The Dark Knight Rises The Dark Knight Rises Theme Discussion

[thedrizzle59]

Hey, not usually one to start new threads, but the general talk thread seemed really off topic and IMO talking about a movie's theme seems interesting. Any ways...

What do you guys think the overall theme of the dark knight rises will be?
Batman Begin's overall theme was Fear(word used often and by a number of characters. plus fear gas).

The Dark knight's theme was Chaos(used by joker often, and the relationship of chaos and chance Harvey's character portrayed).

In my own opinion, the dark knight rises should be Pain. The word was already used a lot in recent interviews by the the cast and crew. Plus, one of the first things you think about when you think of bane is Pain.

let's discuss.

 

[Batman jr.]

Did we really need a new thread for this?

 

[ThePhantasm]

Not much to discuss here. Theme gets handled pretty well between the General Discussion Thread and the Cultural Subtext Thread.

 

[Batman jr.]

Not much to discuss here. Theme gets handled pretty well between the General Discussion Thread and the Cultural Subtext Thread.

This.

 

[87vertgt]

I think it's a good question. I dont see whats the problem with OP getting into the Guts of the Movie.

Pain is a good contender.

 

[Batman jr.]

I think it's a good question. I dont see whats the problem with OP getting into the Guts of the Movie.

Pain is a good contender.

Pointless thread is still pointless.

 

[Joker594]

. . . *sigh* I hate doing this
But those words; (Fear,Chaos,Pain) they aren't themes - they're ideas that are manipulated to make up a theme. A theme is a writer/director's opinion or message about that certain idea.
No idea why I just said that. . .impluse I think. Teacher's bugged us about it all the time in high school

 

[Joker594]

Oh also
Interesting topic. . .but

 

[thedrizzle59]

For sure, figured i shouldnt have made the thread in the first place, but like I said, the General discussion thread was comepletely off topic at the time i made it so thats why i did. Figured it could have been interesting, but i guess not. Next time ill just say something in the general discussion thread and then be ignored while everyone talks about something completely random. My bad guys sorry. This is the reason i dont usually start threads.

 

[Mister Meddle]

I'm not trying to knock OP's decision to create a new thread but I really don't know how to get involved with a discussion about a song with no lyrics. I don't know, I guess I just want it to be epic.

 

[Diemtay]

. . . *sigh* I hate doing this
But those words; (Fear,Chaos,Pain) they aren't themes - they're ideas that are manipulated to make up a theme. A theme is a writer/director's opinion or message about that certain idea.
No idea why I just said that. . .impluse I think. Teacher's bugged us about it all the time in high school

Not necassarily. Some writers may be fascinated by specific ideas that they wish to explore through their writing. Not all writers write a story with the intention to convey a specific message, some simply like to express characters who are controlled and impacted deeply by certain aspects of life, like fear, or chaos, and then show how the characters lives are effected by these things.

I know most literature nazis who don't really have an understanding of how to write, like to say a theme has to be more than just one word, but with a film like Batman Begins for example, we see the aspect of fear presented in so many different ways, it would be illogical to just sum up the main theme of the movie in one sentence that can accurately depict what the writer was trying to convey, simply due to the fact that "a theme has to be more than just an idea" The only way you could describe the main theme of BB would be to say "Nolan conveys the message of showing the power and impact of fear on people's lives" but that is pretty much exactly like saying the main theme was simply "fear" because one word implies the sentence I just stated.

So yes, a theme can be simply an idea, which a writer wishes to write about, it can't always be contained in just one little sentence. Nolan is the type of writer who's films aren't about messages or his own opinion, they're an exploriation of various aspects of life, which usually are based on some core idea, whether it be fear or chaos. Any deep, well written book can't be summed up in one sentence to describe its theme, sometimes it 'has' to be broad like one word, in order to explain that the book covers many aspects of that specific idea.

Theme:
- a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art.

 

[Diemtay]

Btw I really like this thread. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets sick of discussing what happens in the film, we have plenty of threads dissecting every little event that happens in the film. I much rather talk about the meaning behind what happens, why they happen, and what's going on in the characters minds and in the setting, vastly more interesting imo.

 

[Nevincer]

Fear, Chaos, Pain.

&

Crime, Escalation, Uprising.

Are my guesses.

