Film, A2 Media Studies, Genre, Narrative and Representation

2. Vladimir Propp’s stock
characters
 Hero – Batman – he is the protagonist and the hero saving Gotham city from the
Joker.
 Villain – The Joker – he serves the cause to disrupt the general social order in
Gotham city. He is deformed, evil and psychologically crazy. Murders individuals
throughout the whole film.
 Princess – Rachel Dawes – the reward for Batman as she is often the reason for
his quests. The princess is targeted and killed by the villain and this contrasts the
typical fairy tale ending.
 Donor – Lucius Fox – he helps Batman throughout the film by providing him with
gadgets such as his suit and the design of car.
 Helper – Commissioner Jim Gordon – he aids the hero and sometimes appears to
be his sidekick.
 Helper – Alfred – he is the father to Batman and helps him throughout his quest.
 The dispatcher – Commissioner Gordon – often sends the hero on his quest to help
the city.
 False Hero – Harvey Dent – Initially perceived as a Hero to the city however
develops to become a villain known as “two-face”.

3. Binary Opposites
 Levis Strauss theory explains how in every film the narrative contains
binary opposites. Examples within The Dark Knight are;
 Good vs Evil
 Batman vs Joker
 Corrupter vs Reality
 Crazy vs Normality
 Insane vs Sane
 Dark vs Light
 Strong vs Weak

4.  Equilibrium – It is perceived as normal in Gotham City to have
constant disruption and death.
 Disruption – The Joker causing corruption in the city.
 Recognition of disruption – Batman notices that Gotham City
needs his help to stop the Joker.
 Attempt of repair ( several stages) – Throughout the whole
film, Batman fails to defeat the Joker and the deviance
continues.
 New equilibrium – Our hero Batman disappears until the new
disruptions happen in the city. Additionally, Harvey Dent
appears as two face and becomes the new continuing villain of
Gotham.
Todorov’s 5 stage theory

5. Hollywood 3 act structure
 Setup –The Joker in the opening scene causing
disruption in Gotham City. This is seen as a normal issue
that the city has to face.
 Confrontation – Batman understands that he needs to
save the city and defeat the Joker. They have many
conflicts where the Joker comes out a step ahead of
Batman and this is continuous throughout the whole film.
 Resolution – Batman at the end defeats the Joker and
saves the people of Gotham. He disappears into the
darkness and will return when needed. In addition,
Batman defeats Harvey Dent.

6. Formulaic narrative
 In some aspects The Dark Knight follows the
formulaic narrative because it is typical of Batman to
end up defeating the Joker and fight against the
villain throughout the film. Despite this, the ending of
the film doesn’t follow this structure due to the fact
that Batman does not reveal himself as Gotham’s
hero however disappears until he is next needed.

7. Opened/Closed narrative
 The Dark Knight is an open narrative because it is
left for the audience to interpret what is going to
happen next. The film is left on a cliff hanger which
exemplifies how there is going to be a follow on from
this film.

8. Linear narrative
 Linear narratives are the simple beginning, middle
and end stories. These narratives will follow the rule
of situation, disruption and resolution in that specific
order. Therefore, the story will follow in chronological
order.
 The Dark Knight follows this structure because
Batman is controlling crime in the city, the Joker then
turns up which disrupts this and as a result, the film
ends by Batman defeating the Joker and the City
consequently returning to order.

9. By Charlie & Claire
THE DARK KNIGHT

10. GENRE
• Genre  Action Adventure, Thriller, Sci-fi, Superhero and Detective
• Why is it an Action Adventure film?
According to the Repertoire of Elements an action adventure film consists of different components e.g. weapons, mild violence , a
quest/mission, map, reward (treasure), action sequences and car chases. Batman: Dark Knight uses these elements, for example the ‘map’ in
this film is represented by the futuristic night vision map made by Lucius Fox that guides Batman around the warehouse.
• Why is it a Thriller film?
The film is a ‘race against time’, The Joker gives batman a period of time to save either rachel or Harvey Dent, and he also gives civilians and
the prisoners on the boat an ultimatum; to blow up the other boat before midnight.
• Why is it a Sci-Fi film?
In this film, Batman uses futuristic high technology for example the ‘Batmobile’ and Bike, the suit that has hidden weapons that don’t seem to
be unlimited.
• Why is it a Superhero film?
This is a superhero film because there is a protagonist that saves the day on more than one occasion, Batman also wears a di sguise creating
a sense of mystery which is common within Superhero franchises
• Why is it a detective film?
The film includes detective Gordon who helps Batman in his search for the Joker and it also keeps the audience on their seat by revealing
information at the same time the characters find things out.

11. REPERTOIRE OF ELEMENTS
• This film follows the repertoire of elements of each genre.
• ◦Steve Neale argues that “pleasure is derived from 'repetition and difference’, there would
be no pleasure without difference. We may derive pleasure from observing how the
conventions of the genre are manipulated (Abercrombie 1996). We may also enjoy the
stretching of a genre in new directions and the consequent shifting of our expectations”.
• This quote shows how people like to see repetition in storylines but also like to be
shocked and see twists. The dark knight follows this as the main storyline of the film is
obvious to the audience however the multi strands within a film create mystery and
suspense for the audience keeping the hooked.
• Donald Chandeller is a theorist.

