. In this quote, Harvey predicts what would eventually happen to him. Although he didn’t really die as a hero, Batman decided to adopt what Harvey had said in order to give Gotham the hope they needed. As a result, Batman ended up being the villain by taking blame of all the murders committed by Harvey so the Joker’s plan to destroy Gotham's soul wouldn’t kill the city’s morale and hope. In Commissioner Gordon’s words, Harvey Dent ended up being “a white knight”, while Batman became “a dark knight”.-Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred has always been Bruce Wayne’s father figure and voice of reason. His words of wisdom always make me feel right at home, like if he was my grandfather. When Bruce is trying to understand the Joker’s erratic behavior, Alfred gives him an amazing explanation of why someone is capable of destroying the world for no particular reason. Alfred explains that “some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” In the violent times we’re living in, these words couldn’t be more true. We are always trying to find explanations to certain horrendous actions, yet we end up without any conclusions. Perhaps this quote is the answer to our burning questions.
3. "Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair!" -The Joker
I’ve always been fascinated by how the concept of anarchy was presented on TDK through the Joker. But it fascinated in terms of having a movie based on comic book characters that deals with these kinds of subjects that affect society. It’s something that I’m sure made us all think about. When the Joker meets Harvey Dent after he burned half of his face, the Clown Prince of Crime completes his plan of burning Harvey’s soul by justifying the chaos he has created. The Joker addresses how everybody has their own schemes, which is why there should be anarchy and a reign of chaos. Harvey, angered by what he already lost, is brainwashed by the idea that chaos is fair and decides to transform completely into Two-Face in order to have revenge. This would have a huge impact on the film’s ending.4. The Joker: "I think you and I are destined to do this forever."
Batman: "You'll be in a padded cell forever."
Both in comics and on screen, Batman and the Joker have always been eternal enemies. They have become pop culture icons of good and evil, respectively. By the time TDK was released, Heath Ledger had unfortunately left us, which gave a double meaning to this quote. If the actor had lived, we all would’ve logically thought that the Joker was definitely going to return in the next film and that both characters would be battling for many years to come in their universe. When I first watched the movie and heard the Joker saying these words, I felt heartbroken. I knew they wouldn’t do that “forever”, in the sense that there was no way that our favorite Joker would come back to terrorize Gotham. At the same time, Batman’s reply accidentally served as a reason for the Joker’s absence in The Dark Knight Rises. We could all suppose or imagine that the Joker never came back because he was locked up forever in Arkham Asylum, or that he died in there. I believe he died, since he described himself as an “unstoppable force”, and we all know that the only thing that could stop a man who wants to watch the world burn is death. Also, this raises a question that I don’t even know if we’ll ever get the answer to: If Heath was still alive, would his character have returned at all? I guess we are all destined to ask this to ourselves forever.5. "Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight." -Commissioner Gordon
While rewatching this last scene of the movie for this post, my eyes filled with tears. The same thing happened to me the first few times when I watched it years ago. This final speech by Commissioner Gordon (beautifully and heartbrokenly delivered by the great Gary Oldman) is the last piece for the creation of the "criminal Batman". After Batman decides to take blame for Two-Face's crimes and become a fugitive, Gordon justifies this decision to his son, who believes that the Caped Crusader "didn't do anything wrong." In this way, Batman changes from a hero to an anti-hero, daring to put himself in the chopping block in order to restore Gotham's faith and heal its devastated soul. After Gordon says the words "a dark knight" while Batman runs away in his Batpod, the screen turns to black, revealing the film's title. At that moment, those words gain a different meaning beyond their literal one and give birth to a new phase in Batman, Bruce Wayne, and Gotham City.
Honorable mentions:
"I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger." -The Joker"And I thought my jokes were bad." -The Joker
"Do you wanna know how I got these scars?" -The Joker
"To them you're just a freak... like me." -The Joker (And pretty much the whole interrogation scene.) (Ok, no more Joker quotes!)
"You think that your client - one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world - is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands, and your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck." -Lucius Fox
"You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. But you were wrong. The world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance." -Two-Face
Because sometimes... the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded. -Batman
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