Fashion in the 1940s, 50s and 60s

The other day I was looking at some dresses to inspire me in something and I noticed one article that said that the 50s style was coming back, so I decided to do a little research on my own. As I was looking at a various array of dresses from the 1950s, I couldn’t help but wonder what a radical change World War II bought in fashion (along with other various elements) and how it might’ve changed in the course of only 5 years after the war, so today I will be looking at transformation in fashion design between the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

The 1940s

Being that people’s minds were focused on more important things during the war, you would have expected fashion to take a huge downturn, but for women’s fashion (especially in America) this wasn’t the case. Granted, not as much money was being spent as before, but considering that the war could have completely destroyed the fashion industry, it was still going pretty strong. Let’s take a look at some of the predominant design features during this decade.

http://www.mintagevintage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/1940s-day-dress-war-years.jpg

As one can easily see from the picture above, colours were much scarcer during the war – this was because most of the designs were inspired by the soldiers’ uniforms which all came in various shades of grays, greens and browns to help blend into the background. This was mostly due to the fact that women were not allowed to be soldiers, and so designers gave the women a little of what they wanted. Whereas the predominant designs in the previous decade all featured straight shapeless silhouettes, designers were now looking at clinched waists and straight pleated skirts to create a simple hour-glass silhouette. Again, looking at the soldiers’ uniforms, designers started introducing belts or buckle embellishments at the waist. Skirts became shorter, and it became a common thing to see a skirt hemmed just under the knee. Since more and more women were going out to work, dresses needed to be more functional rather than fashionable (as always designers strived to achieve both). Since everything was being rationed, there was less fabric to go around and so women needed to be able to make more from less which

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led to plainer, simpler dresses, in other words: They were making the dresses just to have something different to wear. Buying clothes (or fabric) became cheaper with the invention of man-made fabrics such as rayon and nylon. Women found that traditional fabrics (which were being used for certain war apparatus such as parachutes and was more expensive to begin with) could be substituted and that these new, less expensive fabrics could be used instead. Later on in the decade, women started to get bored of the dull colours and wanted back the bold exciting hues of bright blues and reds. Although this was introduced into fashion it was still pretty scarce with only hints of colour here and there, such as a red blouse underneath a brown suit or a red hat while one was wearing a grey coat dress.

http://rlv.zcache.com.au/1940s_evening_dress_illustration_posters-rdf633fcc6af34daaa09e3689523e44dc_fsvoe_400.jpg 

Evening dresses were more demure than before. They were much more draped and flowing at the top, clinched at the waist and then flowing down straight so that women could have more freedom to move and dance around in them.

The 1950s and 1960s

By the end of the decade, the war had been long over and people were fed up of the dullness the war brought with it in every aspect. People wanted to celebrate life and have fun.

The 50s brought with them bolder colours and even bolder colour combinations. The famous poodle skirt was born (pictured left) which was nothing more than a huge slightly pleated skirt with a poodle embroidered on the front. Belts became wider, taking up almost the whole waist of the person wearing it. Polo style necklines became popular (yes, even for women) and of course the knotted scarf around the neck was an iconic piece of the 1950s that topped of any outfit. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeFdvC9sLpbcnMTreTxdtoM696TBWT9D-wPuHz8l1bpNU16amkqMisseXzPUdRrD-dwnUj9h18lT-w7N2nSLlmJNq-D2eUOFeHGdCgI5ShFHGyGahC0qPljhgNC3a3Tb8Lipkum42MbBL/s1600/50s+fashion.jpg

More and more patterns were introduced and it was really obvious that designers were continuously looking at coming up with something new because they were constantly experimenting with designs and colour combinations, so much so that sometimes they might have been verging on the ridiculous. Necklines were getting lower and lower and eventually this led to the re-introduction of the off-shoulder ‘neck’ line and the famous sweetheart neckline in evening wear.

