To read my review of The Dark Knight, head on over to sister site The Moon is a Dead World.
**Warning – this write-up contains spoilers to The Dark Knight. Read at your own risk. But please read.**
Not the TV show. Or the Enrique Iglesias song for that matter.
What is a hero? I think most of us know a hero that we have, but each definition of why that person is a hero differs individually. Some might be because they are a person we look up to, like our parents or maybe a celebrity who does good deeds (because honestly, how many of those type of celebrities come around?). Or maybe this certain person saved your life. Maybe, even, you don’t know this person, but just respect a group of people because of what they do.
Whatever the case, we all have heroes, whether we recognize them or not. And the film The Dark Knight centers on the aspect of heroes and how they become them.
With Batman, his heroism is related to being the unknown savior. He is almost a mortal God among men, because he’s mysterious, anonymous, and he strikes down baddies whenever it’s needed in Gotham. His heroism is unmatched by the police, the firefighters, the paramedics, because their ability to perform these deeds is limited. They don’t have an alternate identity that they can go by at night, nor do they have the ability to make one. Bruce Wayne himself is a pretty secretive man, which allows him to take on his night duties as the Batman with no questions asked from those around him. There is almost no one to question what he does.
Yet with Batman’s heroic deeds of saving the wounded or kidnapped, the victims of gang warfare or pawns in a villainous plot, comes the question of how he accomplishes these feats. The Dark Knight itself brings into question the actions of Batman when it asks if Batman really is a hero, or just a helpful criminal. It’s one thing to stop violence when you have the right to, such as the police, but Batman is just a common person in society who has taken it upon himself to save Gotham City. His ability to stop bad guys is limited to his use of physical force – the same violence that is perpetrated on victims is used against the bully. It’s not self-defense; it’s defense towards others, selflessly, but also violently. This violence is a crime, which is why Batman can never show his true identity.
But can Batman really be a hero, shedding violence against violence but acting as a savior? Yes and no. Yes, because Batman is the sole holder of the power to stop criminals. One can’t imagine how much crime would be cluttering the streets if Batman was not there to stop them. However, the police’s leniency towards Batman’s crimes, while punishing others for the same or lesser crimes, creates conflict within society. If Batman can get away with crimes, what right do the police have to prosecute others whose intentions may be just?
This is why The Dark Knight presents an ordinary hero, Harvey Dent. Harvey is a DA, putting criminals away (with the help of Batman, of course). But what the public sees is Harvey jailing these criminals, presenting a mortal, unprivelaged, and innocent man who cleans up the streets. Gotham City needs Harvey to keep them in line, as stated in the movie, which is true, because Harvey is the clean individual that keeps society from breaking.
When Harvey becomes Two-Face, he loses his credibility as a hero. His reputation expires because of his violence, his misdemeanors, and most importantly, the loss of sight of good and evil. By presenting his victims with the luck of the draw in the midst of the most important coin flip of their lives, he proceeds to intimate to the viewer and his victims – and anyone who sees Two-Face in his actions – that he has lost the ability to distinguish between good and bad. This presents a dilemma for Batman and Gotham City: for Batman, it means another criminal that he has to deal with, while for Gotham City, it creates a rift in the way society views a hero. If they realize that it’s Dent that is Two-Face, their faith in humanity, the police force, and leadership will fall. They might begin to believe that since Dent was faking his allegiance to good and innocence, there is no more good to be upheld, creating a chaotic anarchy. This is what the Joker’s ultimate goal is – if he unmasks Batman, there will be a scramble to capture Bruce Wayne. If the Joker creates anarchy, Batman has failed. And if he turns Harvey Dent into a common criminal, both must happen.
Luckily, Dent is caught and his death is covered up by a lie that Batman killed him, creating the ultimate scapegoat. The anonymous Batman is able to take the blame for the death, as no one actually knows his true identity and he can run without being caught. He is the dark knight – upholding justice, the seemingly true hero in this story.
But with all the events that happened, if Dent hadn’t become Two-Face, Batman would have been a minor hero to the film. Dent’s courage and his headstrong attitude forced him to make a decision to proclaim himself Batman. Lucius was a hero because he came up with all of Batman’s equipment, and also disowned the right to track the people of Gotham City’s location by cell phone. Rachel was a hero in that she regarded the fact that Gotham City needs Batman – and gave up Bruce Wayne. Gordon is a hero because of his reckless endangerment of his person, risking everything, even in regards to his family, to catch the Joker. And Alfred is a hero in that he stuck with Bruce Wayne to the very end.
In the end, The Dark Knight shows us that heroism can come from the unlikely. While Batman is the main protagonist, the heroism of his actions is downplayed to focus on the secondary characters, who make up Gotham City. Tying in with The Dark Knight’s other theme, we find that the people will not be broken, for they are the backbone that holds the city together.
The ordinary people are the heroes.
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