Pecha Kucha Presentation: pg 55 of TDKR
Parallelism: the page is composed of page-wide panels images at the header and footer, with two roles of single panel dialogue in the middle.
-The framing of Harvey Dent's face in the first row of single panels is paralleled by that of Batman'sa in the second row; Dent's "true" face mirrors Batman/Bruce Wayne's "true character"
-The final shot of the night from the exterior of the office building plays on these themes again: to the left is Batman hunched over Dent in a protective, shielding posture, and to the right is the silouhette of a bat against the full moon; one image is of the protector facet of Batman, the other is the primal, dark nature that he struggles against.
*side note: the first panel, with its black and white color scheme and intense use of shadow is a precursor to Miller's work in Sin City.
Themes:
The page explores the idea of the duality of Batman, placed against a villain who was a literal embodiment of this duality. Dent was once only partially scarred, but his actions as a criminal left the scarred part of his personality dominant. Although through rehabilation and surgery, Dent Dent was able to look whole again, he was and always will be a criminal, scarred on the inside as his face was on the surface. Batman recognizes this; he "sees" Dent as wholly scarred because he recognizes the same conflict within himself: although ostensibly a force for good, Batman recognizes the primal aspects of his work and sees himself eventually consumed by them.
Discussion
1. Class perception of The Dark Knight Returns, as a universe, collection of characters, extension of the author.
2. Examples of moral decisions presented by TDKR and whether these dilemmas are simplified or complicated.
TDKR Simplifying Moral Decisions
- Batman is the simplest moral justice: an eye for an eye, where there is very little room for ambiguity: you do wrong, you get punished, and vigilantism is a base reaction to him, not a choice.
- Batman does not use a gun or any firearms against the villains. His refusal to use deadly force reinforces his "good" character and nature.
- The villains in TDKR are represented as caricatures of evil, not as humans with real motivations; they seem ‘the other’ and we have little to no way of relating with many of them. They are quintessential "monsters" or "aliens" so their actions seem foreign and unhuman.
- Gordon’s gun simplifies the riot scene, his orders start being followed and seemingly miraculous things happen (nurses, cooperation, etc.) when he draws his weapon
- Readers have the expectation that Batman should automatically be rooted for, and hate Superman for hating Batman, (someone cited the crashing astronaut saying their last hope was that the decision to kill millions had to be made by a human)
- Every administrative figure ‘passes the buck’, and this inaction makes Batman’s action necessary.
TDKR Complicating Moral Decisions
- Within Batman’s vigilantism, he is the only one not held accountable for criminal behavior – who bats the Batman?
- Batman’s relationship with the Joker: how far does he take his vow to not kill, and in that case is paralysis worse than death? How do we react to Joker literally getting the last laugh, or is his apparent suicide a gift to Batman, freeing him of the responsibility of further dealing with him?
- The relationships between Batman and all of the villains, and the manner in which each of those roles informs the role of the other – without Joker (chaos), there is no Batman, and vice versa (as we see nearer the start)
- Superman faces the dilemma of saving the lives of humans, whom he has soon commit terrible acts, and likens to ants
- The balancing act of public opinion and taking action that is prominent within the characters of the President and Mayor
- In the novel as a whole, the interspersing of the public opinion via news reports and TV debates complicates the morality of the story even further. In these bits we see doubt regarding Batman's actions, as well as support for his vigilantism.
Comments (5)
Shane Cashman said
at 5:28 pm on Sep 10, 2009
working on the overview now, should be posted by 6pm
Shane Cashman said
at 5:55 pm on Sep 10, 2009
all - posted in list form because as i started to write them out conventionally i was at 149 words before i was done with the first bullet point. as they stand, elaborated upon, they are somewhere near 400, hope it's enough!
Shane Cashman said
at 5:56 pm on Sep 10, 2009
also, feel free to cut away and add at will.
Courtney McCarrick said
at 9:53 pm on Sep 10, 2009
hey shane, prof sample said in class today that he wanted it more wikipedia style...do you care if I go through and edit/add link ups to various related principles and other topics commented?
Mark Sample said
at 12:03 am on Sep 11, 2009
You guys are on the right track with Thursday's notes. Will somebody/somebodies go through Tuesday's notes and polish them up?
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