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‘I Would Like a Royalty Check’: Glenn Beck Endorses ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ And We Break Down Its Messages

“Whoever wrote this movie has either really, really knows what’s going on in the world, and sees the world a similar way, or they have read ‘The Coming Insurrection.’”

With these words, Glenn Beck may have effectively wiped away whatever doubt remained among conservatives as to whether the latest Batman movie really is a gleefully nihilistic celebration of violence for its own sake. And not a moment too soon, considering the haunting tragedy that has since come to be identified with the film.

Beck delivered his review of the film on his radio show today, quoting several specific plot elements (though none that actually spoil the film’s story too much, this author is happy to report)  to demonstrate that this film is not only good at the artistic level, but also at the moral and political level. Indeed, as Beck himself put it, Van Jones could have given one of the speeches intoned by one of the film’s villains, Bane.

Of course, Beck did not detail all the ways in which the film confirms a conservative worldview, out of concern that he might spoil the film for those who have yet to see it. However, his was by no means the only strong and politically charged response to the movie, and many other commentators have not been nearly so restrained in their reference to spoilers. As such, consider this a warning that before you read on, it would be wisest if you see the movie first, as this article and many of those quoted reference plot events that will give away the game. In case you need encouragement, we are enclosing an image of Bane that you will have to scroll past to read spoilers.

Glenn Beck Endorses The Dark Knight Rises For Understanding the Catastrophe Facing American Society

Are you sure you want to keep reading?

Now, assuming those who haven’t seen the film have clicked out of the story, let us proceed with the analysis of the film itself that has been conducted by other sites. Firstly, it should be noted that this is not the first time a Christopher Nolan film about Batman has inspired political memes. Readers with a long memory will probably recall this poster that went up around the country at the same time the Tea Party protests began – a poster clearly inspired by Nolan’s portrayal of the Joker:

Glenn Beck Endorses The Dark Knight Rises For Understanding the Catastrophe Facing American SocietyYet if this poster was the most high profile response to Nolan’s second film, then the reaction this time has been unprecedented. Everyone from about every corner of the political spectrum has an opinion about this film’s politics. And most of those responses are either deliberately encouraging or inadvertently so. Indeed, perhaps the most encouraging response to this film has come from Left wing blogger Andrew O’Hehir of Salon, who has leveled the ultimate unserious liberal charge at the film – namely, that its director is “evil” and “fascistic”:

It’s no exaggeration to say that the “Dark Knight” universe is fascistic (and I’m not name-calling or claiming that Nolan has Nazi sympathies). It’s simply a fact. Nolan’s screenplay (co-written with his brother, Jonathan Nolan, and based on a story developed with David S. Goyer) simply pushes the Batman legend to its logical extreme, as a vision of human history understood as a struggle between superior individual wills, a tale of symbolic heroism and sacrifice set against the hopeless corruption of society. Maybe it’s an oversimplification to say that that’s the purest form of the ideology that was bequeathed from Richard Wagner to Nietzsche to Adolf Hitler, but not by much.

But if “The Dark Knight Rises” is a fascist film, it’s a great fascist film, and arguably the biggest, darkest, most thrilling and disturbing and utterly balls-out spectacle ever created for the screen. It’s an unfriendly masterpiece that shows you only a little circle of daylight, way up there at the top of our collective prison shaft — but a masterpiece nonetheless. Fighting against the tendency toward exhaustion in the final chapter of any entertainment franchise, Nolan, cinematographer Wally Pfister, editor Lee Smith, production designers Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh, and their enormous team have done grandiose and magnificent work, spinning this operatic saga of a great city brought to its knees and an idol smashed.[...]

But he leaves future Batman filmmakers in an impossible position. They’ll simply have to try something different, because for grandeur and pretension and evil genius and pure thrills — for delivering exactly what the multiplex audience wants, in tremendous style, and undercutting it at the same time — there’s no way to top “The Dark Knight Rises.”

With a charge that over-the-top, you half expect the Dark Knight to secretly be played by a computer generated facsimile of Ronald Reagan. And indeed, it is a silly argument, as the New York Times’ Ross Douthat points out in his own positive review of the film’s messages:

Without digging too deep into why O’Hehir’s characterization of fascism’s supposed “purest form” manages to distill away just about every defining aspect of fascism as it actually existed, let me just submit that a genuinely “fascistic” Batman movie would have concluded with the Caped Crusader using the chaos wreaked by terrorists and revolutionaries as a justification for setting aside Gotham’s existing political institutions and ruling the city by fiat, with Wayne Enterprises merged with City Hall, the bat signal emblazoned on every public building, and the collective will of the public channeled through the superior individual will of Il Batman (and his successor, Der Robin, presumably). And the fact that Batman does not seek such power — that he serves anonymously, vanishes in times of peace, and generally has more in common with a batsuited Cincinnatus than with a would-be Caesar — illustrates one of the crucial differences between a fascist understanding of a Great Man’s role in history and a more conservative understanding of the same.

