The Dark Knight

[oyceter]

I note that I did actually like the movie, and that I am a huge Batman fan and have been ever since I was seven and watched the dorky Adam West show and pretended I was the Batcycle when my sister was Batgirl (I was fueled by orange Tic Tacs). I also note that dark Batman appeals to the teenager in me, who read Dark Knight Returns at an incredibly impressionable age.

And yet...

Wow. So Rachel Dawes is the Woman in the Refrigerator for not one, but two men? Way to work in your misogyny while keeping the women in the film to a minimum.

Also, I'm so glad that the cowardly, money-grubbing, white-collar criminals are foreign Chinese people; the thuggish, street criminals are black; and that the mob is black, Italian, and Eastern European. *rolls eyes* It's great that there were some POC in secondary, non-criminal roles, but really, I think three minutes of a black police commissioner or Morgan Freeman's presence doesn't quite take the sting away from the implication that most criminals are POC. And even then, the biggest mastermind villain (Joker) is still white!

Despite my issues with how Rachel Dawes was handled, I very much liked what they did with Harvey Dent—my dad commented that Aaron Eckhart had the most to do in the movie, and I agree. That said, I wanted to slap Alfred for his decision to burn Rachel's letter, and I wanted to slap everyone who was all, "Gotham will be saved by a lie! Batman is so noble and heroic for walking off and being the bad guy!"

I cannot quite articulate why, as I do agree about the practical reasoning for covering Harvey Dent's crimes. Possibly it's because Batman's level of violence and property destruction (action movies really are fantasy) makes me scoff at the notion that Batman would even care about his reputation.

I think I may also be superhero-movie-d out; I'm tired of endless debate on what's moral or not for superheroes and wish that there were more of a deconstruction of superheroes and the entire action movie genre. Let's see how the Watchmen movie goes...

Comments

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

I'm currently reading 'Of Like Minds' which is Gail Simone's first arc? It introduces Huntess, (who I love) and Huntress's costume (which I don't).

I've already read the first trade of The All-New Atom, which is written by Simone and it really impressed me, despite the fact that I'd only picked it up because I'd heard of Gail from the WiR thing and I thought it'd be easier to get into a new character. Which is the same reason I got into the (new) Blue Beetle, who I love a little too much, considering that he is a fictional 16 year-old boy.

That and a little bit of Batman (Murderer + Fugitive, Year One) which put me off Batman completely, is my entire experience of American superhero comics.

[karenhealey.livejournal.com]

Oh *yes*, you are right smack bang in the middle of the creepy creepy art. After I think three trades a couple of new artists start doing some of the work, and then the book gets Nicola Scott as permanent artist and it is wonderful. The women are still a little slender, but all of a sudden their faces are unique and no one talks from their butt and teenage girls actually look like teenagers.

Blue Beetle is superduperawesome. There is no too much loving for Jaime!

If you were looking for more recs, I can make some!

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

So there is light at the end of the tunnel!

I keep getting confused and annoyed by superhero comic art, because they keep changing artists, and I keep getting confused about who is who. I never had this problem with manga.

I am in the process of building a big list of recs. (http://shewhohashope.livejournal.com/104054.html) Superhero comics are okay as well.

[Are you the woman from girlsreadcomics? Because if so, you are part of the reason I moved from vaguely interested in feminist critique of (American) comics to actually reading them. I'd be annoyed, but you sort of introduced me to my fictional boyfriend, so you're off the hook]

And also, I rec The 99 without having seen it based on this post (http://brokenmystic.wordpress.com/2008/07/26/female-muslim-and-mutant-a-critique-of-muslim-women-in-comic-books-part-2-of-2/).

[karenhealey.livejournal.com]

That woman is me!

Who's your fictional boyfriend?

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

The new Blue Beetle! I'd have to fight Traci 13 for him, but she's also fictional.