http://fashion.lilithezine.com/images/1950s-Fashion-01.jpg

Of course the 1950s and 60s weren’t about completely eliminating the past, do you recognize these two classy ladies?    

http://www.pearshapely.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ss-100527-movie-auction-monroe-dress.ss_full.jpg - Marilyn Monroe

http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/26/2696/XTOUD00Z/posters/art-rickerby-first-lady-jackie-kennedy-wearing-blue-print-dress-during-her-tour-of-india.jpg - Jackie Kennedy

These were perhaps the two most popular style icons of this decade:

Marilyn Monroe was the blonde bombshell that kept on pushing the boundaries (much like Lady Gaga today) her clothes kept getting risquier and risquier and yet everyone wanted to dress like her – in my opinion she was the icon when it came to dressy evening dresses.

Jackie Kennedy was the American First Lady from 1961 – 1963 and during that time she entertained everyone with her classy dresses. She was always the best dressed one in the room and inspired a generation with her style.

In both these pictures we can see hints of the style that was popular in the 40s proving that designers always base their new designs on current styles and fads and them change a particular detail to make it their own.

 

From Archaic to Hellenistic

Today I decided to look at the transformation that took place between the Archaic and Hellenistic periods by comparing two sculptures, one from each time period.

Cleobis (Kleobis) and Biton by Polymedes of Argon circa 580BC

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These two statues are often referred to as one. They are usually either called “The Greek Twins” or “Cleobis (Kleobis) and Biton”.

“In the legend, Kleobis and Biton were Argives, the sons of Cydippe, a priestess of Hera. Cydippe was travelling from Argos to a festival in honor of Argive Hera. The oxen which were to pull her cart were overdue and her sons, Kleobis and Biton, pulled the cart the entire way (45 stadia, or 8.3 km/5.1 miles). Cydippe was impressed with their devotion to her and her goddess and she prayed to Hera, asking her to give her children the best gift a god could give to a mortal. Hera ordained that the brothers would die in their sleep, and after the feast the youths lay down in the temple of Hera, slept and never woke. Herodotus, who relates the story, says that the citizens of Argos donated a pair of statues to the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleobis_and_Biton

The Archaic period in Greece came right after the Greek Dark Ages where everything was lost – even the language, so the one could say that the archaic period was somewhat like the Renaissance period later on in history. Like so many Greek statues, the kouroi are naked except for boots which may identify them as travelers. The proportions of the bodies are very well laid out, however the details are very minimal. The face is very triangular, and the hair doesn’t look real at all as the curls are modeled one by one and they are quite large so much so that there are only three on each side of the head. The sides transition into the front so abruptly that there is almost an edge. The ears are somewhat too large for the head as is the head compared to the neck. The torso might be considered too short in proportion to the total length. It is particularly interesting to note the shape of the knees. They are triangular and almost indented into the full leg.

Now let’s take a look at how the style of representing the human body transformed in the space of 550 years:

 

Laocoon and His Sons by Agesander, Athenodorus & Polydorus of Rhodes. 25BC

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Laocoon_Pio-Clementino_Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg

“The most detailed description of Laocoön's grisly fate was provided by Quintus Smyrnaeus in Posthomerica, a later, literary version of events following the Iliad. According to Quintus, Laocoön begged the Trojans to set fire to the horse to ensure it was not a trick. Athena, angry with him and the Trojans, shook the ground around Laocoön's feet and painfully blinded him. The Trojans, watching this unfold, assumed Laocoön was punished for the Trojans' mutilating and doubting Sinon, the undercover Greek soldier sent to convince the Trojans to let him and the horse inside their city walls. Thus, the Trojans wheeled the great wooden Horse in. Laocoön did not give up trying to convince the Trojans to burn the horse, and Athena makes him pay even further. She sends two giant sea serpents to strangle and kill him and his two sons. In another version of the story, it was said that Poseidon sent the sea serpents to strangle and kill Laocoön and his two sons.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laoco%C3%B6n 