However, some of the conservative reactions have, Douthat argues, been equally hyperbolic. For instance, Douthat points to Breitbart.com‘s John Nolte’s giddy review of the film, which describes the film’s villain, Bane, as “a hulk of a man burning with resentment against a society whose only provocation is being prosperous, generous, welcoming, and content — instead of miserable like him,” and describes Bane’s militant followers as “insecure thumbsuckers raging with a sense of entitlement, desperate to justify their own laziness and failure and to flaunt a false sense of superiority through oppression, violence, terror, and ultimately, total and complete destruction.”

As Douthat correctly points out, this oversimplifies the movie by a lot:

In “The Dark Knight Rises,” while the corruption and chaos have been reduced through the mass incarceration of gangland figures, the city’s basic inequities seem to have increased, and the movie gives every appearance of endorsing all of the nasty digs that Ann Hathaway’s Catwoman character takes at the Gotham elite. What’s more, the only time that we learn why a specific Gothamite has joined Bane’s underground army, the volunteer is a teenager who’s graduated out of an orphanage that lacks the resources to care for kids past the age of 16, and we’re specifically told that young men like him are going down into the sewers because there’s no work to be found up above — which suggests that something other than “laziness” is creating would-be revolutionaries. (Bane himself has been even more ill-used by the world, if not by Gotham itself.)

All of which is to say that Nolan isn’t trying to push a crude, Ayn Rand-esque parable about heroic Gotham capitalists threatened by resentful, parasitic looters. His model, as the movie’s literary references make clear, is “A Tale of Two Cities” rather than “Atlas Shrugged,” which means that he’s trying to simultaneously acknowledge the injustices of the existing regime while suggesting that both the revolutionary and anarchic alternatives would be much, much worse.

However, just because the film isn’t Atlas Shrugged, that doesn‘t mean it’s not deeply conservative. Indeed, it probably improves the movie, as John Podhoretz demonstrates in his review, which echoes Douthat‘s celebration of the film’s complex sense of moral clarity:

The Dark Knight Rises finally finds an epic story that fits the super-hero’s simple moral code—good people do right and bad people do wrong and good people must stop bad people. Because Batman has no special powers, the character is far better suited to fit this code than the supernaturally charged Superman or the genetically mutated Fantastic Four or X-Men or Matter Eater Lad (an actual character name from a 1960s comic book).[...]

This Manichean worldview goes very well with what one might call the quiet Tory perspective of Christopher Nolan. The theme running through the three Batman movies (the first, Batman Begins, was not very good, although Nolan and his co-screenwriter, brother Jonathan, mine it effectively for plot points in the new one) is the battle between order and chaos, with Nolan standing unambiguously on the side of order.[...]

Nolan knows exactly what he’s doing when he puts the rhetoric of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the mouth of his villain. The Dark Knight Rises is a Classic Comics version of Edmund Burke.

However, perhaps the best summation of the film’s many good points comes from Ben Shapiro, who has put forward a dazzling and spoiler-ridden outline of the film’s many positive political messages (Shapiro even calls it the “most conservative film ever”). Shapiro’s post is far too lengthy to do justice to with a block quote, so readers are encouraged to read it in full, but a few highlights follow:

 [The Dark Knight Rises] explodes leftist meme after leftist meme.[...]

(1) Occupy Wall Street: The entire film is an ode to traditional capitalism. Bane leads an attack on the Gotham stock market – and a stock market executive explains to a cop, clearly unhappy about having to risk life and limb for the fat cats, how investment makes his savings more valuable. Selina Kyle – aka Catwoman – starts off as an anti-capitalism warrior, explaining to billionaire Bruce Wayne, “Do you think this is gonna last? There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.” By the time Bane takes over the city with his communist-fascist regime, she’s looking on in horror at the anti-capitalist show trials (straight from the French Revolution, including summary sentencing) and destruction of private property. When she walks into an upscale house and sees how it’s been destroyed, she says that the house used to be beautiful. Her friend replies, “Now it’s everybody’s house.” In other words, communism destroys rather than building. The totalitarianism of equality is just that: totalitarianism.[...]

(5) Poverty: Poverty is seen as a sort of virtue by many people on the left. Not so in The Dark Knight Rises, where those who grow up poor are held to the same moral standard as those who grow up rich. Furthermore, while we learn that Bane spent time in poverty in a prison – and that it toughened him up – Bruce Wayne can get just as tough, though he grew up with tremendous wealth. Wayne is the most self-sacrificing character in the film, even though he’s also the richest. Wealth is not an automatic moral failing in TDKR. It’s a tool to be used for good or evil. And Batman uses it for good.

(6) Guns: One of Batman’s rules is that he will not use firearms, since his parents were killed by gunshot. At one point, Kyle has to save him by using guns – and she tells him that she disagrees with his rule. It’s hard for the audience to disagree, seeing as all the bad guys have guns – and in one scene in which thousands of cops charge the Occupy Army of Bane, the Occupy Army blows the underarmed cops away.[...]

(8) Green Energy: Bruce Wayne nearly goes bankrupt thanks to a green energy project he funds. And he also recognizes the dangers of green energy projects that are not fully ready – if the world isn’t ready for them, he says, they can’t be used. Solyndra, anyone?

Again, Shapiro’s post includes many more deliciously comprehensive nuggets and readers are invited to read it in full.

