Posted on Wednesday, 23 July 2008
While we may laugh at the idea of George W. Bush imagining himself a Jedi, it’s not much of a stretch to paint him as the Dark Knight, the hero willing to go to extraordinary and illegal lengths (rendition, torture, wiretapping) in order to fight terrorism and make the “choice no one else will make,” as Alfred puts in one of his many wise soliloquies. At times the film feels more Chris Hitchens than Chris Nolan. Whitney claimed the analogy breaks down because Batman has an unbreakable moral compass, but the citizens of Gotham (proven to be cowards, willing to hide behind democracy and the safety of mass hysteria as opposed to the morally true criminals) have to put their faith in him and that one day he will recognize his own obsolescence and do it “just this one time,” as Morgan Freeman puts it.