NOLANVERSE IMITATING LIFE

(Please Note: The following article is an opinion piece from our writer, Kristina. While we fully support our writers views, it does not represent the views of everyone at the site). 

The Dark Knight News Podcast was released on Sunday and the team discussed the trailer scenes bit by bit. There were many good discussions relating to the trailer. The one that I am most interested in is the scene where the two bridges collapsed from an explosion. John Blake and a bus full of children watching in complete shock at the disaster in front of them. I believe anyone watching these specific scenes could relate to them immediately, or at least empathize with the catastrophic situation such as death and  blown up buildings. As one of our team members, Adam stated:

“Outside of being a Batman film, this is going to raise a lot of controversy.”

In which, I totally agree with Adam on that notion. This movie/film will be raising all kinds of discussions because Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, and David S. Goyer have a talent for taking things that are in reality and making a mirror image of that reality onto the screen. Nolan’s films are very cerebral, you do have to use your mind to think about his films. He plays around with tons of psychology, philosophy, science, and other things making his films connect to the audience personally. Many of his films especially the Batman films have hit home for many Batman fans and non-Batman fans alike. Nolan does not take away the entertainment behind the films, he gives a lot of spectacular stuff on screen. You never leave a Nolan film not entertained. For his final Batman film, this one will hit home a lot. There might be some mixed feelings that will create controversy. The one of the many in this film that will be targeted is that Bane blows up bridges in Gotham City. For anyone who lives anywhere and has gone through a catastrophic event seeing this film might spark up feelings again.  In this post, I will be discussing how the blown up bridges relates to the 9/11 event because I live in New York City and I can easily relate this event to the trailer scenes.

My first reaction to these scenes were “OH MY GOD! There is going to be so much death in this movie.” The thought that came to mind was that this was so similar to the 9/11 event in New York City. I remember being in the seventh grade at school watching the smoke cloud rise above the buildings. As a child, I did not know what was going on but my eyes were fixed on the smoke cloud. This is similar to the children on the bus watching bridges collapse. The children are just in shock and have no idea what is actually happening right in front of them. That scene hit me hard in my chest because I remember being helpless and not really understanding the extend of the chaos that was no more than 2 miles away from me. For many New Yorkers, this event still haunts us even after so many years. It kills us every anniversary. After the 9/11 event, there was more security and paranoia that was  a time of complete helplessness. I do not want to just make this all about New York City because before 9/11 there were other terrorist attacks towards subways, cars, stores, and etc. For many people around the world some can identify with this film’s use of mirroring that kind of fear to bring a city, a society, a nation to their knees of complete helplessness. Any city around the world can feel the experience from watching this film.

Now mind you, we do not know the reason why Bane destroys the bridges. It could be because of terrorism to cripple Gotham City or keep the people trapped in Gotham City. No one knows the why behind these scenes. I can only theorize where Nolan might be going with these scenes. However, what is for certain is that people are going to get a reaction and Nolan has a way of making his films imitate life in the most sophisticated and entertaining way. His work will be idolized for years to come. I do hope that The Dark Knight Rises provokes many to discuss the film during the summer and well into the fall.

Comment below or on DKN Facebook about what you think of this post. Do you think the film will strike up controversy? Does Nolan use a lot of world experiences such as terrorism for his audience to relate to? Was there an event that struck you the most that you can relate to in this film? What was your reaction to the collapsing bridges?

-Kristina