The Hellenistic period, as I said before, came roughly 550 years after the Archaic period, it was the age when the sculptors were looking back at the work of the sculptors that came before them and were looking to create the same affect in a better way and developing new techniques. Again the figures are naked, which was the style in the Hellenistic period – but in a way, it was also an almost realistic depiction. In Ancient Greece it was very usual for men to walk around without clothes proudly. Here the proportions are, as much as they can be, perfect, and it is very detailed. In my opinion, it’s so detailed that it’s as if the sculptor(s) carved the whole anatomy and then added a layer of skin to cover it. The faces are much longer in shape, like a real face would be. The hair looks much more realistic as the general shape is carved as one whole thing and the details are added later. As opposed to the kouroi, the sides of the faces transition very smoothly into the front, sharp where they should be and soft where they should be. The ears are placed just right and are to the right proportion. The torso is the right length for the overall length of the body. The biggest difference between this and the first sculpture however is in the knees. Whereas before the knees pulled the focus because they were sculpted so ‘badly’ here they blend in because they are done just right, as if they were real, after all no one really notices anyone’s knees unless they are ‘ugly’.

Olympic Logos Through the Ages

Today, I was surfing the internet and I came across some of the Olympic logos in the past, so for this next blog I’ve decided to take a look at the Olympic logos used in the last 88 years and how they have transformed according to the host city and any other aspects that might have influenced a particular design.

1924 – Paris, France

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The logo for the 1924 Olympics in Paris was basically the first logo. The ‘logos’ for the previous games were actually posters depicting a scene rather than one general logo under which everything is presented. This logo, is perhaps the plainest Olympic logo I have ever seen. The Olympic colours are not included, the ship has virtually nothing to do with either the Olympics or Paris (except perhaps the water sports).

1928 – Amsterdam, Netherlands

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The Netherlands decided to go back to the poster concept, obviously deciding that the logo hadn’t worked for the French 4 years earlier. This poster depicts an athlete crossing a finish line drawn to look like the Dutch flag and instead of a baton the athlete is holding a tulip which is the national flower of Holland.

1932 – Los Angeles, USA

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The Americans being... well, Americans and always wanting to do things in their own way as much as possible, decided to go back to the logo concept, and I have to say, they got it really right. The five Olympic rings are set in front of an American flag in the shape of a coat of arms. Going through the rings is an olive branch with a dove holding it in its beak – this is used to represent the hope for peace between nations during the games (and after). Here, we see the introduction of a motto – Citius, Altius, Forius – it is represented as a banner going around the rings so that one of each word is presented on either side of the Olympic ring logo as well as under it – the motto is Latin for ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’

1936 – Berlin, Germany

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Olympic_logo_1936.jpg

The Germans went with just an outline logo in 1936, it included a bell with a German Eagle holding up the Olympic rings. On the rim of the bell stands the motto “Ich rufe die Jugend der Welt” which translates to ‘I call the youth of the world.’

(Although this was the official logo of the games in 1936 it was also the design of an actual bell which was made to be used during the games – the bell itself is a replica of the one we see in the logo above however it has a relief of the Brandenburg gate on the opposite side).

1940 – Tokyo, Japan

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The 1940 Olympic Games were cancelled due to World War II; however the logo had already been released. Again it was released in poster format. The poster was simple enough, a white background with faded blue stripes at the top and bottom. Large plain black sans serif font as was the style in the 1940s in the middle the Olympic rings with a washed out ink, print (Japanese style) of a volcano atop the rings.

1944 and 1948 – London, United Kingdom

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/1948_Summer_Olympics_logos.png

 

The 1944 games were again cancelled due to WWII, they were scheduled to take part in London however due to the ongoing war they were cancelled.