However, despite the generally positive (or amusingly negative) reaction to the film, there remain a few key points that have been ignored by the reviews we’ve seen, and which should be pointed out for the sake of bringing the fully conservative message of the film full circle. If you’ve read this far, you almost certainly know the plot of the film, so no more needs to be said about avoiding spoilers.

One should note that even in the reviews that agree with the film’s message (minus Beck’s, which avoided spoilers this big altogether), there is a curious tendency to ignore the film’s real villain – not Bane, who is simply a convenient and charismatic figurehead (and who does that sound like), but instead the Soros-esque Wayne Enterprises Board Member Miranda Tate, later revealed to be Talia al’Ghul, the imprisoned daughter of sometime Batman villain Ras al’Ghul. Like Soros, Talia’s childhood has severe notes of trauma, including being raised in deeply ugly circumstances.

Moreover, like Soros, Talia al’Ghul masks her destructive desires behind a seemingly “socially just” cause – namely, clean energy. It is this supposedly noble desire that she uses to seduce Bruce Wayne into giving her control of Wayne Enterprises, and by extension, the nuclear reactor that becomes the bomb at the center of the film’s plot. In short, Talia’s takeover of Wayne Enterprises transforms the company into a weaponized version of Solyndra.

Also like Soros, Talia uses her figurehead, Bane, to wipe out corrupt infrastructure baron John Daggett while still convincing Daggett that Bane is actually working for him. One wonders if Bane flattered Daggett that Bruce Wayne didn’t build Wayne Enterprises at all – that actually, Daggett did that by maintaining Gotham’s roads. And speaking of maintaining Gotham, that brings up the matter of Talia and Bane’s motivation.

Contrary to what some reviewers have suggested, neither Talia nor Bane have any interest in creating a more equal society or bringing about genuine social justice. In fact, Bane even gloats that they will use those ideas explicitly to “torture” Gotham. Rather, the goal of Bane and Talia is raw destruction of the city via nuclear bomb, with death becoming the ultimate form of equality for its citizens, and with that destruction becoming a symbol to the world of how greatness breeds decadence.

Not only is this eerily similar to Soros‘ investment strategy of deliberately investing so as to destroy countries’ currencies, while claiming to believe in social justice, but it also renders an old quip by the economist John Maynard Keynes deeply disturbing. “In the long run, we are all dead,” Keynes is supposed to have said when asked about long term effects of his spending happy policies. In the case of this film, that prediction is distressingly literal.

And, of course, rather like Keynes, this strategy ends up proven wrong. Only instead of being proven wrong by decades of fiscal failures, in this case, it only takes one courageous and wealthy man with extensive martial arts training to do it. Perhaps the campaign finance puritans will want to investigate Christopher Nolan for making this film – there may be a case to be made that it provides the best case for Mitt Romney’s election yet made.

Comments (105)

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  • marybethelizabeth
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 7:27am

    Plagiarism is a serious charge.

    Report Post » marybethelizabeth  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 11:52am

      You usually have something insipid to say MARYBETHELIZABETH..and today is no exception.

      Report Post »  
  • JesterJay
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 4:27am

    Fyi Christopher and his brother Johnathan Nolan wrote this movie along with the pervious Batman movies (Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight) they also wrote a great movie “Momento”. Over all very smart writters.

    Report Post » JesterJay  
    • loneindividual
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 7:52am

      Momento is actually deeper than you think…but you have to understand how this world works in order to see their genius in full. It’s absolutely blinding…to the people who check it for anything treacherous to their purposes. :)

      These guyz specialize in being under the radar by being over the top.

      Report Post » loneindividual  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 11:31am

      Nolan and Goyer did a great job on this film as writers. They pull no punches. The movie points the finger at amoral greed and it points the finger at anarchy and communism and it spares neither. The subtext celebrates the nobility of the human spirit and how one man can indeed make a difference..not as a vigilante but as a man. Yeah..in a comic book movie of all things. The Nolan brothers and Goyer don’t insult their audience, they use the palette of comic book fantasy to spin a story that’s rooted in reality. This is how the best stories are told.

      Beck is right on the money when he says Van Jones could have given the same speech Bane does…it’s right out of the Marxist playbook. Classwarfare 101. It’s a JZS wetdream, arbitrary confiscation of property, summary sentencing.

      Watching the scenes where Killian Murphy (Scarecrow) presides over summary sentencing is straight out of the French Revolution..I was watching the Jacobins all over again…and it echoed eerily the OWS crowd.

      When the prostitute friend (a plot taken from Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One”) of Selina Kyle (Catwoman) says “this is everybody’s house now” the ugliness of Marxism and anarchism is laid bare for the world to see. There’s nothing beautiful or noble in scapegoating and vilifying families just because they have more than you do.

      Oh and please someone tell me Tom Hardy (Bane) is channelling Sean Connery in this film. He’s great..but it’s Sean Connery when h

      Report Post »  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 6:25pm

      What point was that ABANDON? I told you that Barclays is playing footsies with the Euro elite (government, EU and banks) to hide the extent of the failure of the EU. This isn’t crony capitalism, this is animal instinct survival reflex for a wounded beast..the EU. The EU was allowed to get to this point by the government reliant socialist populations of Europe. They wanted to be like Americans only when the bill arrived they couldn’t afford to be like Americans. Believe me..I know what I’m saying, basket cases like Greece were and still are relying on Germany to pick up the tab and not just the Greek government..the Greek people believe this. Don’t kid yourself. This is crony capitalism, this is systemic failure of an ideology. Try getting a Greek to pay taxes..even today (if he still has a job). It’s not unusual before the collapse for a Greek to be getting 4 pensions. Seriously..a non-entity like Greece on par with Germany?

