Ace High
27th July 2013, 18:25
From the Batman universe, but in this context, I'm speaking specifically about how they were portrayed in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.
So, what was their ideology? How would you classify it?
The entire purpose of the league's existence is to serve justice. And their definition of justice seems to range from preventing isolated violent crimes to high level "white collar" corruption and corporate greed. For instance, in the trilogy, it is revealed that they orchestrated the fall of the Roman Empire, loaded trade ships with Bubonic plague-infested rats to Europe, and started the fire of London. Their next target is Gotham City, meant to represent the current hub of the West.
Now, what is their explanation for this and why do they target the West specifically?
They only dismantle the hub of the West when they feel that it is beyond saving. Meaning the West has become such a breeding ground for violence and corruption that the people collectively are to blame, therefore it is better to just wipe them out and start over and rebuild. The people have failed by letting the West become decadent, therefore, they are collectively guilty.
Now, let's talk about specifically Bane from the final movie in the trilogy. Bane was a member of the leage as well as a master at guerrilla warfare and incredibly good at organizing the workers in Gotham to plan the takeover of the stock trading place (the equivalent of Wall street in the movie). You can see that the people who help him are janitors, construction workers etc working undercover for Bane. Then, finally, when Bane does take Gotham hostage, he proclaims a state of anarchy and calls for "the people" to take charge. He arms people with guns and has them storm Blackgate Prison which he sees as a symbol of oppression. He also holds trials fro high-up CEOs and other exploiters, where the punishment is their choice between death or exile. Of course, his anarchist society fails at the last minute when Batman comes and kicks his ass in the epic fight scene at the end :D
Anyway, I wanted to know your thoughts on the type of ideology the League of Shadows seems to uphold. It is interesting to note that the initiations to the league consist of some Masonic symbols as well as alot of Eastern Buddhist-based philosophy.
So, what was their ideology? How would you classify it?
The entire purpose of the league's existence is to serve justice. And their definition of justice seems to range from preventing isolated violent crimes to high level "white collar" corruption and corporate greed. For instance, in the trilogy, it is revealed that they orchestrated the fall of the Roman Empire, loaded trade ships with Bubonic plague-infested rats to Europe, and started the fire of London. Their next target is Gotham City, meant to represent the current hub of the West.
Now, what is their explanation for this and why do they target the West specifically?
They only dismantle the hub of the West when they feel that it is beyond saving. Meaning the West has become such a breeding ground for violence and corruption that the people collectively are to blame, therefore it is better to just wipe them out and start over and rebuild. The people have failed by letting the West become decadent, therefore, they are collectively guilty.
Now, let's talk about specifically Bane from the final movie in the trilogy. Bane was a member of the leage as well as a master at guerrilla warfare and incredibly good at organizing the workers in Gotham to plan the takeover of the stock trading place (the equivalent of Wall street in the movie). You can see that the people who help him are janitors, construction workers etc working undercover for Bane. Then, finally, when Bane does take Gotham hostage, he proclaims a state of anarchy and calls for "the people" to take charge. He arms people with guns and has them storm Blackgate Prison which he sees as a symbol of oppression. He also holds trials fro high-up CEOs and other exploiters, where the punishment is their choice between death or exile. Of course, his anarchist society fails at the last minute when Batman comes and kicks his ass in the epic fight scene at the end :D
Anyway, I wanted to know your thoughts on the type of ideology the League of Shadows seems to uphold. It is interesting to note that the initiations to the league consist of some Masonic symbols as well as alot of Eastern Buddhist-based philosophy.