 

[Diemtay]

The film will be about Bane rallying people to rebel against the more economic aspects of Gotham. To not give in to consumerism, to not feed money into corporations, for him to show them the greed behind this economic state of Gotham, and show that it was these corporations that put them into this depression. He'll use the depression as his way of gaining power, and will have the people of Gotham team up with him to fight against society. (as we saw in the battle/riot pics) Bane's reason for this is simply because once he has power, he'll simply destroy everyone. It's all just an act to him, just to gain power.

It says it all right here: (read the posters/signs)

 

[Joker594]

I'll humor this thread a bit.
For "The Dark Knight" I felt that most of the film's meaning(s) circled around the ideas of humanity, hope, and classic good vs. evil. Chaos was a integral idea of the film, however I feel that, for me, the movie's most powerful messages rest in the three aforementioned motifs. I dunno' - that's just my interpretation.
For "The Dark Knight Rises" I might have a guess at what Nolan is going to try to do with your theme of pain, drizzle.
I think, with the idea of pain, Nolan's going to craft a message somewhere along the lines of "Through pain, there's redemption" - ala "Shawshank". . .
Thoughts?

 

[Victarion]

The theme is Rising. Bane rising against a percieved injustice, Gothamites rising above Bane's puppet mastery, Batman rising and casting a long shadow over his city.

 

[MynAmeIsedDie90]

Hey OP I like this thread. People do get carried away over at the general discussion thread. In fact, I think they're on zoolander right now.

I agree with the poster who said that Fear, Chaos, and Pain are not themes, but rather motifs. But I do appreciate that we can define the entirety of each movie with one word.

 

[thedrizzle59]

thanks for giving this thread a chance guys. really appreciate it.

and your right about the motif thing, just figured everyone would know what i was talking about if i just used the word theme. Kinda got spoiled with the pics posted in the thread, but thats alright, i didnt know that stuff at all and it sounds awesome. I just figured that whatever Nolans "theme" would be was gonna be a type of dark feeling or an extreme word. I was thinking maybe pain, destruction, or sacrifice. But now im leaning towards it being pain.

 

[RED_Rider]

What Darkhunt said: Crime, Escalation, Uprising
Batman Begins was about a city seemingly beyond redemption, where crime and corruption had destroyed everything.
In the Dark Knight, there was some of that corruption but the focus was on the final words of Gordon from BB: Escalation between the Mob and the Bad. Also, Joker's exploits got crazier and crazier as the movie went on.
Rises should be about a social revolution or at least an uprising.

The problem is that both groups of ideas (Fear, chaos, pain or Crime, Escalation and Uprising) are rather obvious and most of the discussion about them could be moved to Cultural Subtext thread as others have mentioned above. (Though I can see this thread forming an identity of its own if we focus more on either of 3/6 key words and their role in each movie).

 

[babbage]

The film will be about Bane rallying people to rebel against the more economic aspects of Gotham. To not give in to consumerism, to not feed money into corporations, for him to show them the greed behind this economic state of Gotham, and show that it was these corporations that put them into this depression. He'll use the depression as his way of gaining power, and will have the people of Gotham team up with him to fight against society. (as we saw in the battle/riot pics) Bane's reason for this is simply because once he has power, he'll simply destroy everyone. It's all just an act to him, just to gain power.

It says it all right here: (read the posters/signs)

That's not really theme but plot.

 

[TangerineKnight]

Pain

 

[The Caped Knight]

Fear, Chaos, Pain.

&

Crime, Escalation, Uprising.

Are my guesses.

Ditto

 

[バット人]

Anyone see this yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZi83qEJ4C0&feature=player_embedded

 

[gugumugats]

those pictures were taken in new york. who's to say that they aren't signs put up by Occupy Wall Street.

On a side note, I was there when they were filming on Wall Street. A lot of bystanders were trying to figure out why a riot (Bane versus the Police) was occuring on Wall Street. I was also kind of deceived, when I tried to ask an extra (dressed as a policeman) on how I can bypass the barricades around the filming.

 

[Dr Zaius]

The theme for this movie in regards to Batman's personal story, is identity. It's all going to be about Batman reclaiming his identity after a long absence, defeat at the hands of Bane, and you know he is going to have his name cleared for Harvey's crimes.