The 1948 games were not cancelled and they were held in London. Being the first games after the War everyone was anxious. They were dubbed the Austerity games because of the economic climate after the war. Germany and Japan were not invited to join in the games and while the USSR (Russia) was invited, they decided it would be better not to send any athletes. These were also the first games not to be hosted in a newly built Olympic Village and the first to be broadcast on TV.

 

The logo for these games was very simple, a black Big Ben and Houses of Parliament on a white background with the Olympic rings (black outline, white inside) in the foreground and plain serif font. A motto for these games was not included in the logo, which personally I think was a huge mistake on the organizers’ parts given that these were the first games after the war – a motto would have helped raise the moral of fans all over the world.

some information gathered from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Summer_Olympics  

1952 - Helsinki, Finland

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/1952_Summer_Olympics_logo.png

In 1952, it was Finland’s turn to host the Olympics. The colour scheme of the logo is simple and straight to the point – blue and white – the Finnish flag colours. The large white building which is ‘holding up’ the Olympic rings logo, is (or was) the city symbol of Helsinki, representing the city sponsoring or ‘holding up’ the games.

1956 - Melbourne, Austarlia

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7a/1956_Summer_Olympics_logo.png

in the 1956 logo, one can see a pattern forming where the designers form the logo from one main colour, minimal details and they are reintroducing the idea of imagery related to the host country – also the Olympic rings are left uncoloured rather than with the colours of the Olympic flag. In the logo, an Olympic torch coming up from the map of Australia is again ‘holding up’ the Olympic rings. Around the border the words “16^th Olympiad” and “Melbourne 1956” fill the top and bottom of the logo with green laurel leaves to represent the wreaths given to the champions of the games in Ancient Greece.

 

1960 - Rome, Italy

 

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The 1960 games logo was the first and only logo to include an animal in the design; however given the animal I can understand why the designer decided to include it.

The animal at the top of the logo is a she-wolf feeding the two young boys known as Romulus and Remus. According to an old legend these two boys were abandoned by their father in the wild and when the new mother wolf found them she ‘raised’ them along with her own children, according to the legend, Romulus grew up to build the capital city, known today as Rome.

Underneath the wolf are the letters MCMLX which are the roman numerals for 1960. Underneath the numeral are the Olympic rings. This design has reverted back to black and white which to some seems very old fashioned given the context of the world (the era of flower power) however when one considers that the design is hinting at old Roman legends the colour palette is quite fitting.

1964 - Tokyo, Japan

 

 

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1964 and Tokyo finally get their chance to host the games 20 years after they were set to host them and had to cancel. The design for this logo is quite simple and straightforward; a white background with a red circle (The Japanese flag) with the Olympic rings, beneath the circle, in a light brown with the text ‘TOKYO 1964’ in the same colour.

 1968 – Mexico City, Mexico

 

 

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the logo for the 1968 games was one of the first to include the Olympic rings in full colour. From this year on, one starts to see a change in font styles, with each designer opting for a new, more modern font than the previous ones. Here, the designer decided to form the word ‘Mexico’ and the number ‘68’ with 3 grey split lines with at least one of the lines from each letter flowing on to the next one and so on. Personally I think that the grey text was a good choice to keep the Olympic rings as the only source of colour and therefore a stronger focal point, however I disagree with the placement of the rings on the number 68 as the number is not that recognizable.

1972 - Munich, (West) Germany

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d1/1972_Summer_Olympics_logo.svg/220px-1972_Summer_Olympics_logo.svg.png

This logo is reminiscent of the 1964 logo with the simple design of the Olympic rings and a circle (this design is more simplified than the other with the complete exclusion of text). The colour palette of this logo is a softer blue on a white background. In contrast to the 1964 logo, the circle is ‘striped’ to give the impression of movement.

 

1976 - Montreal, Canada

 

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1976 and yet another design with red as the main colour of the logo. The most interesting part of this design is the inclusion of the letter ‘M’ for Montreal above the Olympic rings in such a way that it makes everything appear woven together. It is also interesting to note that the overall shape of the rings and the ‘M’ together, form an abstract form of a maple leaf which is represented on the Canadian flag.

