Some quick thoughts,

First, some shameless self-promotion. My column over at First Things, I adds my two cents on the idea of whether Romney 2016 is a good idea.

Someday I’ll do a longer post on the Nolan superhero movies, but The Dark Knight no more embraces anarchy than The Dark Knight Rises embraces the dictatorship of the proletariat. While Bane was not as successful a villain as the Joker when it comes to making a impact on the public, Nolan actually gave Bane the stronger case. The Joker’s argument was ultimately speculative (and it failed when put to the test). Bane’s argument had the benefit of being factually correct in that Gotham really was refounded (and Gotham’s class of professional criminals imprisoned) based on a lie.

I also don’t think that it is right to say that The Dark Knight undermines heroism. It does complicate Bruce Wayne’s heroism, but by adding layers to his understanding of the public good and his willingness to sacrifice for others. Wayne was able to bring a measure of public order to Gotham through his vigilante activities, but he also knew that this vigilante-based public order was unsustainable.

Gotham needed the rule of law. When it came down to it, the vigilante was more committed to the rule of law than any of the other male characters in the film – even more than Jim Gordon. Wayne and Gordon agreed that Gotham needed a founding myth that celebrated the man of law (Harvey Dent) rather than the man of lawless (even if just) violence. This sounds like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, but Dent turned out to be no Ranse Stoddard. Wayne ended up acting out the roles of both the man of the law and the man of just violence even as he chose to allow himself to be seen as a murderer.

This is even more poignant when one considers that Nolan’s films are influenced by Ancient Greek thought. By all rights, Bruce Wayne had a claim for being the foremost founder of Gotham ’s new regime — maybe the highest honor that a citizen can claim in pre-Christian thought. Instead, he chooses to allow himself to be seen as a monstrous criminal so that the people might better embrace the law. This is the equivalent of George Washington choosing to frame himself as a traitor in order to consolidate the constitutional regime. Even George (who cared a great deal for his reputation) might have had second thought about embracing such disgrace.

But, since Nolan’s superhero movies are partly a running argument with Plato, it turns out that the noble lie is a fatal weakness rather than a bulwark of a stable polis.

Okay, it turned out to be more of a Batpost.