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Unlike most big-screen superhero properties, Christopher Nolan's Batman films have combined blockbuster appeal with cinematic artistry and thematic complexity. In this comprehensive study guide encompassing the entire trilogy, Peter GutiÉrrez discusses how senior students can critically and creatively engage with one of the most lauded pop culture texts of recent years.
It is the rare film series that commands critical respect while becoming a box office powerhouse and capturing the imagination of millions of fans - many of whom had good reason to doubt that the big-screen adaptation of a beloved property would be so satisfying across multiple instalments. According to these criteria, perhaps the Lord of the Rings trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003) is the only recent series that can compare to Christopher Nolan's Batman films - the Dark Knight trilogy. Nolan, the British filmmaker whose signature blend of cerebral and pulpy thrills is evident in such films as Memento (2000) and Inception (2010), has arguably set a new standard for both the superhero genre and, more broadly, the 'thinking person's' action-adventure film with the Dark Knight trilogy. Batman Begins (2005) rebooted a dormant, even ridiculed, film franchise by radically re-interpreting its title character in terms both psychologically real and culturally relevant. Its sequel, The Dark Knight (2008), heightened the series' narrative and moral complexity while on its way to becoming a global pop culture sensation and the second-highest grossing film of all time; clearly Nolan's approach, which blends high spectacle with intelligent, memorable drama, holds appeal for audiences around the world. The trilogy's conclusion, the even more ambitious The Dark Knight Rises (2012), prompted years of frenzied speculation prior to release and divided fans and critics afterwards. Sadly, it is also notable for forever being linked to the Aurora, Colorado theatre shootings on the film's opening day in the US.
The undeniable technical skill on display in the films, and their thoughtful, often powerful, thematic strands lend themselves to critical engagement not simply about the trilogy's content, but about the deeper cultural impact of popular cinema itself. What does it mean to be a hero in today's world, and how is that conception both informed by, and reflected in, the big-screen epics that we find so compelling? Moreover, how does one go...