Is the new Batman movie a tribute to the Bush administration?
I was so excited, I saw The Dark Knight opening night. When it was over, I had mixed feelings. Buried in the convoluted plot were some queasy ideas about wire-tapping phones and how to deal with terrorism. Those ideas were counter-balanced by a smart, evocative critique of how terrorism has affected our imaginations.
Still, I left the movie very unsure of what the movie was saying about current affairs. Most people would argue that you shouldn't even worry about the politics of a summer blockbuster. Indeed, my friends told me I was crazy to even worry about it.
But then, today, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by mystery novelist Andrew Klavan, arguing that the newest installment of Batman celebrates the Bush administration. You can call me crazy, but now you have to admit that at least one person left the movie with this idea. Check it out:
"There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past."
What do you think? Should Christopher Nolan, a director I've admired for years, have to answer that reading (or misreading, I really don't know what they thought) of his new movie? Are writers responsible for the imaginary politics they create? Is Batman our President? Here's what TNR and HuffPo readers think.
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