The Symbol Of Justice In The Dark Knight

Batman’s brand of justice meets its ultimate match with the introduction of the Joker. The Joker represents the counter to Batman’s brand of justice, as the symbol that Batman created is torn down. A major plot point in the Dark Knight is the Joker randomly killing people of Gotham until Batman decides to take off his mask. This is the ultimate threat to the idea of Batman. Batman is meant to be an unknown protector of Gotham, this is what makes him so fearful. Criminals are meant to fear even the sight of the Bat symbol. The Joker threatens this very idea, as if Batman takes off his mask is becomes human. Not only that, but this would end his reign as a vigilante, he would be arrested. Nolan uses this theme to show the audience the ultimate answer to vigilante justice. Nolan’s work is an example of extreme realism. In this realm, the Joker represents a counter response to vigilante justice. As the Joker kills off people every day, the public’s response is to blame Batman. As people fear for their own safety, they attribute the deaths to Batman. This reverses the symbol made by Batman. The symbol of Batman now represents death, random death and random injustice. In some ways the Joker represents a dark vigilante response to the Batman. In the Dark Knight, the Joker could be

Nolan’s films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight show the audience how complex the idea behind vigilante justice can be. With the use of extreme realism, Nolan shows how the idea of a vigilante could play out in our world. In Batman Begins a symbol is created in order to induce fear and conformity. However, in the Dark Knight, this symbol is torn down by fear. Both movies portray a dark reality in the world of vigilante justice. Comparing this to the simplistic version of vigilante justice in Robin Hood, it can be seen how broad the concept of vigilante justice really