Shadows of the Bat. Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan

The superhero narrative is typically premised on the conflict between the hero and the villain, the mythical struggle between good and evil. It therefore promotes a Manichaean worldview where good and evil are clearly distinguishable quantities. This bipolar model is questioned in the Batman movies...

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Հիմնական հեղինակ: Simon Philipp Born
Ձևաչափ: Online
Լեզու:անգլերեն
Հրապարակվել է: Schüren Verlag 2021
Առցանց հասանելիություն:47040
Ցուցիչներ: Ավելացրեք ցուցիչ
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author Simon Philipp Born
author_browse Simon Philipp Born
author_facet Simon Philipp Born
author_sort Simon Philipp Born
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description The superhero narrative is typically premised on the conflict between the hero and the villain, the mythical struggle between good and evil. It therefore promotes a Manichaean worldview where good and evil are clearly distinguishable quantities. This bipolar model is questioned in the Batman movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan. Since his creation in 1939, Batman has blurred the line between black and white unlike any other classic comic book superhero. As a “floating signifier”, he symbolizes the permeability of boundaries, for his liminal character inhabits a world between light and darkness, order and anarchy, hero and villain. Drawing on the complex ambiguity of the character, Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan deconstruct the traditional dichotomy of good and evil in the superhero narrative by reversing its polarity and emphasizing the fictionality of it all. Although they differ in style and method, both filmmakers invite us to overcome the Manichaean belief in favor of a more ambivalent and sophisticated viewpoint.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-635172022-02-11T15:09:50Z Shadows of the Bat. Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan Simon Philipp Born The superhero narrative is typically premised on the conflict between the hero and the villain, the mythical struggle between good and evil. It therefore promotes a Manichaean worldview where good and evil are clearly distinguishable quantities. This bipolar model is questioned in the Batman movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan. Since his creation in 1939, Batman has blurred the line between black and white unlike any other classic comic book superhero. As a “floating signifier”, he symbolizes the permeability of boundaries, for his liminal character inhabits a world between light and darkness, order and anarchy, hero and villain. Drawing on the complex ambiguity of the character, Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan deconstruct the traditional dichotomy of good and evil in the superhero narrative by reversing its polarity and emphasizing the fictionality of it all. Although they differ in style and method, both filmmakers invite us to overcome the Manichaean belief in favor of a more ambivalent and sophisticated viewpoint. 2021-02-12T10:28:40Z 2021-02-12T10:28:40Z 2020-09-03 11:50:38 2017 chapter 47040 2414-0201 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/63517 eng Journal for Religion, Film and Media image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International https://www.schueren-verlag.de/programm/titel/559-drawn-stories-moving-images-jrfm-1-2017.html https://jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/article/view/81 Schüren Verlag Drawn Stories, Moving Images. Comic Books and their Screen Adaptations 5b80c228-3393-4862-a8e9-6c35a63484f1 cc960d70-3fb0-4059-b5a8-cb973322114e 75-104 open access
spellingShingle Simon Philipp Born
Shadows of the Bat. Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan
title Shadows of the Bat. Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan
title_full Shadows of the Bat. Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan
title_fullStr Shadows of the Bat. Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan
title_full_unstemmed Shadows of the Bat. Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan
title_short Shadows of the Bat. Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan
title_sort shadows of the bat constructions of good and evil in the batman movies of tim burton and christopher nolan
url 47040
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