How does this 2012 film, the last in the Chris Nolan Batman Trilogy, reflect contemporary concerns with national security measures such as the Patriot Act? How does nemesis Bane’s takeover of Gotham City reflect revolutionary rhetoric and its rationalization of violence and injustice? How does it mirror the rhetoric that appeared in the French Revolution and other periods of history? How does it force audiences to consider similar rhetoric behind the contemporaneous “Occupy Wall Street” movements of the time? How is it that the film garnered controversy at both ends of the political spectrum? How does the film’s treatment of Batman’s ultimate fate explore the notion of founding myths and their connections with the maintenance of civil order? How does this mythology function in Gotham with regard to Harvey Dent, and now, Batman?

Broadcast on:

19 Mar 2022