The Dark Knight Rhetorical Analysis

In a post-9/11 world, national surveillance and the subsequent Patriot Act became national issues in the United States. Is the government’s blatant and unconstitutional disregard for citizen’s privacy necessary for national security? This question dwelled in the consciousness of the post-9/11 American population. In The Dark Knight (2008), Christopher Nolan delves into this controversial subject and uses the heroic, yet morally ambiguous Batman and his cell phone sonar invention to depict the gray line that lingers in this highly contentious debate. During the scene where Batman introduces the new “spy technology” to Lucius Fox, Nolan uses stylistic elements such as lighting, cinematography, costuming, and acting in order to parallel the horror

of the concerned citizen in response to the atrocious breach of privacy perpetuated by the United States government and paint Batman as a morally unscrupulous character.
Before analyzing this specific scene and how it relates to current events, it is important to show the allegory between Batman and Bruce to the United States and the Joker to modern day terrorism that is strewn throughout the whole film. To begin, Bruce Wayne and Batman represent the two sides of America post 9/11. Bruce Wayne is the philanthropic, party boy consumed by the need to look powerful and suave monetarily. He is always hosting large parties and fundraisers for the rich and powerful and even has multiple women on his arms sometimes, This correlates to America’s outward presence to the world in today’s era. America today pampers the rich and powerful and carries an outward presence of power and influence wherever it goes in the world. In the film as well, Bruce also endorses Harvey Dent for District Attorney, who is the epitome of justice and the law, much like how the U.S. tries to endorse and spread political democracy and justice wherever it reaches out.
Batman, on the other hand, resembles the opposite side of the same coin.

He lurks in the dark, utilizing borderline inappropriate methods to fight the same fight as Dent and Bruce. Even though he doesn’t kill, he does torture to get the information he needs. Even though Batman has the same goals as his alter ego, Wayne, and Dent, he actually ends up bringing more chaos than order. He created the Joker and Two Face even when he had the best of intentions because he fought in the shadows and had no concern for law and justice. This is incredibly analogous to the world we live in today due to years of intervention in the Middle East and what happened in the Bush presidency. America and Pakistan created the Taliban and propped them up as the resistance to Soviet control in Afghanistan to use them as a proxy for the overall conflict between America and the Soviet Union. This of course only backfired years later and resulted in one of the largest, most powerful terrorist organizations in recent history. Even today, after this movie was created, the U.S. is witnessing the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq with the emergence of ISIS. Throughout the years, America has tried to do what they thought as good, but has always ended up creating

monsters.
This parallel is bolstered by the various characteristics that the Joker and terrorist groups share. The Joker has no real name, no background, and no real motivation. He appeared out of nowhere and started terrorizing the people of Gotham. His motivations weren’t even about monetary gain or power. He just wants “to watch the world burn.” He views himself as the antithesis to Batman. This directly correlates to the modern face of terrorism. Groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban have a very murky background where few people truly know their origin. They seemed to come out of nowhere under no real leadership and committed some of the worst acts of terrorism the world has seen in recent history. They have some real motivations for power, but for many, they just appear to want to watch the West burn.
This allegory is crucial to understanding the ideological meaning within the short “Spy Technology” scene. It helps to understand that Nolan viewed the warrantless surveillance perpetrated by the United States government as evil, but necessary to defeat the terror. For example, the contrasting lighting in this scene helps to establish the binary opposition of dark versus light, and subsequently good versus evil. At the beginning of the scene, Batman starts out behind the screen with all the lights turned out behind him. In contrast, Lucius Fox starts out in front of the screen in a brightly lit area with all the lights turned on. In the grand scheme of works of art, darkness tends to represent evil whereas light tends to represent goodness and purity. When viewing this stylistic element in terms of the allegory previously set up in the movie and the cultural connotations of the binary opposition of Light versus Dark, it becomes clear that Nolan viewed the surveillance program negatively.
The editing and camera positioning also goes to emphasize the divisive nature of the spy machine. Initially in the scene, the camera is positioned so that Batman is behind the wall of sonar screens and between the screen and Fox. The scene is also edited in a shot-reverse shot for the dialogue between Batman and Fox. These cinematography and editing choices help to highlight the separation between Batman and Fox. It also shows not just the degree of separation, but the fact that the separator is the sonar spying device. When pairing this with the aforementioned binary opposition of Light versus Dark and Evil versus Good, it becomes obvious that the spying machine is the focus of dissension about good and evil between Fox and Batman.
Another example of a stylistic element that emphasizes the deeper connotations is the costuming of Batman compared to Fox.

In this scene, Batman is dressed up in a dark costume with a mask that only shows his eyes and mouth. Part of this costume is motivated for the plot, but within the context of this scene, it can represent much more. For example, throughout the entire Nolan trilogy, the mask goes to represent the character of Batman as a whole. It shows that Batman wants to hide his own identity. This could be motivated for many reasons. He could want to protect himself or the ones he loves, but within the context of this scene and allegory, he wears the mask to protect himself from criticism. He knows that his methods are barbaric, and if anyone found out that he was actually Bruce Wayne, people would begin to judge him even when he is not in

costume.
The mask also lends itself to another interpretation to bolster the idea that Nolan disliked the spy program. The mask only allows for a stern expression with no emotions even while Batman is discussing the troubling idea of mass surveillance, and it goes to highlight the callousness by which the American government committed its actions. In a post 9/11 world, the government showed absolutely no regard for the American people’s right to privacy. They collected the phone and data records of millions of Americans with no warrant, necessary by the Constitution. They never apologized and even doubled down on their arguments. Even to this day, they are requesting more access to our private files.
The last stylistic element that supplements the allegory and ideological meaning is the acting of Morgan Freeman and his portrayal of Fox’s grave concern for the seriousness of the situation. Everytime the camera cuts to Fox’s face, he is panning his head, scanning and taking in the shocking revelation. His eyebrows are scrunched and he is frowning in a disapproving fashion. This is all because Fox is astounded to learn that his technology, which was originally used on a small scale to catch one bad guy, has been exponentially expanded upon in a highly inappropriate manner. His face parallels the shock and horror of the American people with the revelation that American had taken its original concept of the Patriot Act and dramatically expanded its power. Even the original drafter of the Patriot Act, Jim Sensenbrenner, has come out in opposition to the NSA and the PRISM surveillance program because it has gone way beyond the original intent.
All of these elements, when combined with the allegory, help bolster the idea that Nolan viewed the surveillance program as evil. The lighting establishes the good and evil dynamic between the differing opinions. The cinematography and editing emphasize the fact that the spy machine and U.S.’s surveillance program in general are the focus of the division. The costuming of Batman with his mask shows the apathetic nature of the U.S. government towards citizen’s privacy and it also serves as a corollary to the government’s desire to hide their true intentions and protect themselves from scrutiny. Finally, the subtle acting of Morgan Freeman is analogous to the reaction of the American people. With all these choices, it is clear that Nolan views America’s policies in a harsh light. The only issue becomes, though, that Nolan pairs this view with the heroic Batman who is the only one who can stop the terroristic Joker. In this scene, Fox also allows Batman to use this technology to stop the Joker, but then he is gone while the device remains. This shows that although Nolan disliked the surveillance program, he, like Fox, understands that it is likely necessary to stop modern terrorism, like how the sonar technology is necessary to stop the Joker.