12. CLAIRE SAYS:
• “How would you classify The Dark Knight with respect to genre?
• 1) Is it an adaptation?
• One could answer yes and simply say (taking the easy way out) that all art borrows from other art, particularly,
representational art. On the other hand, one could argue no and assert that it is a work in its own right and too
distinct from any supposed single source for it to fit in so neatly to the aforementioned category.
• 2) Is it a superhero film?
• There are people who have argued against this in the past because of their definition the term superhero. If a
superhero must have superpowers in order to be such, then Bruce Wayne does not fit the bill. However, one could
venture a yes based on Wikipedia’s conception of such:
• A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is an action, fantasy and science fiction film,
which is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes; individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities
relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films are almost always action-
oriented.
• 3) Is it an action movie?
• The Dark Knight does contain an exorbitant amount of action sequences, but it does lack some of the things
individuals might associate with the genre. Batman does not save the girl, vanquish his enemy, or triumph at the
conclusion. In addition, I tend to think of action films as relying more on explosions than plot and characters. In this
vein, I would say that The Dark Knight does not fit into my conception of an action film.

13. • 4) Is it a crime film?
• This is a rather broad category with many subgenres, and hence, we will have to address any number that may or may not apply to The Dark Knight.
First, dealing with the overarching genre, one could say that The Dark Knight is a crime film because it contains a great dea l of such and focuses on
the lives of criminals. In addition, it appears to glamorize different types of crime in varying degrees. Nevertheless, is it also a heist film, a film noir
and/ an example of neo-noir?
• A heist film?
• The film does begin with a heist scene, and the implications of this crime are perceived throughout the movie. Yet, when I re flect on serious and
comedic heist films that I’ve seen in the past, The Dark Knight is different. Though this is of course arguable, I do not think of the Joker as the
protagonist or the main character, and in all of the heist films that I have watched it is usually those who have committed t he crime that are the focus.
• Is it a film noir?
• This genre is still subject to debate among scholars. Some argue that it blurs with melodrama or hard-boiled detective stories, and others have
argued that it is limited to a particular time period as well as style in cinema. We could suggest that The Dark Knight has c ertain thematic and visual
elements comparable to film noir, but perhaps, neo-noir is more an appropriate categorization? This subgenre, due to its progenitor, is also shrouded
in contention. Robert Arnett states that “Neo-noir has become so amorphous as a genre/movement, any film featuring a detective or crime qualifies.”
Though it has been argued that The Dark Knight is an example of neo-noir, can we really place it in any category that is still being defined?
• 5) Is it a thriller?
• Like the crime genre, it is also a relatively broad category. It can be loosely understood as a film in which a character faces a perilous problem or a
mystery and sustains the tension in order to provoke and emotional response in the viewer. Wikipedia details its standard ele ments:
• The protagonist(s) faces death, either their own or somebody else’s.
• The force(s) of antagonism must initially be cleverer and/or stronger than the protagonist’s.
• The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a character who cannot be put down.
• The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved.
• The film’s narrative construction is dominated by the protagonist’s point of view.
• All action and characters must be credibly realistic/natural in their representation on screen.
• The two major themes that underpin the thriller genre are the desire for justice and the morality of individuals.”

15. Representation
The Dark Knight

16. Men
• Strong, powerful, intelligent, quick thinking
• Bruce Wayne goes to Hong Kong and uses his wealth, intelligence and
power to capture Mr Wong
• Harvey Dent shows authority in the law, when he gets a gun pointed at his
head in the court room and says, ‘But your honor I'm not done’ represents
him as cool and collected.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSHP8RdahYc
• Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne compete for hierarchy, alpha and
dominance.
• Hypermasculinity, when the stereotypes of males are over played and
exaggerated, Batman is unnaturally strong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da3XVFg6CU8

17. Women
• Sexualized, objectified, gold diggers
• Rachael: Princess in need of rescuing by Batman, she is shown to be
tempted by two men, we know this because of the scene where she kisses
Bruce Wayne but is in a relationship with Harvey Dent.
• In a position of power she is shown to be interrogating Wai Wong however
her shirt is unbuttoned so that it is revealing, sexualizing her.
• Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory, positions the audience to view women
through the eyes of heterosexual men.
• Natasha, a prima ballerina, is also shown to be only interested in money as
her and the rest of the Russian ballet go on a ‘love boat’ with billionaire
Bruce Wayne, women represented as gold diggers.
• Hooker in the club with Maroni
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMiEhOkKVAs

18. Age
• Elderly, wise, less dominant, Alfred and Lucius are
shown to be wise and help Bruce Wayne, however
when it comes to being in charge Bruce Wayne and
Harvey Dent are shown to be in the position of power.
• Youth, easily manipulated, rebellious, at the start the
joker ‘hires youths’ to help him rob a bank.
• Children, victim, innocent when Harvey Dent takes
Gordon's family and threatens to shoot his son in the
head, he is helpless and crying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJma8pVAvH4
•

19. Disability
• The Joker is represented as evil, stereotypical of him to
have a scared face as he is the villain. He isn’t accepted
in society, so creates chaos and anarchy for fun. He is
insane and deluded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oPsvq81n2A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpSoEIN18WI
• Harvey Dent gets manipulated and turned into the
villain by the joker. When Rachel is killed he doesn’t
think its fair and wants to punish the people
responsible. He doesn’t accept skin graft for his face as
he thinks this is ironic due to his nickname ‘two-face’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsLYoqjgl_Y

20. Ethnicity
• The mob are foreign, Russian, Italian and black
representing these ethnicities in a negative way.
• In the boat scene with the two boat’s, one full of
prisoners and one full of innocent citizens, one of
the prisoners, who is black, takes the detonator
from the officer in charge and throws it out of the
window. When he does this it represents black
people as criminals, he's covered in tattoos and is
dominant.