THE OBENSON REPORT

Covering Cinema From All Across The African Diaspora

What Bush and Batman Have in Common

I know, I know... your immediate reaction was probably similar to mine - sonorous laughter!

This has to be good, right?

Rupert Murdoch's conservative influence is becoming evident in the Wall Street Journal editorials.

Here are some snippets from the op-ed piece by Andrew Klavan, who, by the way, I hear sometimes moonlights as the Joker (nyuck, nyuck, nyuck...):

- There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past.

- "The Dark Knight," then, is a conservative movie about the war on terror. And like another such film, last year's "300," "The Dark Knight" is making a fortune depicting the values and necessities that the Bush administration cannot seem to articulate for beans.

- And when our artistic community is ready to show that sometimes men must kill in order to preserve life; that sometimes they must violate their values in order to maintain those values; and that while movie stars may strut in the bright light of our adulation for pretending to be heroes, true heroes often must slink in the shadows, slump-shouldered and despised -- then and only then will we be able to pay President Bush his due and make good and true films about the war on terror.

Oh, OK. I guess he sure told us!

The writer seems to be forgetting the part about The Dark Knight's unwavering moral code, including his willingness to risk his own life for the service of societal good, done without any expectations of a reward, as well as his refusal to kill even his worst enemies - all character traits that seem to be absent in Bush. And let's not forget TDK's sense of responsibility and strong belief in justice for all (not just for his cronies) as well as in humanitarian service.

Read the entire piece here: W IS THE REAL BATMAN

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