Gotham Gets The Hero It Deserves
Jul. 20th, 2008 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabid1stDark Knight spoilers under the cut...also...some Doctor Who S4 Finale spoilers, too.
Went to see the new Batman movie today and THAT was a fantastic movie. I mean...not just really Zowie! but a well done film. A tad too long...yes! But still just lovely. And Heath Ledger should probably be nominated for something...I'm not sure if it is an Oscar but it might be a Golden Globe win. He did a very fine bit of work there as the nihilistic Joker.
My first reaction to the film was..."Hey! It's daylight!" People turned to look at me, but that's because it didn't strike them as odd. Still, if you go back...very little daylight in Batman films. Lots of daylight in this one. And that's good because bad things DO happen in the light of day. And then there is the story of the Joker's permanent smile. So affecting and yet...so very funny, as it turns out. Why so serious? Because that was legitimately disturbing.
And it ended perfectly...that was the perfect ending for that movie. And so here we see that I am not a romantic, but am instead, an idealist...or a perfectionist...or both. I didn't care if the hero got the girl...I figured they were doomed...I didn't figure it would go the way it went...but I was perfectly okay with how it went. If ever there was a lonely God...a man who makes the choices to battle endlessly and is one step from the villians he battles...it is Batman.
He is battered and conflicted but he pulls deep into himself and finds something to hold onto...his principles. He won't kill the bad guy either. And so the bad guy...wins...by breaking the best person...destroying all that he holds dear.
My point...to the chagrin and dismay of my readers...is that man is NOT the Doctor. The Doctor isn't Batman. Nor should he be Harvey Dent.
He's not all about pain, suffering and loss. Nor is he a man who is always alone. Usually, he's with someone. Still, not anymore. He's become more and more isolated. He no longer believes in hope...or Rose. Remember how afraid he was to let Donna come onboard? So, how is he supposed to connect to the NEXT companion? How or why would WE connect to her or him?
For years, the Doctor was a beacon of hope and joy for Saturday night. When he arrived you knew things were going to get better. People would be set free and have wonderful adventures. Sure...people did die in Doctor Who...but mostly he STOPPED the dying by really solving the problem.
We wanted to travel with him...be him. Now, he's become a lone vigilante...one step above the monsters he fights...holding out his hand to the villians, while turning a cold shoulder to the people who love him. He leaves broken, sad people in his wake. He forces those who care about him into really painful situations. Yes, he is still motivated by love...he still cares for the ones he leaves behind...but not enough to listen to them. He is trying to do the right thing...as he sees it. So we have to believe that he knows best...some of us do.
I don't...because he's still running. The man who keeps running.
Is this our hero? Is this the Doctor we deserve? Is this what our society calls out for...because we barely have any connection to anything? Are we so isolated that perpetual isolation looks like heroism to us? This is my problem with the end of Doctor Who this season. It's not hopeful. It's bleak. It's the Dark Knight being chased by dogs. It is saying that there really is no bright light...only lies and empty rooms. And yet...we do hope. All over fandom there is hope. Hope for Rose and 10.2...and their altVerse. Hope that there will be a sequel. Hope that Moffat or someone will save us.
Batman sacrificed himself for the greater good...but the Doctor sacrificed the better life of everyone around him so he could keep running...from himself and from any loss he might have to face.
Batman? Can you hear me, Batman?
Went to see the new Batman movie today and THAT was a fantastic movie. I mean...not just really Zowie! but a well done film. A tad too long...yes! But still just lovely. And Heath Ledger should probably be nominated for something...I'm not sure if it is an Oscar but it might be a Golden Globe win. He did a very fine bit of work there as the nihilistic Joker.
My first reaction to the film was..."Hey! It's daylight!" People turned to look at me, but that's because it didn't strike them as odd. Still, if you go back...very little daylight in Batman films. Lots of daylight in this one. And that's good because bad things DO happen in the light of day. And then there is the story of the Joker's permanent smile. So affecting and yet...so very funny, as it turns out. Why so serious? Because that was legitimately disturbing.
And it ended perfectly...that was the perfect ending for that movie. And so here we see that I am not a romantic, but am instead, an idealist...or a perfectionist...or both. I didn't care if the hero got the girl...I figured they were doomed...I didn't figure it would go the way it went...but I was perfectly okay with how it went. If ever there was a lonely God...a man who makes the choices to battle endlessly and is one step from the villians he battles...it is Batman.
He is battered and conflicted but he pulls deep into himself and finds something to hold onto...his principles. He won't kill the bad guy either. And so the bad guy...wins...by breaking the best person...destroying all that he holds dear.
My point...to the chagrin and dismay of my readers...is that man is NOT the Doctor. The Doctor isn't Batman. Nor should he be Harvey Dent.
He's not all about pain, suffering and loss. Nor is he a man who is always alone. Usually, he's with someone. Still, not anymore. He's become more and more isolated. He no longer believes in hope...or Rose. Remember how afraid he was to let Donna come onboard? So, how is he supposed to connect to the NEXT companion? How or why would WE connect to her or him?
For years, the Doctor was a beacon of hope and joy for Saturday night. When he arrived you knew things were going to get better. People would be set free and have wonderful adventures. Sure...people did die in Doctor Who...but mostly he STOPPED the dying by really solving the problem.
We wanted to travel with him...be him. Now, he's become a lone vigilante...one step above the monsters he fights...holding out his hand to the villians, while turning a cold shoulder to the people who love him. He leaves broken, sad people in his wake. He forces those who care about him into really painful situations. Yes, he is still motivated by love...he still cares for the ones he leaves behind...but not enough to listen to them. He is trying to do the right thing...as he sees it. So we have to believe that he knows best...some of us do.
I don't...because he's still running. The man who keeps running.
Is this our hero? Is this the Doctor we deserve? Is this what our society calls out for...because we barely have any connection to anything? Are we so isolated that perpetual isolation looks like heroism to us? This is my problem with the end of Doctor Who this season. It's not hopeful. It's bleak. It's the Dark Knight being chased by dogs. It is saying that there really is no bright light...only lies and empty rooms. And yet...we do hope. All over fandom there is hope. Hope for Rose and 10.2...and their altVerse. Hope that there will be a sequel. Hope that Moffat or someone will save us.
Batman sacrificed himself for the greater good...but the Doctor sacrificed the better life of everyone around him so he could keep running...from himself and from any loss he might have to face.
Batman? Can you hear me, Batman?