1982 - Moscow, Russia (Formerly USSR)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/1980_Moscow_Summer_Olympics_logo.png/270px-1980_Moscow_Summer_Olympics_logo.png

Again , red is the predominant colour in this logo, although not coincidently, considering that red is the colour associated with communism. Above the usual 5 rings, are 6 lines (forming in to 5) leading up to a point with a star at the top. This is used to represent the coming of Nations together in one ‘star’ city – Moscow.

1984 - Los Angeles, USA

 

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The 1984 logo is very much similar to the previous two; however the colour in this one is more heavily played on, incorporating the three main colours in the flag of the United States: red, white and blue. A similar concept to the other two is the lines included in the logo. Two of the three stars at the top of the logo are formed using elongated lines to create an effect of motion – almost as if one were watching an athlete run. The decision to include the stars is quite obvious, not only are there stars representing the States on the flag, the stars are also representing the athletes – ‘the stars’ of the competition. The font is simple, bold and black but in Italic to continue the effect of motion. At the very bottom the Olympic rings in full colour.

1988 - Seoul, South Korea

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/1988_Summer_Olympics_logo.svg

Here, the Koreans kept much of the concepts introduced in the previous logo: the tri-coloured shape, the lines to help create movement, the simple text and the full colour Olympic rings. The new concept here is the decision to add yellow in the three main colours, replacing the white in the previous logo. The swirls in the logo can also hint to the South Korean flag where the red and blue join together in a swirl.

1992 - Barcelona, Spain

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From this logo on, we start to see shapes representing one aspect or another of the host country formed into a person, or rather, athlete. Here, one can see three brush strokes, each in a different colour, forming a gymnast in a mid-air jump with their legs outstretched. The colours of the brush strokes represent the Spanish flag: red and yellow stripes with just a touch of blue (which can be found on the Royal Coat of Arms on the flag). Again the use of a simple font helps draw the eyes toward the main component of the logo. The Olympic rings are again represented in full colour.

1996 - Atlanta, USA

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110804230227/olympic/images/f/f2/1996_olympic-logo.jpg

The logo for the 1996 games is based on the 100^thanniversary of the first games after the founding of the International Olympics Committee (IOC). The logo is an Olympic torch with a red stencil flame coming out of it, and the flames transition smoothly into the American stars (although the inclusion of a purple star I strongly disagree with). At the base of the torch are the Olympic rings in black with the number 100 under the rings. Another simple font again, helps the viewer’s attention to be drawn to the torch logo rather than the text.

2000 - Sydney, Australia

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The logo for the 2000 games is a very visually exciting one. The figure of a rhythmic gymnast during a routine are formed by a large red boomerang and two smaller yellow ones representing the legs and arms, a smaller circle for the head which represents the hot Australian sun and the blue ribbon forms the outline of the Sydney Opera house – which is the first which pops to mind when one thinks of Sydney. The font here isn’t as simple as the previous few, rather it seems as if it is formed using paint brushes in broad rough strokes. The rings are once again represented at the bottom in full colour.

2004 - Athens, Greece

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Obviously, the motto for these games was ‘Welcome Home’, referring to the history of the games connected with that of the host country’s. Similarly the logo hints at symbols connected with the games and the host country. The background is a textured blue to represent the Greek flag, with a white laurel reef to represent the reef that was presented to the champions of the games in Ancient Greece. The two colours also represent those on the Greek flag. The font is, again, a simple one, however this time the colour is blue, obviously to tie in with the background of the logo, underneath it all, the five full colour Olympic rings.

