The Dark Knight Film Study
Jiggy Patel
COMM3321: Critical Reading & Writing
Section 103
Janet Bertsch
“Why so serious?” Is the catch phrase that Joker uses from the movie The Dark Knight. (Nolan, 2008) The scene that is being analyzed is when the Joker crashes Harvey Dent fundraiser party and is looking for Harvey Dent. Prior to the scene, Harvey Dent is the District Attorney of Gotham City and was responsible for locking up half the mob in a single day. The Joker main goal was to wreak chaos in Gotham City and wanted to show how people can abandon their personal belief and sink into corruption.
In the scene, the Joker enters the room looking for Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne locked up Harvey in a safe place where the Joker could not find him. During that scene the Joker had two encounters: one with the elderly man and one with Rachel Dawes. This is important, because Joker tells two stories about his family history and reveals how he got his scars on his cheek. He mentions how he hated his father, because his father was alcoholic and abused his mother. (This is revealed in earlier scenes) When he confronted Rachel Dawes, he tells her another story of how his wife has a gambling problem and assumed debt. The loan sharks carved her face and she becomes miserable. So he decided to carve his face so he can make her happy, but she could not stand him and went away. Then the Joker had his first encounter with Batman and a fight breaks out. Joker gets his hands on Rachel and toss her out the window. Batman goes after Rachel and saves her. Meanwhile, the Joker escapes.
The director uses three elements that can relate to the overall plot and information about the character. The use of camera technique, sound effects/music, and the symbolisms/motifs used to portray the Joker.
When the Joker enters the room, the camera focuses on the Joker casually walking into the party. Joker attitude and his behavior show him like he owned the room. As he blasted a shot from his shotgun, the camera
COMM3321: Critical Reading & Writing
Section 103
Janet Bertsch
“Why so serious?” Is the catch phrase that Joker uses from the movie The Dark Knight. (Nolan, 2008) The scene that is being analyzed is when the Joker crashes Harvey Dent fundraiser party and is looking for Harvey Dent. Prior to the scene, Harvey Dent is the District Attorney of Gotham City and was responsible for locking up half the mob in a single day. The Joker main goal was to wreak chaos in Gotham City and wanted to show how people can abandon their personal belief and sink into corruption.
In the scene, the Joker enters the room looking for Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne locked up Harvey in a safe place where the Joker could not find him. During that scene the Joker had two encounters: one with the elderly man and one with Rachel Dawes. This is important, because Joker tells two stories about his family history and reveals how he got his scars on his cheek. He mentions how he hated his father, because his father was alcoholic and abused his mother. (This is revealed in earlier scenes) When he confronted Rachel Dawes, he tells her another story of how his wife has a gambling problem and assumed debt. The loan sharks carved her face and she becomes miserable. So he decided to carve his face so he can make her happy, but she could not stand him and went away. Then the Joker had his first encounter with Batman and a fight breaks out. Joker gets his hands on Rachel and toss her out the window. Batman goes after Rachel and saves her. Meanwhile, the Joker escapes.
The director uses three elements that can relate to the overall plot and information about the character. The use of camera technique, sound effects/music, and the symbolisms/motifs used to portray the Joker.
When the Joker enters the room, the camera focuses on the Joker casually walking into the party. Joker attitude and his behavior show him like he owned the room. As he blasted a shot from his shotgun, the camera