The Dark Knight Trilogy

Christopher Nolan's 2012 superhero film "The Dark Knight Rises" had attracted numerous commentaries as well as interpretations of its subtle criticism of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Being in a region so closely related to China, local critics and media were somewhat interested in interpreting the many hidden messages about those familiar phenomena in a communist regime. In the film, Bane encourages people to rise up in righteous indignation against the police, the government and the rich people. Doesn't that sound familiar if you had lived (or know someone who lived) under a communist regime in the 1960s? Terrorism is used to crack down the “corruption” of Gotham, and Bane claims that he "liberates" the oppressed by establishing an army of the people. PLA? Again, doesn't that sound familiar? The film clearly exposes it's all a horrifying lie!

Five Villain's Perspectives

But few would appreciate the humanity side of the film, which could only be observed if you are still able to take a kid's approach of interpreting a character in a superhero comic, i.e., you're either a hero or villain. The spectrum of psychology of villains are represented by the five obvious villainous characters in the Dark Knight trilogy, namely, Harvey Dent, Bane, Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow), The Joker, and Ra's al Ghul. They represent real-life villainous psychology that has an amazing resemblance in any practical setting!

Harvey Dent: Believing in Chance 機會主義

"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain... ... The only morality in an amoral world is chance. Chance is the only reality in this cruel world. Unprejudiced. Unbiased. Fair..." Opportunists aren't necessarily bad. The world is full of chances and we are all supposed to grasp them as they come along if we judge each time that it is right to do so. But what makes one a villain is that he chooses to give up his conscience when a chance comes in his way.

Bane: Creating Despair 滅絕希望

"There's a reason why this prison is the worst hell on earth - Hope. Every man who has ventured here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy... so simple... and like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many have died trying. I learned here that there can be no true despair without hope. So, as I terrorize this city (Gotham), I will feed its people hope to let them believe they can survive so that you can watch them clamoring over each other to 'stay in the sun'." Apparently, we hardly need such a long explanation of how despair is created, as our Chinese translation of the word "despair" tells exactly how it is done: 絕望 literally means deprivation (絕) of hope (望).

Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow): Torturing with Fear 恐怖主義

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself! I'm here to help." This quote is borrowed from the famous inaugural speech by President Franklin Roosevelt: the only thing we have to fear is ... fear itself. After 911, we all know how terrorists exploit this human weakness to attack. You don't need tanks or machine guns, just "fear" would torture an entire nation.

The Joker: Exploitation of Chaos 「放」火打劫

"Nobody panics when things go according to plans, even if the plan is horrifying! ... Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair." Knowing what would likely happen is what we perceive as being secured and safe. When you knock people out of their comfort zone where they used to know how things would happen, they get panicked and lose the ability to judge. In history, this was often how battles were lost.

Ra's al Ghul: Insistence of "Justice" 自命替天行道

"When a forest grows too wild a purging fire is inevitable and natural... ... If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them, ... and stab them in the heart."

Among the five villains, Ra's al Ghul is regarded as most dangerous as he truly believes he is saving the world and doing justice to humanity by his own norm and in his own way. But isn't it true that we do sometimes err on the same side as Ra's al Ghul in some sense as we always believe what we do is correct and well justified!

July 2013