Dark Knight and The Hero's Journey

Christopher Nolan's 2008 mega success about Batman's attempts to defeat a criminal mastermind known only as the Joker.
Posts: 29
Joined: July 2011
Most of Nolan's films are structurally unconventional. But with his Dark Knight Trilogy, I think he is very consciously adhering to Campbell's Monomyth. If you look carefully, the clues are quite obvious. I think his goal is to create the classic trilogy of this generation - like the original Star Wars was to his.

When talking about his Batman films, Nolan has always mentioned capturing the grandeur of movies like Star Wars as one of his goals. After creating Star Wars, Lucas openly admitted to using The Hero's Journey "formula" and generations of filmmakers after him have been consciously trying to do it as well when making big, epic sagas and most of them have ended up with inferior attempts (the Matrix Trilogy for instance.)

"Every hero has a journey, every journey has an end."

"The epic conclusion to the Dark Knight legend"

Those are some of the lines used in trailers for TDKR.

First, the Seven Archetypes:

1. Hero: "The Hero is the protagonist or central character, whose primary purpose is to separate from the ordinary world and sacrifice himself for the service of the Journey at hand - to answer the challenge, complete the quest and restore the Ordinary World's balance. We experience the Journey through the eyes of the Hero." - Obviously Bruce Wayne, and a little Jim Gordon, and Harvey Dent

2. Mentor: "The Mentor provides motivation, insights and training to help the Hero." - Ra's Al Ghul, Alfred and Lucious Fox

3. Threshold Guardian: "Threshold Guardians protect the Special World and its secrets from the Hero, and provide essential tests to prove a Hero's commitment and worth." - Ra's Al Ghul

4. Herald: "Herald characters issue challenges and announce the coming of significant change. - Rachel, Scarecrow (the first masked villain)

5. Shapeshifter: "The Shapeshifter's mask misleads the Hero by hiding a character's intentions and loyalties." - Ra's again

6. Shadow: "The Shadow can represent our darkest desires, our untapped resources, or even rejected qualities. It can also symbolize our greatest fears and phobias. Shadows may not be all bad, and may reveal admirable, even redeeming qualities. The Hero's enemies and villains often wear the Shadow mask. This physical force is determined to destroy the Hero and his cause." - Harvey Dent

7. Trickster: "Tricksters relish the disruption of the status quo, turning the Ordinary World into chaos with their quick turns of phrase and physical antics. Although they may not change during the course of their Journeys, their world and its inhabitants are transformed by their antics. The Trickster uses laughter [and ridicule] to make characters see the absurdity of the situation, and perhaps force a change." - Obviously the Joker

So if we analyze the 4 new characters - Bane, Selina Kyle, Miranda Tate, and John Blake, I think Bane will definitely be a Shadow archetype, Selina could be a Hero or Shapeshifter, Miranda could be a Herald or Shapeshifter, and Blake could be a Hero, Herald or Shapeshifter.

This is the Main Hero (Bruce)'s Journey:

1. Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD, where
2. they receive the CALL TO ADVENTURE. (Parents get killed in BB)
3. They are RELUCTANT at first or REFUSE THE CALL, but (refuses to fight Falcone and jumps ship in BB)
4. are encouraged by a MENTOR to (Ra's)
5. CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD and enter the Special World, where (Becoming Batman)
6. they encounter TESTS, ALLIES, AND ENEMIES. (3rd Act of BB, TDK)
7. They APPROACH THE INMOST CAVE, crossing a second threshold - ??
8. where they endure the ORDEAL. - ??
9. They take possession of their REWARD and - ??
10. are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World. - ??
11. They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are transformed by the experience. - ??
12. They RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, a boon or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World. - ??

As you can see, if Bruce is to complete the journey, he has to "die" (go through an Ordeal), find some sort of reward and be resurrected (not literally of course) before he can return to the Ordinary World (live a normal life?).

User avatar
Posts: 1412
Joined: November 2011
Hmm, we may have to pay attention to this once TDKR has been released. Good thread!

User avatar
Posts: 20188
Joined: June 2010
Location: The White City
He's never read Joseph Campbell, but those are some interesting observations.

-Vader

Posts: 1
Joined: January 2012
Busby11 wrote:Most of Nolan's films are structurally unconventional.
Nolan's films are NOT structurally unconventional. It's just that you don't really know hero's journey that well and can't see the structure. They're ALL hero's journey. Seek out Kal Bashir's work, who does a pretty good job of pulling it out of stories. It's much, much more than your basic analysis suggests.

User avatar
Posts: 60
Joined: October 2011
For me, it's more like this:

The Main Hero (Bruce)'s Journey
1. The ordinary world............. Wayne Manor, the original life.
2. The call........................... The bats, the fear.
3. Being reluctant................. Refusing to face his phobia/obstacle, leaving the theater.
4. The encouragement........... "Don't be afraid."
5. First threshold.................. The criminal underworld, Carmine Falcone.
6. The entrance.................... Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Shadows, the 1st Act in BB.
7. Entering the special world.... Becoming the Batman, the 2nd Act in BB.
8. Tests, allies, enemies.......... The 3rd Act in BB to nearing the end of the 3rd Act in TDK.
9. The inmost cave................ The final 20 mins of TDK, the fall of Harvey Dent and the almost losing of hope.
10. Second threshold.............. The decision and the ending of TDK.
11. The ordeal....................... Being hunted.
-below are speculations-
12. The reward..................... "It's peace time."
13. The road........................ "And then you are gone."
14. Back to the ordinary world.. "What if he doesn't exist anymore?"
15. Third threshold................ ??
16. The resurrection.............. ??
17. The transformation........... ??
18. The return...................... ??

