Article:
Shadows of the Bat: Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan

Simple item page
dc.creatorBorn, Simon Philipp
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-15T11:47:08Z
dc.date.available2023-05-15T11:47:08Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractThe superhero narrative is typically premised on the conflict between the hero and the villain, the mythical struggle between good and evil. It therefore promotes a Manichaean worldview where good and evil are clearly distinguishable quantities. This bipolar model is questioned in the Batman movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan. Since his creation in 1939, Batman has blurred the line between black and white unlike any other classic comic book superhero. As a “floating signifier”, he symbolizes the permeability of boundaries, for his liminal character inhabits a world between light and darkness, order and anarchy, hero and villain. Drawing on the complex ambiguity of the character, Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan deconstruct the traditional dichotomy of good and evil in the superhero narrative by reversing its polarity and emphasizing the fictionality of it all. Although they differ in style and method, both filmmakers invite us to overcome the Manichaean belief in favor of a more ambivalent and sophisticated viewpoint.en
dc.identifier.doi10.25364/05.3:2017.1.5
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/19452
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/article/view/81
dc.identifier.urihttps://mediarep.org/handle/doc/20639
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherSchüren
dc.publisher.placeMarburg
dc.relation.isPartOfissn:2617-3697
dc.relation.ispartofseriesJournal for Religion, Film and Media
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.subjectConstructionsen
dc.subjectGood and Evilen
dc.subjectBatman Moviesen
dc.subject.ddcddc:300
dc.subject.personChristopher Nolan
dc.subject.personTim Burton
dc.titleShadows of the Bat: Constructions of Good and Evil in the Batman Movies of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolanen
dc.typearticle
dc.type.statuspublishedVersion
dspace.entity.typeArticleen
local.coverpage2023-05-15T14:00:39
local.identifier.firstpublishedhttps://www.jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/article/view/81
local.source.epage104
local.source.issue1
local.source.issueTitleDrawn Stories, Moving Images. Comic Books and their Screen Adaptations
local.source.spage75
local.source.volume3
local.subject.gndhttps://d-nb.info/gnd/12394192X
local.subject.gndhttps://d-nb.info/gnd/118898868
local.subject.wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25191
local.subject.wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56008

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
JRFM_03_01_2017_75-104_Shadows_Born_.pdf
Size:
698.58 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Original PDF with additional cover page.
Download

Collections

2017 | 1