      MY point ABANDON is that the people of Europe allowed this to take place, allowing governments and beaurocracies to think for them so they can sleepwalk through their lives and syphon off the system. But the system can‘t sustain itself it’s run out of money for the treats. The people of Europe brought themselves to this precipice by WILLINGLY giving the Eurosocialist elites too much power over them. This isn’t crony capitalism, this is failure on all levels. Do I need to dumb it down for you?

      Report Post »  
    • JesterJay
      Posted on July 25, 2012 at 4:36am

      I cant beleive Rush blasted this movie obviously before seeing it. Bane and his gang i guess represent everything that the Occupy movement Communists etc stand for, Bruce Wayne the poster boy of the rich, is in the end the only one who cares enough about people to be a hero. Batman represnts everything Obama stands against. After all Bruce Wayne is only Batman because he can afford all the gadgets. It shows how when people look at the rich the see them with resentment for what they want and dont have, therefore they must be cold harted and wicked. When behind closed doors they are more charitable then most, and in the end never taking criedit for it.

      Report Post » JesterJay  
    • Rush Limborg
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 1:03pm

      Rush didn’t “blast” the MOVIE. He blasted the Left, expressing his concern that they would use the villain Bane to trash Mitt Romney’s time at Bain Capital.

      Report Post »  
  • Churchill
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 3:55am

    I couldn‘t help but make the comparison between Bane and his followers and the Occupy crowd when Bane’s ‘revolution’ began.

    Report Post »  
    • ashestoashes
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:02am

      Wondering if anyone here has studied the Russian Revolution.. There is something such as what America has been..a nanny state…not only to unemployed Americans..but also illegals..338.3 billion a year in tax payer money..The Russians were begging for bread and the Rothschilds (of the un Federal Reserve) controlled Bolsheveks put 40 million of them out of their misery..Russia had risen up to establish a democracy, and at the parliament,. was it Lennin who pulled something ( like a felony) at the RNC did at the convention with RP’s delegates and took over.THe commies are coming the commies are coming..oh wait..the commies are here!.

      Report Post »  
  • abandonship
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 3:52am

    It should be pointed out more clearly that, yes, TDKR did promote a whole anti-occupy/communism/fascist ideology, it also contained huge amounts of criticism for the crony capitalist system we live in. Bane wouldn‘t have got very far if it weren’t for the blind faith of his followers that did his bidding. That faith derived from a common hate developed under a corrupt system, which is why they were so dedicated in swinging the pendulum to the other side of the spectrum! This film has great lessons for both sides and should not be regarded as an inherent promotion of blind capitalism as the solution to all problems since it clearly has tremendous faults in allowing a few to surreptiously steal the wealth of others under the protection of the law while imprisoning organized crime gangs who do the same things but don’t have the protection of corrupt and paid for politicians!

    Report Post »  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 7:12am

      Steal wealth?

      If I sell somebody something they want, and we both walk away from the transaction satisfied, that means I stole something from them? Wait…what?

      You leftist types are having an awful hard time trying to spin something clearly against Leftists in a good light. Hollywood, for once, turned against you. Deal with it. We hear it with every movie. Now, you get a bit of comeuppance. Take it like a man and stop whining.

      Slainte.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • lineinthesand
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 8:23am

      ghostofjefferson—agreed! It is always amazing to me the number of people who hold the belief, and I think some unwittingly, that capitalism is based on win/lose transactions. That whoever has been successful has done so at the cost/expense of others without those ‘others’ getting anything in return. Do some buyers get taken advantage of? Of course they do, but in a true free market the ‘seller’ taking advantage of ‘buyers’ will not be around long as people will realize they are getting the short end of the stick and will no longer seek this ‘seller’ for a transaction. What these same people fail to understand is that the government they are so willing to give more power to is ripping us all off in ways you don’t even know…and the real problem with this is that once the government is the ‘seller’ of something they make it so there are no other sellers to turn to.

      Report Post »  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 11:51am

      yeah um…ABANDONSHIP….Don’t know if you noticed but the charities that Wayne Enterprises was supporting sufferred because the money was running out. Do you remember that part? The orphans? Do you also recall what “the rich guy” gives these orphans at the end of the film? Can you do that for orphans ABANDONSHIP? No you can’t and you never would dream of doing it either. What you want to do is confiscate and demand..like a good lefty. Did you see what happens when you confiscate and demand? Anarchy, poverty, austerity. Cruelty. Oppression. You didn’t pick up what those “tumblers” (the vehicle Batman drove in the first two films) rumbling through the city streets were alluding to? Big Brother Is Watching ring a bell? Orwell was grinning like a Cheshire Cat at this film. This was East Germany champ….Tito’s Yugoslavia.
      Nolan and Goyer didn’t make that stuff up..that’s recent history. That’s Eastern Block Europe and the communist Russians. That’s Maoist China. Khmer Rouge. “It’s for the people” right ABANDON? Like Bane says “Do you feel like you are in charge?”.

