Looking at both Nosferatu and Let the Right One In and analysing a scene from each film.

Didn’t know if this should be on our blogs but to be safe I’ve put it there as well.

The Joker as the ultimate antagonist, specifically to Batman, is what makes The Dark Knight so special. In order for Batman to be as dark of a character as he is The Dark Knight needed an antagonist to match the tone of the film.

This match is carefully done to the point that the two characters are interlinked with each other and share each other’s goals, even with their drastically different motives to achieve it. They are literally two sides of the same coin fighting for one goal; to win over ‘the soul of Gotham’. Although both try to reach for this goal, they go about it with opposite motives but ultimately end up doing the same thing – hurting people to get the goal.

With this, the Joker had to of been powerful enough to create this new Batman. He was always one step ahead and put consistent pressure on the Batman to make choices that interfere with Batman’s inner morality, like choosing to either save Rachel or Harvey. The threat had to feel real and the Joker had to feel impossible to beat in order for them to reach the same goal. Batman had to of had ‘nothing to threaten him with’ in order for the Joker to feel like the looming devil over Gotham, trying to prove people are corruptible, this making it why the Joker is the ultimate antagonist.

In terms of representation, The Dark Knight, Christoper Nolan presents us with a more unconventional hero. This version of Batman is much more dark and unforgiving by pairing him with and equally dark and unforgiving villain which he has to live up to. This introduction of the biggest villain meant Batman had to be a darker hero for a darker time of which represented the time real people in America were facing like events such as 9/11.  Although he still does follow a lot of the conventions of a superhero character, he also breaks this because of the grittier themes and conflicts that come up from realism inside the story.

The slideshow also explores the character of the Batman: