'The Dark Knight Rises' Is Anti-Revolutionary Corporate Propaganda

As a comic character, Batman seemingly teeters on the line of fascism. He breaks the law regularly, but when he sees other people doing the same thing, he suddenly takes the moral high ground. His nearly solipsistic worldview falls in line with some troubling ideologies. The secret meaning behind The Dark Knight Rises is one of Camus-meets-Nietzsche nihilism where the status quo becomes prized over a world where everyone lives as equals.

This messaging in The Dark Knight Rises is hard to miss - it lies in the dialogue, and especially in the actions of Batman. Many viewers feel this is the worst of Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, and while plenty of plot holes and overall odd moments exist in the nearly three-hour film, the most overt negativity comes from all the pro-capitalist Dark Knight Rises propaganda.

This isn't to say Christopher Nolan agrees with this line of thought, of course. Regardless, in The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan casts the anti-corporate revolutionaries as sneering, mustache-twirling villains, while the bureaucratic members of the local government and the wealthiest of Gotham are portrayed as heroes for simply existing. Thematically, The Dark Knight Rises is a complete mess.