      Report Post »  
    • abandonship
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:44pm

      Crony capitalism doesn’t equal free market capitalism. This is the problem with all of you. You believe you live in a free market capitalist system. I was just pointing out how TDKR shows the flaws of crony capitalism because it allows some to mooch off others. Can anyone say “libor”? The current system we live in is corrupt and not an Ayn Rand free market system, which may be why Christopher Nolan pointed out how there was an ever growing disparity between the rich and poor. I’m not condoning government interference. Actually that was the opposite of what I was saying. You must get rid of corrupt government interference and allow the law to apply equally to all in order to have true justice. I’m not promoting a leftist agenda; I’m promoting a free agenda. This will naturally limit that disparity, so nthat those on the other side won’t feel as ripped off and vote politicians to pass laws that redistribute wealth. The problem with all of you is that y‘all are too focused on attacking the stupid sheeple at your front door that you don’t realize the wolves are at your back door. By the way, I’m about as conservative as they come, but I acknowledge that our system is flawed because we are not operating in a free system. But how would y‘all see that when y’all are too focused on complaining about the system without first offering any solutions. Also, I was just pointing out that Christopher Nolan had criticisms of both sides. That doesn’t make me a leftist morons!

      Report Post »  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 1:27pm

      You know why you can say “libor” ABANDONSHIP? Because Barclays and other Euro banks have been covering up the problems there. Just like the European governments and the EU in Brussels have been covering up the problems there. Just like the entitlement mentality of their populationscan’t accept the problems there. The socialists have run out of money because socialism can’t pay for itself.
      The great EU experiment failed. Why? Because an economic powerhouse like Germany can’t be on the same level playing field as a sputtering economic non-entity like Greece. But the socialists tried to force the square peg into the round hole nonetheless. Social engineering. Why can the EU, the European governments and the Euro banks get away with this ABANDONSHIP? Because the populations have given them too much power in return for cradle to the grave entitlements…to the point where the populations don’t question any decision made by their governments and their “benefactors”. As long Greeks and Spaniards could buy iPhones and big screen TVs like the Americans it didn’t matter about the bill. But it seems the bill arrived and there was no money to pay for it and all those government perks the European populations relied on.

      Barclays is playing three card monty with the international rates to delay the inevitable and try to keep the European populations in their deep socialist sleep while they scramble to find a socialist solution to a free market problem.

      Report Post »  
    • UpholderOftheConstitution
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 2:56pm

      AbandonShip,

      don’t click off this site, because I am about to educate your stupidity into hopefully a respectable human being. Instead of this Marxist twit that you have been posting as.

      The term crony capitalism is a term derived when the government itself starts meddling into the affairs of the free market by giving a better “chance” to a company or group of people. The free market always fixes itself, it has been proven time and again (and yes numb-skull if you want proof look it up yourself. You have a computer and a library that we pay for, so use one of them).

      It is basic economics 101, real economics, not some left-wing liberal nuthouse you call a university. It is the basis of how markets started and existed and thrived throughout the history of man. SO when you want to point your little condescending finger at the business person of crony capitalism why not shift yourself and point at the government that meddles in the affairs of the market.

      You spew so much Marxist naive rhetoric I am surprised the person next to you isn’t drowning in your stupidity.

      Report Post »  
    • abandonship
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 4:56pm

      It’s funy upholderoftheconstitution…..I said the exact same thing…Learn to read before you call someone stupid…..not one thing that I said is Marxist…..I have promoted free market capitalism this whole time, so do us all a favor and stop embarrassing us free market, freedom minded conservatives

      And Avenge jerk….thanks for proving my point

      Report Post »  
  • combatingignorance
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 2:20am

    Glad to see I am not the only one to see all the conservative tie ins in the movie. I really thought it represented how tyrants think when they try to bring about utopian dreams…they tell the people what they want to hear all the whiler they devise ways on killing the dissidents. Gotham city was the dissadent to the league of Shadows and was a necessary “sacrifice” foor the good of all mankind, not much different than any communist regime (mao and the intellectuals, Lenin and the petty bourgouis, Pot and the teachers, etc.).
    I thought it ashame that the wall street guy had to give a basic economics lesson to the cop on why the excahnge should be saved, unfortunately economic ignorance is rampant and that part is all too realistic in my view.
    As for being fascistic? obviously the guy from Salon doesn’t know that facism is just another form of left wing big government ideas that only lead to ruin the people it was intended to help. Unlike communism facism lets people have property, but you better do what the govt wants you to do through regulation……gee come to think of it that sounds like our govt now. I bet the Salon guy doesn’t see the irony in his beloved leader being a facist of sorts.

    Report Post »  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 7:17am

      The economics lesson wasn’t really for the cop, it was the writers inserting it *for the audience*. The “cop” was the stand in for the audience, since it appears to be assumed that most would agree instinctually with the cop’s viewpoint of “why should I help them”, which is de rigeur with the masses currently.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:04pm

      You’re right GHOSTOFJEFFERSON…the cop was the current “1% vs 99%” voice and he got a quick lesson in economics for his trouble.
      Bane in the film exploits this kind of sentiment. Bane doesnt’ care about “the people” he cares about levelling Gotham..nothing more. He uses the amoral capitalist and the anarchist mob equally. He makes fools of both to meet his own agenda. This is just how men like Soros operate..they pander to the marxist vanities of men like Van Jones and the collectivist delusions of leftists and college students of OWS ilk. Idiots and canon fodder….

