I just watched The Dark Knight Rises again, and it got me thinking.
There’s been lots of online memes and cultural pushes to associate the Joker character with the nationalist right. I see this as an incorrect interpretation because the Joker is really an anarchic type figure. The Joker sets the fire to create mere chaos. Through the destruction of order, we are able to see ones true selves. Without the social, financial and political pressures: we become truly free and able to express our animalistic nature. His purpose is therefore to reveal humanities purest form, through the erasure of all rules and regulations.
The nationalistic right does not seek the destruction of all norms, but rather the re-establishment of better ones. Where the Joker views the raging fire as the end goal, Bane uses the fire to forge a weapon to wield order. ‘Order from chaos’ is not a new term, but it is one we must embrace. Just like Bane, our people have been tormented in the dark for far too long. We must reflect the injustices of this world on our oppressors, even if this creates a perceived chaos. The current institutions are completely against us, and only through their total destruction can we build a nation that resembles our people.
Now some low intelligent critics may claim that Bane was merely just simping for a lady, but they are wrong. Bane protected a young girl that was born into the same oppression that he was. And that’s what nationalism is about; we are collectivists with a shared history and a united future. Bane saved the next generation from torment and together they fought for a greater cause.
Now let me be clear, I’m not advising us to become supervillains and commit violence against Gotham City. Instead, I’m saying that we should embrace a little chaos in our actions and ideals: with the end goal of shocking the system into submission. There’s a reason that most conservative outlets are only enjoyed by the elderly, it’s because they regurgitate the failed old standards rather than looking to new paths forward.
Bane’s greatest speech that explains these ideals (slight edits from me):
“Do you accept this man’s resignation?! Do you accept the resignations of all these liars?! Of all the corrupt?! … We take our nation from the corrupt, the rich. The oppressors of generations who’ve kept you down with the myth of opportunity. And we give it to you, the people. This nation is yours, none shall interfere. Do as you please. But start by storming prisons and freeing the oppressed! … Step forward, those who would serve, for an army will be raised. The powerful will be ripped from their decadent nests and cast into the cold world the rest of us have known and endured. Courts will be convened. Spoils will be enjoyed. Blood will be shed. The police will survive, until they are ready to serve true justice. This great nation will endure. Our people will survive.”
Other great quotes from Bane (slight edits from me):
“It doesn’t matter who we are. What matters is our plan”
“The fire rises.”
“Now is not the time for fear… that comes later.”
“I’m this nation’s reckoning. Here to end the borrowed time you’ve all been living on.”
“I’m necessary evil.”
“Let’s not stand on ceremony here… Peace has cost you your strength. Victory has defeated you. … Theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the uninitiated. But we are initiated.”
“You don’t fear death. You welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe.”
“Take them to the surface. People of their status deserve to see the next era of Western civilization.”
“Let the games begin.”
“Take control of your nation. … This is the instrument of your liberation. … Identify yourself to the world.”
“Give them over for judgment. And hang them for the world to see.”
“We both know I have to kill you now. You’ll just have to imagine the fire!”
“We come not as conquerors, but as liberators, to return control of this city to the people… Return to your homes. Hold your families close. And wait. Tomorrow you claim what is rightfully yours.”
“You fight like a younger man. Nothing held back. Admirable, but mistaken. … Ah, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Molded by it. I didn’t see the light until I was already a man, and by then it was nothing to me but blinding! The shadows betray you, because they belong to me! … I’ll show you where I have made my home while preparing to bring justice. Then, I will break you. I wondered what would break first- your spirit … or your body.”
