Culture news “I was right to be afraid” Christopher Nolan can't take it anymore: this film is totally misunderstood by fans
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There is no point introducing Christopher Nolan in 2024. This British director, crowned with his teams of 7 Oscars and several Golden Globes for Oppenheimer, is one of the most influential personalities in Hollywood today. Despite his numerous cinematic successes, he regrets that one of his films is completely misunderstood by some fans.
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The Dark Knight Rises, a right-wing film?
Christopher Nolan's film creations are known and recognized around the world for their complex story, their multiple narrative layers and their hidden meanings to be discovered viewing after viewing. However, very few if any of them tackle politics head-on, with the exception of one film which deviates from this rule, according to some moviegoers. Indeed, The Dark Knights Rises released in 2012 is labeled a “right-wing film” by part of the audience.
It must be recognized that several themes which run through and structure the conclusion of the Dark Knight trilogy echo political visions favorable to authority, law and order embodied here by Batman. Besides, this billionaire applying personal and expeditious justice could encourage (still according to some) individualism associated with a right-wing ideology in the face of the collectivism of villains including Bane, a concept historically linked to the left. Without forgetting the use of mass surveillance technology in The Dark Knight – a technology destroyed by Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox at the end of the film – which recalls the dark hours of the Patriot Act or even the law Global Security.
Christopher Nolan speaks
Faced with these positions and this misinterpretation of the subject of The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan resolved to speak out in order to defend his film and re-establish the truth as to its original intentions. For the British-born filmmaker, this third part is inherently left-wing. After confirming this state of affairs, he clarifies his point by detailing the progression of his thoughts.
Of all my films, The Dark Knight Rises is the one that has been pulled and pushed in the most directions. I think you have to make an effort to watch the film and attribute right-wing characteristics to it. In fact, he is more left-wing.
When people listen to Bane and say, “He sounds like Donald Trump,” or Donald Trump sounds like him, well, he's a demagogue. He's the bad guy. What was I afraid of when I made The Dark Knight Rises? I was afraid of demagoguery. Turns out I was right to be afraid. The film was not supposed to be political. It's not meant to be, it's about primal fears. -Christopher Nolan