      Report Post »  
  • RaydocX
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:22am

    Don’t know what Rush was whining about… This was a good message movie.
    It wasn’t without flaws… Every cop running at a gang armed with assault weapons down one street? Even my son saw that was ridiculous.

    But having shown anarchy leaves civilization a mask only, wielded by the stong and cruel, I wish an effort would have been made to show the preyed upon average Gothamite standing up to help.”. tHAT is part of the soul of this action… Why e cheer for the underdog.

    Report Post » RaydocX  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 7:15am

      Well, actually, it’s a valid strategy when you have inferior weapons but superior numbers. They even teach this in the military. If you are in a narrow passage/corridor like the cops were in the movie, and you outnumber the gits 10:1, like they did in the movie, and you still have some weapons (which the cops had, albeit pistols), then you charge into the breech and count on overwhelming numbers to compensate.

      The only other option is to meet the enemy on your own field, however, since the enemy in this case could dictate the battlefield, that wasn’t really possible.

      Just thinking out loud.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • Rush Limborg
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 1:06pm

      Rush wasn’t whining about the movie–he was concerned about how the name “Bane” could possibly be used by the Left against Mitt Romney. Later, he made a comment about how films over the years have as a rule gotten “darker,” and have possibly influenced people to violence–but he made clear that that should NOT be interpreted as a slight against the film.

      Report Post »  
  • Reagans_Army
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:37pm

    Seriously Glenn, you need to get this ego in check. Yes, the movie has a lot of themes that you’ve run, and maybe a lot of the language is the same, but are your thoughts and ideas totally original? Are YOU the grandfather of the conservative movement? Remember how Andrew Breitbart went to his grave claiming that you were stealing his ideas and his people? From one member of the LDS Church to another, you need to get this pride in check, dude.

    Report Post »  
    • PubliusScipio
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 1:26am

      Thank you!

      I‘ve been rankled by Glenn’s ego ever since his book on George Washington came out. Take one look at the cover – GW is a small, fuzzed out statue on the background while Glenn Beck is dominating the space (it wouldn’t have been so bad if Glenn had been standing next to the statue, or maybe have the statue on a table next to Glenn so GW would be a bit taller… but nope!)

      Then I heard Glenn laughingly tell Stu he was going to Hell for watching R-rated films – when Glenn ought to realize he’s the last person to make such a judgement. Both actions are the result of a lack of humility. After those two things, I cancelled my GBTV subscription.

      Report Post »  
    • zerotoherolife
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 2:12am

      It was obvious that he made that statement tongue-in-cheek (at least partially). The guy talks about this stuff all day everyday and he found familiar themes in the movie- big deal. Do you really think he is demanding a royalty check? Come on man, cut the guy some slack, and enjoy the entertaining aspects of the show.

      Report Post » zerotoherolife  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:11pm

      Perhaps Beck’s nuance is lost on you two? It’s clear Beck is being comical when he asks for royalties..he’s not serious.

      Report Post »  
  • Samwise636
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:04pm

    Great review! The part about Soros is especially prescient. I remember watching the animated episode The Demon‘s Head back in the 90’s, and thinking, “This Ra‘s Al Ghul guy sounds just like a radical environmentalist He’s nuts!” Maybe old György was the inspiration for Ra’s.

    I wonder how it must feel to be an OWS tool, sitting in a theater watching this movie and finding yourself agreeing almost completely with the villains of the movie.

    Report Post » Samwise636  
  • Carborendum
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:22pm

    So… you’re saying that Romney actually has extensive martial arts training ;).

    Let me see if I get this correctly… You’re telling me that the GOP nominee, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a masked vigilante who goes around beating crimminals to a bloody pulp with his bare hands….

    Report Post »  
    • Non-regulator
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:17pm

      Your logic is more stupid than arguments against the 2nd Amendment I‘ve read all weekend long and you’re not even interesting or clever. Critical listening takes so little effort even so much so that you could try.

      Report Post » Non-regulator  
    • peachstealth
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 2:25am

      You know in the Batman stories, Bruce Wayne is a very rich man.In the Legend of Zorro, Don Diego is the son of a wealthy man who’s alter ego battles corrupt government officials in Old California. Even Robin Hood is a nobleman who battles the evil sheriff who over taxes the common people.
      It’s not at all unusual for a wealthy man to be the hero!

      Report Post »  
    • BetterNTexas
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 6:32am

      I would say yes. He is a wealthy, masked hero. We see the amount of money he gives to charity, but we don‘t necessarily see the hours of time he’s spent going to the rescue of others. But I could argue that he’s spent most of his life going to the rescue of others: rescuing a family out on a lake, rescuing a missing teenager in New York City, the rescue of the Salt Lake Olympics, the rescue of hundreds of companies so that jobs can be literally saved and/or created (real, actual jobs, not just numbers projected on a government spreadsheet) etc.

