The Dark Knight Rises: Christianity, capitalism and psychopathology.

Through a close reading and analysis of the narrative and visual language used in Nolan's Batman trilogy, this article deconstructs the subtextual narrative of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, teasing out the themes of Christianity, psychopathology and capitalism. Furthermore, by investigating theories of capitalism, Christianity and psychopathology, this article elucidates the manner in which these seemingly mutually exclusive ideologies are reconciled in a post-9/11 contemporary culture. By perpetuating to the grand narrative of 'Terrorism', The Dark Knight Rises (Nolan, 2012), as a mode of popular cultural production, promotes a fear of difference and of social transgression. The Dark Knight Rises situates the corporation as angelic and the citizen as demon/terrorist and promotes this rhetoric to ensure our dependency on a capitalist system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]