2008 - Beijing, China

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/87/2008_Summer_Olympics_logo.svg/220px-2008_Summer_Olympics_logo.svg.png

The logo for the Beijing Olympics was another apt design for the host country. The background is red to represent the colour of the Chinese flag, in white is a dancing figure based on the Chinese symbol for the word ‘capital’ obviously referring to Beijing. Here, the designer (much like the one who designed the 2000 logo) strays away from traditional and simple fonts, opting instead for a font closely representing the traditional Chinese alphabet and symbols.

2012 - London, United Kingdom

http://netdna.webdesignerdepot.com/uploads/2009/03/london2012_logo.jpg

And now we come to the latest logo – London 2012. As one can easily notice upon first seeing the logo, it is almost completely independent from previous logos.

Here the designer has opted to work with extraordinary colours – mostly to represent the extraordinary year that the host city has had (with the Diamond Jubilee taking place only a month before the Olympic Opening), also being the only city to host the games for three editions ,the designers wanted to express this ‘uniqueness’ in the logo itself. The logo itself consists of two colours other than white. There have been various editions of this logo, each with their own colour combination, however the two most common combinations were a dark pink with a bright yellow border (appealing to a younger audience which ties in with the motto: “Inspire a generation”) and a dark blue with a red border (showing the colours of the Union Jack) in both versions, the word ‘London’ and the Olympic rings are white.

The font of the numbers to form the year, is inspired by the strange fonts and shapes introduced to the world through the internet. No doubt it’s a more modern take on a logo. Personally I agree with the designer’s idea to keep away from the colours traditionally used in Olympic logos and to use much more striking, contrasting colours.

Who knows what logo will be revealed in four years’ time, when Rio hosts the games for the first time. Although a logo has already been released (a number of them in fact) it is traditional for the host city to ‘tweak’ the logo in the space of those four years between its predecessor’s games and its own.

Transformation in The Batman Films

The character of Batman (originally a comic book character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) has seen an enormous transformation from animated series to movies and each one has a huge difference to its predecessor.

The first Batman appearance in film was in the 1943 serial film entitled “Batman” which contained 15 chapters. This serial film was also the first appearance of “The Bat’s Cave” (later changed to “The Batcave” for the comics) and the Grandfather Clock entrance to the cave. One of the first transformations is the description of Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s (The Batman) butler.  In the original comics before the serial Alfred is portrayed as an overweight, clean-shaven man while in the serial, he is portrayed by William Austin as an older gentleman with a slim figure and a thin moustache. The Alfred in the comics was later changed to match that introduced in the serial.

In 1966 Batman made his first big screen appearance in colour in “Batman: The Movie”. A new concept was introduced in this movie, which was that of introducing more than one villain in each movie. Whereas in the previous movies the writers introduced an original evil character for each movie, in this new movie, the writers decided to work with characters already introduced to the readers of the comic books and write a plot where four characters could feature rather than just one, these four characters were: The Joker, The Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman.

In 1989, the Batman character was given to director Tim Burton and actor Michael Keaton to makeover as their own. As is Burton’s style this new movie was darker when compared to the others before. It also included, what today is arguably the second best portrayal of the Joker by none other than Jack Nicholson. Three years later, a sequel was released, again directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton in the lead role. Again, in this movie, two villains roles are written instead of the usual one, again the two characters portrayed are Penguin played by Danny DeVito and Catwoman by Michelle Pfeiffer (perhaps the most notable portrayal of Catwomanto date.) Again, rather than just focusing on the villains’ ‘evil plots’ for the duration of the movie, in this film Burton introduces the creation of both villains and their transformation from two seemingly normal law-abiding citizens to two of the strongest adversaries that Batman faces.

In 1995, Joel Schumacher replaced Tim Burton as director as Warner Brothers decided that the Batman series needed to take a new direction, Michael Keaton didn’t like the direction that his character was taking and backed out of the film to be replaced by Val Kilmer. Chris O’Donell was the new Robin, giving ‘The Boy Wonder a new physical look – as opposed to the early portrayals of Robin as a very slim, clean cut, sleek very young (9-12 year old) boy (also known as the Teddy Boy look) he is now portrayed as a muscular, older (he now appears to be at least 19) rebellious young man with very little hair (as was the style at the time) and ear piercings. In 1997, an interesting addition in this adaptation was the introduction of Batgirl, who, prior to this movie, had never made it into the movies.