I think 12.-14. would be covered in the eight years timespan between TDK and TDKR, so Rises would probably only need to cover 15.-18. to finish the whole journey.
Interesting observations by the way.

Posts: 3257
Joined: January 2012
Location: Israel
As I only read about this briefly online (really wish it was featured in one of my courses :( ) I'd love of someone could analyze any of Nolan's other films according to this.. Especially Memento. Any volunteers? :)


Fakescorpion, I really enjoyed reading that, thank you :)

User avatar
Posts: 60
Joined: October 2011
lalyil wrote:As I only read about this briefly online (really wish it was featured in one of my courses :( ) I'd love of someone could analyze any of Nolan's other films according to this.. Especially Memento. Any volunteers? :)

Fakescorpion, I really enjoyed reading that, thank you :)
You're welcome ;)

Memento would be very hard to do though.
The Hero's Journey is meant to have a beginning and an end. But because of Lenny's condition he would only have a "supposedly" constant beginning, multiple and continues journey, and no end.
I'll post it here later?

PS. I hope this isn't straying of topic :-D

Posts: 3257
Joined: January 2012
Location: Israel
fakescorpion wrote:
lalyil wrote:As I only read about this briefly online (really wish it was featured in one of my courses :( ) I'd love of someone could analyze any of Nolan's other films according to this.. Especially Memento. Any volunteers? :)

Fakescorpion, I really enjoyed reading that, thank you :)
You're welcome ;)

Memento would be very hard to do though.
The Hero's Journey is meant to have a beginning and an end. But because of Lenny's condition he would only have a "supposedly" constant beginning, multiple and continues journey, and no end.
I'll post it here later?

PS. I hope this isn't straying of topic :-D
I'd love it if you could. It'd certainly help me understand it better. Cos I understand this in relation to things such as Batman or the Odyssey.. the classical heroes in a way. But I find it difficult to use this to analyse films such as Memento. Or Reservoir Dogs or The Usual Suspects for example.. I'm just writing a screenplay and my hero is a little more like those..

And nah, I don't think it is, it's still about The Hero's Journey ;)

User avatar
Posts: 60
Joined: October 2011
Memento is a very difficult film to analyze, because there's a big difference between the Journey and the "real" Journey.

Memento
The Main Hero (Leonard)'s Journey (that he believed he took)
-most are speculations, due to contradictory scenes and unreliable narrators-
1. The ordinary world............. The original life.
2. The call........................... The slam of the door, the death of his wife.
3. Being reluctant................. Unable (refuse?) to deal with his memory problem. Staying in an institution.
4. The encouragement........... The notes, the calls.
5. First threshold.................. "Remember Sammy Jankis."
6. The entrance.................... Escaping the institution.
7. Entering the special world.... The conspiracy possibility, the missing criminal records.
8. Tests, allies, enemies.......... The pursuit of John G.
9. The inmost cave................ The killing.
10. Second threshold............. "You lie to yourself to be happy." "Sammy didn't have a wife."
11. The ordeal...................... The truth, the insulin.
12. Take possession............... "Can I just let myself forget what you've just told me?" "Do I lie to myself to be happy?"
13. The reward..................... A puzzle that can never be solved.
-Repeat 7.-13.-
14. The road back to the ordinary world ...X
15. Third threshold............................. X
16. The resurrection........................... X
17. The transformation........................ X
18. The return................................... X

EDIT: Note that 4. and 7. are hinted that they were all Leonard's own doings, much like 12.
Last edited by fakescorpion on April 14th, 2012, 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Posts: 3257
Joined: January 2012
Location: Israel
fakescorpion wrote:Memento is a very difficult film to analyze, because there's a big difference between the Journey and the "real" Journey.

Memento
The Main Hero (Leonard)'s Journey (that he believed he took)
-most are speculations, due to contradictory scenes and unreliable narrators-
1. The ordinary world............. The original life.
2. The call........................... The slam of the door, the death of his wife.
3. Being reluctant................. Unable (refuse?) to deal with his memory problem. Staying in an institution.
4. The encouragement........... The notes, the calls.
5. First threshold.................. "Remember Sammy Jankis."
6. The entrance.................... Escaping the institution.
7. Entering the special world.... The conspiracy possibility, the missing criminal records.
8. Tests, allies, enemies.......... The pursuit of John G.
9. The inmost cave................ The killing.
10. Second threshold............. "You lie to yourself to be happy." "Sammy didn't have a wife."
11. The ordeal...................... The truth, the insulin.
12. Take possession............... "Can I just let myself forget what you've just told me?" "Do I lie to myself to be happy?"
13. The reward..................... A puzzle that can never be solved.
-Repeat 7.-13.-
14. The road back to the ordinary world ...X
15. Third threshold............................. X
16. The resurrection........................... X
17. The transformation........................ X
18. The return................................... X
VERY helpful. Thank you. You've given me loads to ponder about :D

Post Reply