Apparently, according to many right-wing sources, there is a theory that the character of Batman in the movie The Dark Knight is an homage to the beliefs and "bravery" of George W. Bush. You can stop here, because at this point I wouldn't put it past whomever is reading this that the draw of similarities between the two is absolute bullshit. Initially, I discovered this on Keith Olbermann's website in his daily "Worst People in the World" part of his show on MSNBC.Andrew Klavan, journalist for The Wall Street Journal, is the most notable believer in this idea as heard in his article "What Bush and Batman Have in Common." You can read his article here.
After reading the piece (through Matthew Yglesias at TheAtlantic.com) I added the following essay on the topic's discussion board.
I find it substantially inaccurate for any one person to relate "The Dark Knight" (or for that matter any comic-based movie) to real life political figures; be it George W. Bush or anyone else. Yes, there are many films that advocate to at least some level of political influence, but most do not. And it's not just The Wall Street Journal, but a myriad of conservative opinions see the same comparisons about Batman.
The largest inaccuracy that Klavan fails to address is the fact that Bruce Wayne was not chosen to become Batman, but rather becoming him as an act of revenge differentiates him from Bush to no end. Batman is well-known as a vigilante, pursuing his own agenda that he feels is for the good of others. The public NEVER INITIALLY COUNTED on Batman to save Gotham, they just got lucky that he came around - unlike Bush - who IS COUNTED on by the American people to perform at the best of his abilities for others. If Klavan wishes to draw the similarities between Wayne and Bush, he cannot solely interpret Batman's methods of vigilantism and ignore the other aspects of his character, such as "never breaking his one rule," and focusing on only crime as his need for being a hero. Contrary to Bush, who's job it is (somewhat) to fix crime, but also economic standards, foreign affairs, among dozens of other topics.
I also agree with the point of comparing the Joker to Bin Laden fallacy [was discussed by members on the board] you guys brought up. The Joker never sought revenge on society (America and Christianity in Bin Laden's case), but rather only pursued his own evil intentions for the sole advocation of chaos and anarchy. The Joker was not "Us against Them," but rather "Me against the World." He had no agenda, unlike Bin Laden, but just the desire to watch the world burn.
As soon as the word 'terrorist' was mentioned in the script you'd have to believe someone in the journalism world would jump on the movie-real life relativity band wagon. At no point do I believe Klavan understood that Batman's character in "The Dark Knight" had always had his set of rules - you know, decades before Bush entered office. He was always the way Bale portrayed him, not just suddenly in the near-end of Bush's 2nd term.
One other thing. Christopher Nolan, the director, is not a conservative, nor has he indicated he ever was.
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