And now we come to the most recent Batman series: the so called “Christopher Nolan Series”.

In Batman Begins, the director finally depicts the ‘birth’ of the vigilante as well as includes one of the biggest villains ever introduced in the comics (but never in the movies): Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam Neeson) who plays a key role in the creation of the Batman. In the movie, Nolan also includes another notable evil character in the comics who also never made it to the big screen: Scarecrow. Through the introduction of Bruce Wayne’s history (which had never really been given importance in the movies) the character finally has a certain depth to it which makes him more relatable – the personal anguish and grief which the character goes through makes him seem more realistic (as was Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s original intention in creating a superhero whose only powers were intelligence, experience, and physical strength which is gained through a healthy lifestyle and training, making him the ideal role model for the young readers of the comics). The movies now take on an even darker approach than those directed by Tim Burton, however where Burton’s movies looked more cartoonish because of that darkness, here, they make it more real because Nolan decides to portray the impoverished part of Gotham as well as corruption in the Police force and legal system of the city showing Batman as a fighter of ‘real’ crimes.

The sequel to ‘Batman Begins’ is perhaps most known for Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the ‘Joker’ which some call the most realistic portrayal of the character. No doubt playing a character which had been played time and time again by different actors, each of them bringing a different kind of insanity to the character was no easy feat for Ledger, however it is very obvious to whoever has seen ‘The Dark Knight’ will agree that he did the creators proud in his portrayal of the character. ‘The Dark Knight’ is also known for the return of Harvey ‘Two-Face’ Dent to the movies. One who has seen both ‘Batman Forever’ (1995) and ‘The Dark Knight’ can see that the difference between Tommy Lee Jones’ Two Face and Aaron Eckhart’s is vast – including the back story and creation of the evil inside Harvey Dent. One other very important facet of this movie is the fall of the Batman – finally showing to the audience that at the end of the day the Batman is Bruce Wayne who is nothing more than a man who is still susceptible to pain and grief just like any other man.

The latest Batman film starts off with Bruce Wayne as a recluse after taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s death, while hosting a party at his house (one which he does not attend himself) he meets Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman. Here, one can see the enormous difference between Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman and that portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. In this movie Catwoman is portrayed more as a Robin Hood-esque character, whereas in 1992 Michelle Pfeiffer played a wronged woman who was almost killed by her boss and her only motivation as Catwoman is the protection of women everywhere and her revenge on men especially her boss. Another very, very important transformation is that of Bane. In 1995 he was portrayed as nothing more than Poison Ivy’s ‘henchman’ while in the comics he was supposed to be Batman’s intellectual equal while being stronger than him, this was done very well in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ most especially when it seems like Bane has defeated Batman for good and in one instance the actions of the film all lead the audience to conclude that Batman is dead.

The final instalment of the Batman movies is perhaps the biggest transformation from the archetypical superhero movie because of the fact that it actually makes the audience really believe that Bruce Wayne is actually dead (with his Last Will and Testament being read). The movies previous to the Nolan series all seem to follow the usual format of superhero movies with the hero defeating the villains over and over again and the villain finally getting one over the hero by kidnapping his love interest or his crime-fighting partner and asking him to choose between saving them or the people of the city and somehow, miraculously the hero manages to do both “and they live happily ever after”.

Christopher Nolan really takes this concept and turns it around giving the audience what they really want and what they are not expecting at the same time. I think this is the number one reason why Christopher Nolan’s depiction of the Batman stories is the most popular one (apart from also being the most recent and realistic)

 

References:

Wikipedia. Batman in Film, last modified:12^th August 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_in_film(page accessed 16/11/12)