The Dark Knight Opening sequence analysis Alex Campbell

Barthes Codes The hermeneutic code- in this opening sequence we don’t really know why they are robbing the bank, they repeatedly talk about the Joker but we don’t know who he is or what his part is in the film. This creates a sense of mystery to the audience. The proairetic code- this builds tension in the opening sequence as we don’t know what is going to happen as we keep getting hints that different members of the group have been told to kill each other. The symbolic code- this shows that there may be a deeper meaning to why the are robbing the bank, rather than just for the money, perhaps what they intend to do with the money.

Mise-en-scene The bank workers all wear suits or smart clothing whereas the robbers all wear practical clothing to rob the bank and face masks. The lighting used is mostly natural light, from the back, although there is some low key lighting to emphasise that they are bad people, by showing them in the dark.

Mise-en-scene The actors are all male, showing the stereotype of criminals mainly being male, other than the female clerical workers in the bank, another stereotype as you would not usually expect a man to be a bank clerk. They don’t really use make up as all the robbers have masks on. There is a variety of props used but the main prop is the guns, this is a typical expectation of an action film and a bank robbery. The opening sequence is set in and around a bank in a built up city.

Camera and editing This opening sequence uses a variety of camera shots and angles to create tension and suspense, as well as set the scene and show the narrative. It uses over the shoulder shots to create mystery, as we cant see the front of the men. It also uses a birds eye view shot to show the men zip lining between the two buildings. Mostly medium shots are used but there are some low angle shots to make the robbers seem powerful, and close ups and long shots all showing different details and setting the scene, as this is the opening sequence. The opening sequence uses the standard editing techniques, for example not crossing the line, matching action, eye line match, and cross-cutting. It uses parallel action a lot to show what the different men are doing in the bank, for example one is breaking into the vault and another taking hostages.

Story development From the opening sequence we can infer that the joker has no limits, he is happy to kill people for the sake of money, showing he has no limits. As this is an action genre film we know that after an opening sequence as violent as that it will carry on into the film. Generally this sort of film follows Todorovs narrative stages, an equilibrium, a disruption to equilibrium, a recognition of disruption, an attempt to repair the disruption and a return to equilibrium. In this case we only see the first three stages, where people are going about there daily routine, when they break into the bank and when the bank manager starts shooting at them. Later on in the film it will show more of the narrative stages, when the hero gets involved. Sometimes in films they wont even show that many stages in the opening sequence.

Stereotypes There are two stereotypes of the male gender shown in the opening sequence, the first is of males being quite young criminals, the second of them being intelligent skilled workers, shown by the bank manager. A stereotype shown of women is the multiple women in secretarial jobs in the bank, who are vulnerable, in a not very high power job.