Ifaz

Chowdhury

How are the protagonists in the Dark Knight (2008) and Skyfall (2012)
represented?
In this essay I will be exploring the ways in which directors present protagonist
in my two case studies The Dark Knight (2008) and Skyfall (2012) using the
micro-elements. The Dark Knight is a US produced film directed by Christopher
Nolan it stars Heath Ledger and has a BBFC certificate of 12 in comparison
Skyfall is a UK produced film directed by Sam Mendes it stars Daniel Craig and
has a BBFC certification of 12A.
The Dark Knight is a film within the action genre and follows clear conventions
of this genre. An example of this is within the first action scene in this
production, is the scene where the protagonist Batman is presented as a hero
as well as vigilante as he serves justice using any means possible. We see this in
the opening scene where there is a medium close up of the sky with the bat
symbol which automatically indicates the presence of the protagonist, the fact
that the protagonist has been introduced through the emergency symbol
suggests that he is presented as a the hero in terms of Vladimir Propps
narrative theory of the seven broad characters it also symbolises Batman as a
symbol of hope as a bright light shines upon the low-key natural lighting.
Through this the audience can see that the director is presenting the
protagonist Batman in a stereotypical manner, however, the fact that he is
dressed in a black costume is a countertype of a protagonist and could act as
an enigma to the audience.




A second representation of batman is presented in the proceeding scene in
which Batman fights the antagonists as he is presented as powerful. Nondiegetic score music synchronised with the diegetic dialogue where is Batman
immediately suggests the need for a hero, the non diegetic score music builds
up creating tension, and fore-shadows danger and violence. This is followed by
an over the shoulder shot of the men holding props of guns, used to connote

Ifaz Chowdhury

violence. The pace of the non-diegetic soundtrack began to slow down and is
followed by diegetic sound effects of loud clangs, this is done to dramatise the
introduction of the protagonist. The shot had transitioned to a low key lit zone
of the car park, where a masked man is presented. This denotes the
introduction in an enigmatic way to the audience, perhaps suggesting that the
protagonist is represented as a countertype of a hero, this is because the
colour scheme is very dark and there is little to no lighting, making him
mysterious and evil. So the fact Batman comes an intrudes such as dramatic
scene connoting so much violence, reinforces his powerful representation and
introduces the narrative theory of Levi Strauss binary opposition where we
see villains vs hero.

In the second scene the audience sees the protagonist appear to confront the
antagonist the Joker. The presence of the joker foreshadows the arrival of
Batman suggesting that Batman is a stereotypical protagonist as he is present
wherever the antagonist is causing panic presenting him as a saviour. The first
shot is a medium close up of the antagonist through the use of the mise-enscene element make up, we could see that the Joker and Batman do share a
similarity due to the costumes of both the characters the audience sees that
the colour scheme of Batman is black which is a connotation of evil however
according to Goffmans narrative theory there is always a protagonist and
antagonist and Batman plays the role of the protagonist; the Jokers costume is
mainly composed of colours like red and white, the colour red connotes danger
and power which enhances an evil representation of his role of the antagonist,
a stereotypical convention of films. We see this representation when the Joker
holds everyone hostage at gun point which shows the Joker as a stereotypical
antagonist the fact that Batman appears when citizens are close to facing

Ifaz Chowdhury

death reinforces the representation that he is a saviour. The director portrays

Batman in a favourable manner through the use of depth of field shown in a
medium close up that pulls the attention to Batman in the foreground as a
pose to the civilians in the background this is symbolic of the fact that the
audience do not have to worry about the safety of the civilians anymore as
Batman will save them; he follows the common convention of a hero as he is
able to save people.

Skyfall is also an action film and the opening sequence is symbolic of what
audiences have come to expect of a Bond film in recent years; a Caucasian
hero, exotic locations as well as weapons and ever-present danger, these are
all typical conventions we expect from an action packed film like Skyfall these
conventions also give an insight of what Bond is like as the audience can tell
that Bond is a daring and stereotypical protagonist we would expect in an
action film.
Similarly to Batman, as a protagonist James Bond is also presented as superior
this is show clearly in the car chase scene where sound is used to clearly show
this. The non-diegetic fast pace soundtrack begins to heighten in volume to
increase the intensity of the scene, emphasising the action that is to come, this
is stereotype of an action adventure film as it is used to make the protagonist
more of a hero in the eyes of the audience. Bond reaches the secondary
character MoneyPennys car, stepping in to the vehicle without hesitation,
denoting his intent on finding the antagonist. Consequently, Money Penny
drives off carelessly , following someone up ahead this is shown through the
use of a dolly that follows the movements of the vehicle. The reckless yet calm
Money Penny goes against the female stereotype; a strong female heroine, her
stony-faced reaction to the chaos around her connotes her experience, and
her similarity to Bond in the sense that they are both troubled characters,
embroiled within their jobs. Eventhough, Money Penny has this representation

