Would The Dark Knight have survived in this new era of Feminism

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If the Dark Knight were made today, it would be criticized so much while in production that it would end up a quite different movie from what we saw. The two big strikes against it are that people criticize DC no matter what and love Marvel no matter what.

If Nolan returned to direct a 4th movie I'd only imagine there would be only huge hype with comments like "he's the only one that can do DC" etc

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If the Dark Knight were made today, it would be criticized so much while in production that it would end up a quite different movie from what we saw. The two big strikes against it are that people criticize DC no matter what and love Marvel no matter what.

If Nolan returned to direct a 4th movie I'd only imagine there would be only huge hype with comments like "he's the only one that can do DC" etc

[DrNewGod]

Survive? Not a problem.

Get some Fridging push-back? Probably.

[Osiris-Rex]

First things first, Timesup and Me Too are specific movements and aren't just about female/feminist issues. A number of male celebrities spoke up about their experiences in the industry. Obviously, these movements are female driven (because there was a culture of female sexual harassment) but it's about sexual harassment in general. I don't know what this has to do with the Dark Knight but it seems the OP has more of a problem with feminism than anything else.

Nolan has received criticism of his lack of strong female presence in his movies but it's not anything that could prevent the movie from "surviving".

Besides, if John Wick and John Wick (far more gritty movies than the Dark Knight) then most people won't have a problem with the movie.

Wait, what? Yes, different movie. But what about Selina Kyle and Talia? Hell, it was Selina Kyle who killed Bane and saved Batman. For all practical purposes Batman was the damsel in distress.

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Wait, what? Yes, different movie. But what about Selina Kyle and Talia? Hell, it was Selina Kyle who killed Bane and saved Batman. For all practical purposes Batman was the damsel in distress.

What I still don't understand about Rises is why Talia slept with Bruce? You can make an argument that it was to gain his trust but it comes across as just giving her something to do.

The funny thing is Marion Cotillard is probably considered the most actory actress in all the films but she imo gave the worst performance out of all of the actresses in the films. Her death scene in particular is awful.

[MindofShadow]

What I still don't understand about Rises is why Talia slept with Bruce? You can make an argument that it was to gain his trust but it comes across as just giving her something to do.

The funny thing is Marion Cotillard is probably considered the most actory actress in all the films but she imo gave the worst performance out of all of the actresses in the films. Her death scene in particular is awful.

Never forget

[Username taken]

Wait, what? Yes, different movie. But what about Selina Kyle and Talia? Hell, it was Selina Kyle who killed Bane and saved Batman. For all practical purposes Batman was the damsel in distress.

True.

I actually don't really agree with the criticism but heck..

[Username taken]

Never forget

When I watched the movie, that death didn't really stand out to me.

It was just like...whatever.

[Totoro Man]

I will start by saying I loved the film, think it is interstellar years ahead of today's formulaic comic movies. One of the minor criticisms back then about the movie was the portrayal of female characters. Dark Knight is a macho film. In 2008, it was easy to sweep this problem under the rug. In 2018, it would be difficult in the era of time's up, me too, empowering female characters, equal gender pay and strong female leads.

I don't think critics and others would have forgiven the movie on the wasted potential that was Rachel after her excellent portrayal in Batman Begins as her character was one of the most pointless and non effective female characters in any movie. I had some nitpicks with her

She was just a love interest
Maggie Gyllenhaal was unimpressive in the role, Katie Holmes was much better and I have to say it but yes, far prettier
Unconvincing love story between Her and Dent
Non-effective to the entire plot. I wish Nolan wrote a better reason for Dent becoming Two Face.

I can erase Rachel from the movie and still have the movie 90% as it is. She is that disposable in the film. Progressive Feminists may have raged against this movie in 2008 with all the attention the film received and could have done it major harm.

yes. if "the Dark Knight" were released right now it would survive in this 'new era of Feminism'. it certainly has some flaws and plot holes... but as RikWriter pointed out.... regular people would still love it. Ledger and Eckhardt both gave great performances as two of Batman's most iconic villains. the action was a bit murky, but the character dynamics worked well. the good would still generally outweigh the bad.

