Page - 82 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

82 | Simon Philipp Born www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 75–104 ence.22 Both sides adopt costumed identities in attempts to make sense of life.23 the carnivalesque world of Batman is a stage where the Manichean struggle between good and evil is nothing but a role-play acted out by the Dark Knight and his foes. this celebration of theatricality where the mask is of the utmost importance can be seen most notably in the movie adaptations of tim Burton and Christo- pher Nolan. With the examples of Batman Returns (1992) and The Dark Knight (2008), i shall demonstrate that Burton and Nolan can be seen as opposing poles on the same scale. Both are heavily influenced by film noir, but while Burton ex- periments with the fantastic-melodramatic component of the epochal film style on the edge to expressive gothic horror, Nolan courts a contemporary update in the tradition of the neo noir. Above all, Batman Returns (1992) and The Dark Knight (2008) deconstruct the dichotomy of good and evil in the superhero nar- rative by reversing its polarity and emphasizing the artificiality of it all. BAtMAN retUrNs Or the iNsUrreCtiON Of siGNs Christmas in Gotham City – a never-ending nightmare. flanked by two absurd- ly large muscular statues, a gigantic Christmas tree lights the overcrowded Gotham Plaza. An allegory of power. the Christmas tree sits between the sign codes of fascist architecture as a central image of mass slavery, the tyranny of department stores and advertised dreams. the city is run by tycoon Max shreck (Christopher Walken), whose very name hints at his bloodsucking nature – ac- tor Max Schreck played the title character of the silent horror film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror, friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, De 1922). the ubiquitous symbol of shreck’s store empire is the face of a grinning cartoon cat reminiscent of felix the Cat. through the im- age of a powerful corporation hiding behind the friendly face of a cartoon ani- mal, Burton processes his time as a subordinate at the Walt Disney Compnay, which has always dominated the American popular culture with its many im- ages, conservative ideologies and merchandise products. suddenly, a big pre- sent box arrives at the Plaza and unleashes a cascade of maniac circus clowns with machine guns. the scenery descends into chaos as bikers with enormous skulls trash hot-dog stands, a devilish fire breather incinerates teddy bears and a maniac ringleader shoots the Christmas tree to pieces with his barrel-organ Gatling gun. An insurrection of signs, released by the bizarre Penguin (Danny DeVito) who lives in Gotham’s sewers. flushed away as a deformed baby of rich parents on Christmas Eve twenty years ago, Penguin takes revenge on the afflu- 22 Brooker 2012, 138. 23 Coogan 2006, 105.