including original narratives, prequels of older films, sequels, and remakes, among others. This analysis will evaluate sequels from the contextual approach of evaluating societal and cultural changes and developments. Cultural and societal elements provide an effective research design that is methodologically coherent to analyzing different aspects of the art of film (Horton and McDougal 15). The film series that this critical analysis will base on is the famous Batman story and the various adaptations made. Notably, the adaptations of interest are the Batman film released in 1966, and The Dark Knight Trilogy that includes the films: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises released in 2005, 2008, and 2012 respectively. The initial adaptation was directed by Leslie Martinson, while the latter adaptations were directed by Christopher Nolan (Bordoloi 88). The films present a fine sample for an evaluative study. Based on an artistic approach, films are becoming a fundamental societal and cultural tool for evaluating time-based developments in society.
The art of storytelling is a central concern in filmmaking, and it is essential to understand the line of storytelling adopted and its design to understand the artistic implications of a film. Films must be analyzed from the literary perspectives of theme, structure, setting, plot, and characterization. These literary elements are fundamental tools that are fundamentally utilized to portray different aspects of the societal and cultural environment in the real world’s audience’s desires and perceptions (Maasik et al. 365). Film techniques are also critical. They include aspects such as lighting, music, camera techniques, and sound. This analysis will base on these aspects. For instance, the Christopher Nolan revival of the famous ‘Batman’ character in The Dark Knight Trilogy presents a reflective approach on universal social, psychological, and cultural themes, conflicts, postmodernist appeal, and archetypes. Some of the notable characters important for this analysis include Bruce Wayne – Batman, and The Joker. These have been used as effective mediums of storytelling in the films as symbols, metaphors, and other broad elements of figurative significance with semiotic import.
The 1966 adaptation of Batman depicts simplicity in filmmaking, which overlooks aspects of realism, which is a contrast to the dark knight trilogy’s The Dark Knight of 2008. For instance, the setting and aspects such as costumes are basic and simple in Batman. In The Dark Knight, all aspects ranging from costuming, setting, and makeup are of high and postmodern quality, which indicated significant developments in film techniques over this period. The Batman adaptation has an approach unique to its era of film production. Notably, the fight scenes are significantly unrealistic compared to the latter adaptation’s highly realistic and high-quality fight choreography. Realistic performances are an essential part of successful storytelling, which appeals to audiences in the modern era (Bowman 231). Notably, the Batman adaptation was appropriate for the audiences of its era. This stark contrast indicates the development in popular culture where audiences are more critical of film as an art and source of entertainment – a significant change and development.
The mood depictions in the two adaptations of the Batman comic character story present absolute contrast. The Batman adaptation is significantly comical. It is evident from a critical perspective that it was a deliberate approach to eliminate any aspect that was in the least suspenseful and violent – this reflects the societal and cultural characteristics of this era. It was explicitly offensive to depict and present violence to audiences of the time, as this was significantly frowned upon (Aufderheide 17). The Dark Knight is effectively set to depict chaos, insanity, corruption, and violence, among other inherently negative elements. The aspect of conflicts is defined with sufficient clarity, which effectively highlights the overall mood – a significant contrast to the integrally comic nature of the earlier adaptation. This contrast in societal and cultural attitudes is effectively depicted and shows that society is more receptive and reflective of themes that are inherently explicitly more negative – a significant concern indicative of the rising threshold of negativity tolerance in society.
Parallel thematic approaches exist in both adaptations and include corruption versus justice, destruction, and chaos, among others. Batman is pre-occupied with the ultimate goal of seeing justice delivered in both Batman and The Black Knight. The setting for both films is Gotham City, a fictitious city and Batman’s home. These thematic constructs are depicted by the different approaches to the setting, context, major conflict, allegory, and symbols, among other elements. For instance, the makeup used on the various characters symbolizes different aspects. The Joker is a prominent example where he has his face painted like a freak or clown. The dressing is also reflective of the traditional circus clown character – a typically peculiar but inoffensive figure. In both films, the makeup is adapted to look harsh and smeared. This approach is reflective of his character as an unpredictable and unstable individual. Thematic repetition and similarity are reflective of different cultures, and hence a similarity in thematic approaches indicates a similarity in the societal and cultural environment (Hunter and Smith 9). The extensive scope of themes addressed from a similar perspective in both adaptations indicates that although societal change and development have occurred, the challenges are still significantly homogeneous.
The Joker and Batman are key characters that present fundamental influence in popular culture, and in the context of these two films, present an antagonistic binary of hero versus villain – good versus evil. The significance of this concept is the idea that the hero versus villain approach adopted in these narratives is reflective of the non-fictitious society in real life – an essential archetype (Maasik et al. 367). The villain seeks to upset the established moral order while the hero fights to restore it. For instance, the Joker is depicted in The Dark Knight as being incline towards reasonless terrorizing that bears no external motivations similar to other criminals and their actions – he wreaks havoc for its own sake. He is reflective of a culture of remarkable enthusiasm towards anarchic violence – characteristic in today’s societal and cultural environments. This characterization highlights the perspective of the media’s prediction of societal and cultural attitudes. The media often influences fundamental societal elements such as crime, stereotypes, and other aspects (Ferguson 8). The concept of good and evil permeates deeply in society, influencing perceptions of moral practice and order. Both movies indicate this aspect of moral chaos, albeit from exclusive standpoints and approaches.
In summation, based on an artistic approach, films are becoming a fundamental societal and cultural tool for evaluating time-based developments in society. The different storytelling approaches adopted by the reviewed films illustrate the impactful nature of perspective. The significant gap between the production of Batman and The Dark Knight Rises is evident in the fundamental aspects of cultural context, narrative structure, semiotics, among others. First, it is evident that in today’s popular culture, audiences are more critical of film as an art and source of entertainment – a significant change and development. Also, society is more receptive and reflective of themes that are inherently explicitly more negative, which is a significant concern indicative of the rising threshold of negativity tolerance in society. An extensive scope of themes is addressed, indicating that although societal change and development have occurred, the challenges are still significantly similar today as they were back then. Finally, the idea of good and evil permeates deeply in society, influencing perceptions of moral practice and order. Entertainment media, such as film, plays a fundamental role in this process. Therefore, films are a fundamental tool in mirroring society as a whole, changes within it, and its development over time.
Works Cited
Bordoloi, Mridul. “Re-Packaging Disaster Post 9/11 And Christopher Nolan’S”. Journal Of Creative Communications, vol 7, no. 1-2, 2012, pp. 87-100. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/0973258613501059. Accessed 7 Nov 2020.
Bowman, Paul. “The Martial Arts Supremacy.” A Companion To The Action Film, 2019, pp. 227-240. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., doi:10.1002/9781119100744.ch11. Accessed 7 Nov 2020.
Horton, Andrew, and Stuart Y McDougal. Play It Again, Sam. 1st ed., University Of California Press, 1998, p. 15.
Maasik, Sonia et al. Signs Of Life In The U.S.A.. 7th ed., Bedford/St. Martins, 2012.
