Can We Rise Like THE DARK KNIGHT?

Can fear ever be a good thing? For Bruce Wayne, his fear and grief are motivators for the good he does.

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright discuss Christian Bale's portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman, and his journey to not be defined by his grief, fear, or failures, but to use them to do good and help others. Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy helps us explore how we can challenge our fears and anxieties, develop and maintain our morality in the face of difficult circumstances, and move through persistent and complex grief. These films are thematically rich, visually stunning, have a fabulous score, and give Jonathan a chance to show off with big words like chiroptophobia.

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, and Alan Seawright
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

[sean_mccadden]

Whats so beautiful about the ending of the Dark Knight Rises isn't just that Bruce gets his happy ending but Alfred also gets his happy ending. Alfred was basically Bruce's father figure and all he wanted to see was to see Bruce happy and that moment gave that to him. So amazing!

[bookmasterharry]

I love Batman, he is by far my favorite DC hero, but people often forget he's the Dark KNIGHT. As in, he's still a KNIGHT. For example, in one of my favorite Batman scenes of all time in one of the cartoons, the Justice League is responding to a threat. A person is causing chaos, and they figure out its this little girl(she's actually probably like 14, but still) named Ace, a human weapon who has mental and reality warping powers. It turns out that she's dying of a brain tumor, but when she dies the psychic backlash could kill everyone in a hundred miles. The people who made Ace have a solution. They made something that could kill her without killing everyone. So Batman grabs it and starts running to where she is. She let's him in. She's sitting on a swing set. He takes out the device, tosses it aside, and sits next to her. They talk, and she says that no one's ever played with her. That she doesn't want to be alone, and asks him not to leave. He stays with her, this abused, broken little girl with the power of the universe at her command, comforting her as she dies. That's Batman. Batman is a man who helps girls as they die, who buys dresses for Harley Quinn because the Joker wouldn't, and who let's Mr. Freeze go so he can visit his wife's grave because he knows it'll help him more than going to jail. Batman is a KNIGHT. He understands. He knows what it's like to go through Hell, and he tries his best to keep others from having to go through and that's why he uses fear as a weapon, because villians have been abusing it for far too long.

[sirspamalot]

"Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up", is a line that I took with me into adulthood, and honestly, it helped me face failure a lot better than I did before, it takes time, but it helped.

[HydrateOrElse]

The pit climb is a great example of fear opening the door to courage. Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's doing what has to be done despite being terrified. Good lesson

[littleangel]

The part that always gets me in the Dark Knight is when the convict on the ship confronts the guard for the switch and says he'll do "What you've should've done hours ago", and then throws the switch into the river. Such a powerful moment from the a person society wouldn't expect that kind of behavior from

[insert.coffeebean]

When i was a child i took a self defense course, and i want to share a quote that my teacher said to us, that i had to think of with this episode: "You cannot protect yourself without fear. It is just as important to your body as happiness, or sadness, or anger or guilt. It can be just as healthy as all of those. When you're running for your life, then you're undoubtedly going to run faster than you would for a marathon. Embracing a fear, can be even more powerful than overcoming it."

[lariel]

Interesting fact about the Dark Knight Rises score. Hans Zimmer actually crowd sourced the chant to make the sound more full. Anyone could record themselves voicing the chant, and then he combined all of those recordings to give the full chant used throughout the film. So there are countless unknown names who contributed to the soundtrack, mine included.

[ili]

"When life is gritty, scary and nasty, and you've lost everything and you're pushed to the edge; good people rise up and do the right thing" Love you guys!

[heartscapesreiki]

"I don't like my Batman sadistic." Yes. Exactly. Batman seems like a simple character, but it's actually really difficult to get his character and story arc correct. Nolan's trilogy is the only one that truly nails it on all levels. I love every Batman movie there is (yes, even the Schumacher disasters, at least now with a couple decades' distance), but these are the Batman of my heart, the character I fell in love with as a child.

[danieltidey]

The ferry scene is the single most important scene in the entire trilogy - Gotham redeems itself in that scene, showing why it is so important for Bruce Wayne to keep fighting.

Batman didn't thwart the Joker - ordinary people did. Even the other criminals rejected him.

[ezekielnewey]

This made me think about my favorite Dune quote.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

[kuno]

It occurs to me that him throwing the rope down for everyone else is a symbol for someone learning, making it, and making life easier for those that follow. I hadn't thought about it as a symbol until just now, it had always just been an act of him helping. But with all the symbolism present in the trilogy, I should have seen it sooner

[LydiaTarine]

Can we take a moment to just bask in Gary Oldman being given the chance to play the good guy? He so often plays the bad guy (indeed, he auditioned for Ra's in this) that Christopher Nolan thought he might find it nice to actually play a good guy for a change. And he gives Gordon such _warmth_ and humanity.

[Firegen]

The beauty of this trilogy. It reconnected the need for the hero story in the superhero story. Also I believe in Alan's dream of having a Hans Zimmer score. Go Alan!

[erynja]

Gordon’s monologue at the end of dark knight always gives me goosebumps because it captures exactly the essence of Batman

[Tofu]

I'm so glad there's a Dark Knight Rises safe space here

It's honestly my favorite of the trilogy, just because of the themes and how powerful it is. The Lazarus Pit is absolutely astounding.

[trinaq]

I hope that Alan and Jonathan will react to "Perks of Being a Wallflower", and how repressed trauma can affect us into the present day. The scene where Charlie breaks down in the kitchen while remembering his Aunt Helen's sexual abuse of him makes me cry every time I read the book or watch the film. In particular, the line "I killed Aunt Helen, didn't I?" gets me, since many abuse victims automatically blame themselves for the abuse.

[claratalbot]

I love this trilogy to pieces. The line "Because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A dark knight." gets me every time because it perfectly sums what Batman is. A symbol for good

[veebeelights]

The Dark Knight series is different from a lot of other Batmans because it had a strong moral core. And that's how you write a story that leaves an impact on an audience.

[nikopteros]

Maaan. everytime I see Alfred cry or being emotional about Bruce's life it always makes me get teary eyed, Michael Caine was a FANTASTIC Alfred, it really makes me think of loving grandpa who is heartbroken that you're suffering and don't even acknowledge it