Ifaz Chowdhury

James is still presented as superior over her through the use of depth of field
where we see a two shot with James in the foreground and MoneyPenny in the
background with the focus on James it clearly portrays him as superior over
her.
In the scene where James is chasing
the antagonist on motorbikes over
rooftops the camera angle is
predominantly positioned at eye
level, however, occasionally switches
to high angle shot, to show the height
advantage that the mercenary has
over Bond by standing upon the train
carriage, signifying that the
mercenary has the most control over the current situation, making Bond look
insignificant which is very unusual for the main protagonist to look less
dominant since stereotypically the hero is always portrayed as being superior,
this representation is reinforced by the colours or red seen within the scene
shown on the tiles of the roof this is a connotation of danger. Eventhough a
vulnerable representation of the character is counter-typical one, we do
expect the characters in action films to be placed in some sort of vulnerable
position as most action films conventionally follow Todorovs narrative theory
of disequilibrium; through the use of the camera angles we are able to see
James within the disequilibrium stage of the theory.
Sam Mendes uses a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound within the
opening sequence such as narration and soundtracks. The majority of the
sound that features in the opening sequence of Skyfall is diegetic sound. There
are several exchanges of dialogue in the opening sequence between agent Eve
and agent M who is positioned in the headquarters telling Eve to take the
shot when knowing the consequences. Eve takes the shot as we see in a close
up and that she misses and hits James, this very peculiar since heroes are
usually not the one to fall and letting the enemy flee. The easiest theory to
apply to the sequence is Strauss Binary Opposites. It is clear, from prior
knowledge in Bond films, that James Bond is a special agent who represents
the good work the government does, in order to keep society safe. It is also

Ifaz Chowdhury

clear that the mercenary on the train must be Bonds opposite, therefore,
representing the bad and criminal side of society that James Bond and his
organisation work against to protect.





Throughout this essay I have explored the technical aspects and theories to
show and explain how the protagonist I presented in both films I have studied,
I have noticed that both of the main protagonists are presented as heroes and
independent, powerful male protagonist. For example in Dark Knight through
shots like close up, and mise-en-scene, we see he is a hero as he hides his
identity to protect others.
Both films are action adventure, so there is going to be an antagonist and a
protagonist (which follows Goffmans narrative theory), usually the protagonist
in such films are presented as stereotypical males just like Batman and Bond.
Both films explore certain theories, for example both follow Levi Strauss
theory of binary opposites, which states that, where there is a hero there is a
villain, where there is good there is evil, this portrays the protagonist as
favourable male assests. However unlike James Bond, Batman is portrayed as
a good hero whereas the public within the text view him as a vigilante, for
example towards the end of the film the audience sees a master shot of the
police force unleashing bullets at Batman for no utter reason, as he is trying to
protect civilians from getting hurt by the antagonist Joker. Unlike Batman, in
James Bond we see that there is a female protagonist who plays a huge role
which goes against Propps theory and many stereotypes, for example when
the audience sees Moneypenny risks her life and saves the protagonist Bond
from danger. This goes against one of Propps theory of the damsel in distress
which clearly in this case Moneypenny, the secondary protagonist is more than
safe as the audience sees this in a close up of her using diegetic dialogue to
tell Bond to get in the car so they can get to safety.

Ifaz Chowdhury

Throughout this essay I have explored the technical aspects and theories to
show and explain how the protagonist I presented in both films I have studied,
I have noticed that both of the main protagonists are presented as heroes and
independent, powerful male protagonist. For example in Dark Knight through
shots like close up, and mise-en-scene, we see he is a hero as he hides his
identity to protect others. All in all, the way in which protagonists are
represented all depend on how representations of each character are viewed
by the audience.

Word count: 1808