CONT'D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despanan
You did, the orphanage and the shelter they ran later.
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As above. I’m not arguing that these representations aren’t
there, I’m arguing that plenty of them are sparse to the point of lip-service.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despanan
There were no real revolutionaries because it was never a real revolution. The whole revolution was manufactured by Bane specifically to torture the people of Gotham.
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You’re arguing that Bane
didn’t tap into a real and culturally present impulse towards social change, to mobilize the most disenfranchised of the people (those in the mobs, at least) into assisting with his destructive plan? Wow. You actually just made the movie a little LESS interesting for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despanan
(Seriously dude, Blake psychologically profiled Bruce Wayne to figure out he was Batman. Orphan senses nothing, that's precisely how Hugo Strange figured it out in the comics.)
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He psychologically profiled him to confirm what he’d already come to suspect via orphan-radar. Nod to the comics or not, that’s weak storytelling since it doesn’t hold up as a convincing plot point on its own terms.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despanan
Proving yet again that way more thought and nuance went into this movie than you gave it credit for.
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Errr, my entire argument here has been pushing contradictions and general nuances that complexify its overall leftist slant. Like I said, I kind of thought the ‘prioritise social justice’ elements were dominant enough to not need pointing out; it was the method of their delivery that sometimes betrayed conflicting ideology. This isn’t ‘bad’ to my mind, even if I happen to think the movie is. It’s interesting, because there’s no piece of art created by humankind that doesn’t carry cultural imprints: the fear of social upheaval that accompanies the recognition of the need for change in TDKR seems perfectly human to me (even if it falls back on authoritarianism in resolving the anxieties it communicates), and maybe even tell us something about the patterns people are engaging with in popular films right now.
I still thought it was a shitty film, but not because of its politics. If dodgy ideology ruined art entirely for me I’d never get to enjoy anything FFS.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despanan
But you're also a playwright? Awesome. Where have you been produced? I'm always down with connecting with other people in the industry.
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I’m not sure how “in the industry” an active NY-based playwright would consider me really. I’ve had shows on in two venues in South East England – both by small independent theatre companies on modest budgets, but still, it was awesome seeing them up there and the turn-out was decent (though obviously All Our Friends came too
). I’m not sure I’m motivated enough or good enough to do more than dabble locally (I’m also trying to finish a novel and have article-writing and work and life and stuff to keep me busy), but I’d like to think I’ll always have time for a play on the go on an as & when basis. (Congratulations on NY Fringe, by the way - that’s really cool. For real.)