Batman Begins , the Dark Knight Trilogy, and the Taming of the Orient
Abstract
ABSTRACT Christoper Nolan's 2005 Batman Begins and the subsequent Dark Knight films (2008, 2012) represent a critical juncture in the history of twenty‐first century film, helping to inaugurate a twenty‐first neo‐noir and gritty realist trend. The films also deal with the thorny issue of Orientalism. Bruce Wayne receives a lot of his martial arts and philosophical training in the “Eurasian” East. However, this use of “Old World” ideas must be tamed by Western technology and Anglo‐American liberal humanism. Ultimately, the film series is a celebration of Anglo‐American thought over the allegedly threatening, reactionary East.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Cinema History and Criticism
Cinema and Media Studies
Gothic Literature and Media Analysis
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Journal of Popular Culture
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 131–137
- Publication date
- 15 January 2026
- Language
- EN