“The Dark Knight” Has It Both Ways

“The Dark Knight” Has It Both Ways

The Socialist Worker rectifies Joe Allen’s previous negative review of The Dark Knight, which exhibited left-wing contrarianism at its worst. This one by Scott Johnson is much more nuanced.

If The Dark Knight is a parable of the “war on terrorism,” it is also a parable about its dangers. Having said that, it should not be pigeonholed as simply a “progressive” or “reactionary” film—but neither does it transcend these labels. It wants to have things both ways, as when Batman builds an incredibly invasive eavesdropping device, uses it, then has it destroyed because it is too powerful.

UPDATE: On the further subject of the politicization of The Dark Knight, here’s a great write up by k-punk.