James Taranto runs an amusing regular feature called “Wannabe Pundits,” in which he collects examples of sports, science, and entertainment writers who unexpectedly veer into embarrassing political commentary. This Newsweek interview with Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight, is a great example of the genre. Nolan’s interlocutor, entertainment writer Devin Gordon, tries not once, not twice, but thrice to get Nolan to draw an absurd analogy between Batman’s world and today’s America. To wit: “It’s also something of a grim time in our country, which is why so many themes in this movie feel relevant.” And: “The film implies that Gotham’s latest wave of psychos exist partly because of Batman, not in spite of him. His presence has unintended consequences in the same way that the U.S. presence in Iraq has consequences.” And: “So it’s not a stretch to look at Gotham and see shades of Baghdad?” Nolan wisely avoids this line of questioning. He doesn’t want to alienate any potential moviegoers with a superfluous and unoriginal political lecture. Leave that to Newsweek.