      And yet people still don’t really know Romney. Why? Because he doesn’t run around screaming, “Look at me!” with regard to his actions. He’s clearly not comfortable bragging about his charitable efforts–efforts that have been made not just monetarily but at personal cost in time spent. He doesn’t give speeches that use the word “I” over and over again.

      He may not have martial arts training and an underground bat cave, but yes. He is a hero. America is better for having him as a citizen. We’d be better for having him as our President. Is he perfect? No. But that’s the thing about heroes: they are never perfect. They just keep trying to do the best they can.

      Report Post »  
  • TelepromoterNChief
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:42pm

    We need to take e a moment and reflect on who George Clooney is today and what he did to Batman.
    There is no forgiveness for George.

    Report Post »  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:06pm

      I hear George wanted to pierce the nipples on the batsuit Joel Schumacher gave him. And yes..Schumacher is homosexual.

      Report Post »  
  • Wdawg
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:29pm

    Hahaha….. I needed a good laugh today!

    Report Post » Wdawg  
  • reconmarine
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:28pm

    Great movie. It’s like looking into the future under Obama. Nolan knew EXACTLY what he was doing.

    Report Post »  
  • scuba13
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:22pm

    All this time I thought it was just an action movie.

    Report Post » scuba13  
  • MODEL82A1
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:22pm

    I beg to differ. If we’re taking inventory, then Glenn (and Sean and Mark and Michael, et al) “owe” a “royalty check” to Rush. Until those payments are confirmed, I choose to laugh at foolishness like that which Glenn expresses in this story, on his own site.Not to speak for Rush, but I’d guess that half of Gross Revenue is a reasonable place to start negotiations.

    Report Post » MODEL82A1  
  • revron
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:12pm

    Haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’m sure I will. A missing piece to the conspiracy theory; does the media play a part in the movie? does it take the predictable stance?

    Report Post »  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 7:20am

      The only role I saw the media playing was neutral. They broadcast what was happening to Gotham, from outside of Gotham. To be fair, the “in Gotham” media were essentially without power once the thugs took over, and they scattered like ants when Bane released the prisoners. Not much else of a role for the media in the movie that I saw.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
  • ModerationIsBest
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:07pm

    SPOILERS

    “Rather, the goal of Bane and Talia is raw destruction of the city via nuclear bomb, with death becoming the ultimate form of equality for its citizens, and with that destruction becoming a symbol to the world of how greatness breeds decadence.”

    Huh? Were they watching the same movie?

    Talia wanted to kill Bruce Wayne/Batman because he killed her father. She also knew how much Bruce loved Gotham and never wanted to give up on it despite how corrupt it got. Her plan was to let Bruce watch Gotham die, and then kill him. It was all about revenge, nothing about equality of any kind(social or death).

    Report Post »  
    • scarebear83
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:49pm

      Actually if I remember correctly she wanted to finish what her father started in Batman Begins, which was to kill off the whole city.

      Report Post » scarebear83  
    • Electacon
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:19pm

      @ Scarebear. She would have gotten away with it too if not for those meddling kids and that dog. Oh wait wrong detectives.

      Report Post » Electacon  
    • teep
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:39pm

      well, you have to just make stuff up and superimpose your own belief system onto the film, preferably with no real understanding of the story. Then you‘ll see Glen’s perspective.

      Report Post »  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 1:38pm

      Actually Orwellianly named MODERATION…Talia al Ghul makes it clear that she‘s completing her father’s task because she allowed herself to forgive her father after his death taking on Batman. The destruction of Gotham was detemined by her father Ra’s al Ghul to begin ridding the world of crime and decadence. You’ll recall that Gotham was run by the criminal underworld?
      I know it‘s difficult for you to accept Nolan and Goyer’s vision MODDIE and you have to pretend other motivations were behind Bane and Talia’s actions..but they both make their intentions chrystal clear..the people of Gotham are corrupt (a theme also touched on in the second film), the city is rife with corruption and rot and must be eradicated as an example to the world. A simple viewing of the first film will confirm what I just told you.
      Keep dancing MODDIE.

      Report Post »  
  • Rayblue
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:40pm

    You’ve used Mr. Becks full name this time. Usually you use the monolithic “BECK”. Thank you for not irritating me as today has not been my best in a while.
    Thank you for your indulgence.
    Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

    Report Post » Rayblue  
  • smokeysmoke
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:34pm

    I saw the movie on sunday…. what glenn said is true, it was a big F U to the whole OWS idology and how capitalism and success breads more success in other, and is what laays the ground work for all to do better, and on the other side, HOW EVIL AND UNHAPPY PEOPLE ARE when left to the conditions of CONTROLLED ANARCHY… where those who are anarchists RULE, and those who are not are a lesser class and have their possessions taken, and lives thrown away… THE MOVIE WAS VERY PRO CAPITALISM, AND IN MY MIND ANTI OCCUPY WALL ST…. Bane even says that he is RETURNING THE CITY BACK TO THE PEOPle, AND THE CRIMINALS WHO HAVE BEEN WRONGLY INCARCERATED… BUT ALL BANE WANTS IS ANARCHY AND CHAOS… the movie was BRILLIANT

    Report Post » smokeysmoke  
    • teep
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:42pm

      Oh, well when you put your half baked ideas in ALL CAPS they sure are more convincing.

