Miller certainly gives the reader a lot to discuss in The Dark Knight Returns, but one aspect of the work that especially interested me was his ongoing use of modern television media as a plot device. While the constant flashing to Lola Chong and countless talking heads serves an expository purpose by giving the reader enough information to frame the story moving forward, there’s also a scathing undertone of social criticism. The eyewitness interview accounts, along with the over-the-top behavioral commentators, point to the weakness, anger, and growing “smallness” of the public (as Superman describes it in Book 3).
One of the reasons Miller’s use of the media really stuck with me is because I’m troubled by just how accurate his warped, sensationalist view of television news seems to be today, almost 25 years later. While CNN was around in 1986, DKR was written in the days before the Internet and a multitude of cable news stations helped bring about the 24-hour media/spin cycle. And while open access to information is obviously a good thing, I think Miller may have been keenly aware of the dangers we see in media today – when information is already so processed, manufactured, and commented on that it takes away all need for analysis or critical thinking on the part of the news consumer. Who needs to go through the hardship of thinking about something for ourselves when we have Glenn Beck, Keith Olbermann, and everybody under the sun willing to tell us all we need to know? (Just my own two cents on how modern media may be contributing to our growing “smallness.”)
Changing gears somewhat, I also really liked Miller’s recurrent use of the teenage gangs in Gotham. What makes them so disaffected/alienated that they are willing to latch on to just about anything or anyone to create a sense of identity (the mutant leader, Batman, the Joker)? Carrie’s leftover hippie parents are obviously not portrayed in a positive light, but that’s about the only insight the reader is shown into any problematic parenting. Do the changing attitudes towards “heroes” that Miller portrays somehow take away from a collective societal identity? Whatever the case, it’s clear that such extreme youth behavior is symptomatic of the troubled world Miller presents.
John
Another thing I notice about representations of media in The Dark Knight Returns is the focus on triviality. When Miller doesn’t use media as a plot device (to talk about the mutant gangs’ latest gruesome crime or let Dent’s therapist ramble on about his miracle cure), they often focus on the weather or other trivial matters, as we see in one scene (32) when a pundit brings us back with the lines “breakthrough in hair replacement techniques, and that’s the–excuse, me…”
All of this seems incredibly relevant to our time, even though DKR was written more than 20 years ago. This makes me wonder, did news start going wrong with the invention of televised, or is this a cultural shift that began in the 70s or 80s?
Another thing I notice about representations of media in The Dark Knight Returns is the focus on triviality. When Miller doesn’t use media as a plot device (to talk about the mutant gangs’ latest gruesome crime or let Dent’s therapist ramble on about his miracle cure), they often focus on the weather or other trivial matters, as we see in one scene (32) when a pundit brings us back with the lines “breakthrough in hair replacement techniques, and that’s the–excuse, me…”
All of this seems incredibly relevant to our time, even though DKR was written more than 20 years ago. This makes me wonder, did news start going wrong with the invention of televised, or is this a cultural shift that began in the 70s or 80s?
I have to say, I don’t know that news ever “started” going wrong. Ever read about Hearst’s role in the Spanish American war? Horace Greeley and his inflammatory rhetoric around the Civil War?
Naww, sensationalist rhetoric and thriving off of fear is the very lifeblood of news organizations. Always has been, always will.
Then again, I think John is quite right in highlight the 24-hr nature of today’s doom and gloom. That is a definite shift and Miller was spot-on to reflect it back to us. But does he really portray it as *that* sensationalistic? How is it any different from Miller’s own portrayal of the mutants, etc? Does he really say anything pointed about it, or does he actually amplify the rhetoric?
Anyway, I think the teenage gangs are an interesting discussion, as well–one that I wish Miller had spent much more time on.
I have to say, I don’t know that news ever “started” going wrong. Ever read about Hearst’s role in the Spanish American war? Horace Greeley and his inflammatory rhetoric around the Civil War?
Naww, sensationalist rhetoric and thriving off of fear is the very lifeblood of news organizations. Always has been, always will.
Then again, I think John is quite right in highlight the 24-hr nature of today’s doom and gloom. That is a definite shift and Miller was spot-on to reflect it back to us. But does he really portray it as *that* sensationalistic? How is it any different from Miller’s own portrayal of the mutants, etc? Does he really say anything pointed about it, or does he actually amplify the rhetoric?
Anyway, I think the teenage gangs are an interesting discussion, as well–one that I wish Miller had spent much more time on.
Something else I noticed with Miller’s portrayal of the news is the way all of the issues are simplified and any kind of debate boils down to a point/counter-point argument, in which talking heads talk over each other, instead of to and with each other. That’s of course how much of the news media is today, but I also wonder if this black & white debate reflects (intentionally or unintentionally?) how the The Dark Knight envisions cultural conversations more generally–say, conversations about heroism, authority, and so on.