I don't think that Rachel Dawes was a love interest for Batman in "the Dark Knight". I think he already knows, in his heart, that he lost her. but he wants to believe that if he could somehow give up being Batman that she would still be waiting for him. this is classic Nolan character self-deception at work. we're shown repeatedly that she's a love interest for Harvey Dent. she also demonstrates a reasonable amount of agency and influence for a minor/supporting character.

the fact that Batman saves her isn't even a big deal, or especially demeaning... because saving people is something he does all the time.

Rachel Dawes isn't a full-blown Mary Sue like Rey in "the Last Jedi"... but, she doesn't have to be. not every character can be as fiery and strong-willed as Mattie Ross.

I actually disliked Katie Holmes' performance as Rachel Dawes. she seemed like a nag - and she also sent out a variety of conflicting signals at the end of the film (aka "we can't be together" but I'm going to hold your hand and walk side-by-side with you anyways). I don't blame Holmes for that.. I blame Nolan for crossing those wires. but that was a fairly minor nitpick. she could do angry well enough - like when she slapped Bruce Wayne in the car... but on most other fronts I thought she skidded through the movie. Katie Holmes is tolerable, I'll grant you that, but not handsome enough to tempt me. (sorry, gotta make a "Pride and Prejudice" joke here)

I don't care that Gyllenhaal wasn't as 'pretty' - she's consistently a better actor and more engaging on screen than Holmes. I liked how she portrayed the character better. the fact that I've never particularly enjoyed Holmes as an actor doesn't really help either.

yes, Rachel's death is what caused Harvey Dent to turn into Two Face. sure, you may not like it... but a lot of people apparently found it very convincing. about half the younger married guys I knew at that time thought it was a pretty convincing transformation: losing the person you care about most and getting horribly injured can inspire some pretty strange behavior. and he was obviously tormented by his own complicity in her death - unable to accept his guilt in her death he started lashing out against the people he felt were -more- responsible. as if this somehow might completely exonerate him. is the writing a little bit thin on that matter? sure, but given the fact that they were both minor characters it was serviceable enough.

I'm more disappointed that we didn't get to see more of Eckhardt as Two Face because he's literally the ONLY good version of that character in live-action film.

oh well, to each their own.

[Totoro Man]

Never forget

LOL. it's like watching a petulant toddler at a daycare suddenly falling asleep at naptime. (no! no, I say I won't fall aslee... zzzz)

she sorta made up for this in "Macbeth". I thought that, with her and Fassbender in the two leads, it should be a pretty fun version of the Bard... but, damn! that movie was terrible! she was the best part of that sad, sad little film. probably proof that the guy was just a terrible director... how do you get a classic script and two leading actors like that and have the movie be so painfully dull?

oops... off-topic rant.

[Hall]

Speaking of Rachael/Katie Holmes. Apparently she was not in the film because of Tom Cruise and his Scientology believes. What a dumb way to mess up her career.

[Osiris-Rex]

Speaking of Rachael/Katie Holmes. Apparently she was not in the film because of Tom Cruise and his Scientology believes. What a dumb way to mess up her career.

Tom Cruise got her blackballed? Why, what did she say negative about Scientology?

[Coin Biter]

Speaking of Rachael/Katie Holmes. Apparently she was not in the film because of Tom Cruise and his Scientology believes. What a dumb way to mess up her career.

I’ve heard it was because she was appearing in a film called Mad Money at the time. I’ve never seen it; I understand it to be dreadful But she was appearing opposite Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah, and Rachel in Batman Begins wasn’t really that great a part, let’s be frank, she was rather annoying if anything. So it might have seemed like a decent move when she did it.

[Scott Taylor]

Never forget

That the third movie was brilliant? I won't

[regg215]

It would certainly get more criticism but more from the way that movie "journalism" has changed than anything related to feminism. That and the fact that the Marvel V DC fanboy war over superhero movies in 2008 was no where near as bad as it is now. There would be a ton of sites running clickbait articles taking shots at the movie. There would also be a lot of the now obligatory articles about "fridging" rachel and every site would run the obligatory " 10 reasons why the dark knight isn't as good as you think (and 2 reasons it was)" type articles. You would also have the more vocal marvel fanboys analyzing every frame looking for any mistakes the movie made and harping on those (the same way some DC fanboys take apart every marvel movie). Even with all that I think overall the general audience would still have absolutely loved the movie and it would still be seen as an amazing movie.