Batman Begins Literary Elements

Batman Begins Literary Elements

Director

Christopher Nolan

Leading Actors/Actresses

Christian Bale

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, and Cillian Murphy

Genre

Superhero

Language

English

Awards

The film was nominated for one Academy Award: Best Cinematography for Wally Pfister

Date of Release

June 15th, 2005

Producer

Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Larry Franco

Setting and Context

Gotham City; the early 2000's

Narrator and Point of View

The film is told through the eyes of Christian Bale's Batman/Bruce Wayne

Tone and Mood

Brooding, mysterious, violent, revelatory, cult-ish, fearful, sad, empowered, fun, and solemn

Protagonist and Antagonist

Bruce Wayne/Batman vs. Ra's al Ghul and his goons

Major Conflict

Bruce/Batman's conflict with Ra's as Batman endeavors to stop Ra's and his evil friends

Climax

When Batman and Ra's al Ghul fight on the monorail and Batman aims to stop the strange device Ra's has

Foreshadowing

Batman turning against Ra's and his cult/secret society is foreshadowed early on in the film when they train together. The villain of the next film (2008's The Dark Knight) is foreshadowed by the Joker card.

Understatement

The challenge Bruce/Batman faces in facing off against Ra's and his organization is understated in Batman Begins.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography, indicating that it was very well-shot.

Allusions

To the Bible, Greek mythology (rising phoenix from the ashes, etc.), religion (the early scenes involving Ra's, particularly; also involving the time in Gotham and Ra's' motives) , technology (what Batman uses), other movies (Casino Royale and Robocop, particularly), books, Batman comic books (Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: The Man Who Falls, particularly), geography (the areas around Gotham and the other places Bruce/Batman travels), and other popular culture.

Paradox

Bruce and Ra's were very close, but Bruce ends up going against Ra's.

Parallelism

No significant parallelism in the film.

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