      Report Post »  
  • Stoic one
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:17pm

    OK I did not read the part you suggested….Still DVD will be my choice. but yea i got that feeling from the previous ones. communism – bad. and i grew up in the sixties.

    Report Post » Stoic one  
  • In That Day
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:11pm

    Dear The Blaze editors, it would be interesting to elevate the conversation and “break down the points” of this movie in replying on this blog, but the environment of how you’ve set up these blogs makes it impossible.

    Have you noticed the sort of Troglodyte responses that keep happening on your blog site herein?

    The framework needs to be more like pajamas media, as in Victor Davis Hanson’s site here:

    http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/the-demons-of-the-modern-rampage-killer/#comments

    Because the way this blog site is set up, you get just ejaculatory comments, with little cogent ability to discourse. It’s like all are born into a heavily unconscious environment, and can’t be self-aware, or read each other’s posts (which quickly disappear on previous pages) and it is a bad loop.

    However, it sets up the top article to be superior, or the radio show host.

    Other sites that try to set up superiority in article or host follow this unhealthy pattern as well.

    Can you do anything to help your bloggers rise in mentality through better blog post order?

    Report Post »  
    • DGeezy11
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:04pm

      Yes because your post was so profound…

      Report Post » DGeezy11  
    • IMAWAKENOW
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:07pm

      If you are that unhappy with the people that comment here and the way it is run you should quit wasting your time here and “move on.org”.

      Report Post » IMAWAKENOW  
    • bravjim
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:21pm

      I tend to agree with you. If that article and the comments are typical of that site, then I intend to spend more time there. That was the first time I had visited it, and found it rather refreshing; I get tired of the immature bashing & derogatory insults I see here on the Blaze. I have been looking for a place where I could join into a higher level of intelligent debate and conversation. I thank you for linking that site. I appreciate it.

      Report Post »  
    • Non-regulator
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:25pm

      IN that Day has a point that even Beck supporters can or do appreciate. I won’t be following this string of messages for anyone commenting here or there.

      Report Post » Non-regulator  
  • bpodlesnik
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:07pm

    But, but, but….the actors are….liberals…..and therefore I’m going to boycott the movie.

    On a serious note, I watched the movie Sunday night and thought it was incredible. They made Bane a heck of a lot better then in Batman and Robin. His voice just fit perfectly with the role and Tom Hardy did a great job acting. A couple of throw-offs to that I did not see coming.

    Report Post » bpodlesnik  
  • riseandshine
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 7:58pm

    Lol

    Report Post » riseandshine  
  • ShyLow
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 7:51pm

    Just be glad someone else is als getting the word out, all of Hollywood is not the enemy…Hollywood can also be used to win back the culture

    Report Post » ShyLow  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 7:46pm

    Hey, the Blaze just saved me $30 for movie tickets. I will just wait for the DVD. Besides, I know I am safe in my house, and the beer is better.

    So it takes a movie to show people what anyone growing up during the 70′s, 80′,s or 90′s would know, communism is bad.

    All you have to know is a public park sounds good, a public bathroom doesn’t. And under communism, everything is public.

    The choice is simple, Toilet Paper or your Finger….It’s your choice Amerka.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
  • justangry
    Posted on July 23, 2012 at 7:34pm

    Alright Blaze, you already silenced, smeared, censored, silenced, smeared censored my boy let‘s not be continue being douchebags by spoiling the movie I’m going to wait to see when it come out on Blue Ray. Thanks!

    Report Post » justangry  
    • MAX0O1
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:58pm

      Get a life!

      Report Post »  
    • therealconservative
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:06pm

      @just
      “ My need to know was pretty much limited to squadron affairs”

      Which means that your clearance, if you had one, was low. So don’t try to insult me with “but I had the same clearance, and think you both are trying to pull the wool over peoples’ eyes in that regard because your need to know was limited.”

      As MAX just told you ‘Get a life!’

      Report Post » therealconservative  
    • justangry
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:24pm

      I’m not trying to insult you. As far as I know Top Secret is it. I knew what was going on in the squadron, and sister squadron. A knew little bit about what was going on with the Airwing and Flag. And even with the clearance, I would sometimes be asked to leave the ready room. I didn’t know what the Seals were doing. The Cryptographers were doing. I didn’t know what the submariners were doing. I didn’t know what the CIA was doing. I didn’t know what the NSA was doing. I didn’t know what the Pentagon was doing. etc. I didn’t know what folks in your area were doing. I didn’t have the “need to know” for all of that. Are you saying that artillery units aren’t restricted with the same “need to know” limitations?

      Report Post » justangry  
    • therealconservative
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:42pm

      @just

      “Are you saying that artillery units aren’t restricted with the same “need to know” limitations?”

      Yes we were, but I was in the in the ‘need to know’, as I said I ‘launched nuke’s’. Then came the ‘Intel field’.

      TS is only a class level.

      Report Post » therealconservative  
    • justangry
      Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:40pm

      Why are you trying so hard to validate yourself to your computer? If you’re a veteran, you’re my brother and I respect the hell out of you even when we disagree. It‘s a shame you can’t offer me that same respect.

      Report Post » justangry  
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