The Man Who Shot A Lie Analysis

Isa Blagden, an English novelist in the early 19th century, once said, “If a lie is only printed often enough, it becomes a quasi-truth, and if such a truth is repeated often enough, it becomes an article of belief, a dogma, and men will die for it” (Blagden 155). Blagden expounds within this excerpt how political and social leaders disguise falsities with the perception of popularity. Most famously, this technique was exploited by the Nazi leader, Joseph Goebbels, under the moniker of the “big lie”. However, as demonstrated in the movies The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Dark Knight, dogmatic beliefs creating the foundation for social structures are present in even the most liberal, progressive societies. The movies The Man Who Shot

Within both movies, the stability of the society derives from the populous turning a blind eye to the immorality that underlies their respective societies. Within The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the townspeople look towards Tom Doniphon rather than the Marshall to oppose Liberty Valance and maintain peace. For example, when Liberty Valance harasses Ransom in the diner, the other attendees allow Tom Doniphon to stand alone against Liberty Valance (add citation). The townspeople implicitly accept that the law is built on the balance between Tom and Liberty, rather than any formal legal code. The standing posture of Liberty Valance and Tom Doniphon in contrast to the sitting positions of the townspeople further symbolizes the town’s reliance on Tom to maintain order. The only formal representation of the law, The Marshall, is typically absent and treated as inept, such as when Nora Ericson treats the Marshall as a child when he shows fear towards Liberty Valance (add citation). Similarly, in The Dark Knight, the citizens of Gotham also accept their own corruption by promoting the Batman, a vigilante restricted by no law, as seen in him ignoring the limits of jurisdiction when capturing Lau (add citation). In both movies, the demos ignore the outside forces superseding their judicial

Within The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Ransom accepts the role of a political leader, even though his fame derives from a lie. Even after Tom tells Ransom that he had shot Liberty Valance (add citation), Ransom perpetuates the lie and uses the fame from the lie to fuel his political career (add citation of train scene of credentials). John Ford also demonstrates this relationship between Tom’s lie and Ransom’s rise to fame by cutting directly from the image of Tom’s burning house to a cheering crowd for Ransom (add citation). Ransom begins the movie as a young idealist that truly adheres to the supreme powers of the law, but ends the movie by contradicting all these virtues by building his career on deceit. Ransom, however, continues this lie, because he prioritizes the positive impact of his political career on the new territory over the truth. Ransom’s lie directly reflects the “noble lie” by demonstrating how social cohesion built on a lie may be best for social order. Similarly, within The Dark Knight, the protagonists Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne both lie to the public to maintain public morale and belief in the judicial system. After Harvey Dent became the tangible symbol of the Gotham judicial system by leading