In the movie The Dark Night by Christopher Nolan, there are many powerfully constructed scenes,

which are almost many stories in themselves. As the movie reaches its crescendo, there's

a scene where it appears that the Joker's clowns have taken doctors as hostages. Of course,

being a Joker ploy, the situation hides a trick and an inversion.

The way Batman deals with this situation can help us understand what it means to be a hero

in an upside the symbolic world. The trick being played in the scene is indeed the setup of an upside-down threat.

Although appearing as aggressors and instigators of chaos, it is in fact the clowns who are taken hostage,

gagged under their masks while the doctors, representatives of

goodness, order, and healing, are the kidnappers hoping to ambush the police as they attempt

to restore order. In this scene, Batman has an insight that the others don't have. He can see

the truth hiding behind appearances. He can perceive that the world

is upside down. This is of course shown by him having glowing eyes, with light representing

the insight which he has over the police. So Batman realizes that this situation makes

obeying those in authority impossible for the time being.

So not only does he disobey the police, but he actively attacks them.

He prevents them from harming the clowns who are in fact victims in disguise.

So by attacking police, he's not only protecting the hostages, but he's actually protecting the police themselves.

Though we have no way of knowing that at the moment.

So without knowing it, the police are in danger of compromising themselves by killing innocent victims.

And they're also in danger of being ambushed and killed by the kidnappers who are dressed as doctors.

But from the perspective of the police, Batman is by the kidnappers who are dressed as doctors. But from the perspective

of the police, Batman is helping the kidnappers. And so they soon turned their hostility

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