Page - 91 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

Shadows of the Bat | 91www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 75–104 acter. After Joel Schumacher’s gaudy and flamboyant take in Batman Forever (Us 1995) and Batman & Robin (Us 1997), which did not resonate well with fans and critics, Nolan seeks to wipe the slate clean with his elaborate reboot of the character. Basically he brings the superhero “down to earth” and connects him with the contemporary American zeitgeist (see fig. 17). For that, he stepped outside the studio and shot on-location in major cities like Chicago and London (Batman Begins, 2005; The Dark Knight, 2008) and Los Angeles, New york and Pittsburgh (The Dark Knight Rises, Us 2012) in order to compose a hyper-real cityscape of Gotham City. Following the films’ courted authenticity and real- ism, Batman’s world is purged of any supernatural, fantastic and whimsical ele- ments that could expose its comic book source material. instead, Nolan focuses in his first Batman movie on the Dark Knight’s character development as he struggles to adopt a moral position in a corrupted society. the battle between good and evil is portrayed as a dispute between opposing principles, ideas and philosophies. Batman’s ethical code, which requires him to work outside the law but never to kill, stems from the dialectic juxtaposition of his father figures: from the thesis of empathetic understanding embodied by his murdered father thomas Wayne (Linus roache) and carried further by his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and the antithesis of absolute and revengeful justice claimed by his fun- damentalist mentor Ducard/ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson) comes the synthesis of the principled avenger Batman (Christian Bale). After 135 minutes of soul-searching in Batman Begins (2005), the masked vigilante is finally ready to face his equal – the Joker (Heath Ledger). At the end of the film, Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) has already established a connection between the two on the basis of their staged appearance. Gordon talks about escalation and how Batman’s advent might encourage a new type of criminal. He hands the Dark Knight a joker card with the words, “You’re wear- ing a mask, jumping off rooftops. Now, take this guy. Armed robbery, double homicide. has a taste for the theatrical, like you.”34 Consequently, The Dark Knight (2008) opens with the introduction of the Joker. the prologue of the film shows a group of clown-masked gangsters robbing a mob bank while talk- ing about their anonymous boss, the Joker. their heist successful, they start to kill each other off in order to increase the share each will receive, until only one robber is left. Before he leaves with all the money, this last robber lifts his clown mask in an extreme close-up, revealing not his hidden identity, but another mask: the scarred and painted face of the Joker. the ambiguous masquerade of the prologue confirms Gordon’s fears – the Joker is established as a direct con- sequence of Batman’s theatricality. the Joker’s “mask” dissolves the analogy between face and identity, for his “makeup does not hide his true identity, but 34 Batman Begins (2005), 02:04:50–02:05:04.