The Dark Knight Trilogy and 9/11

Now that some of the dust has subsided, and some time has passed since the release of The Dark Knight Rises, we should perhaps take a second look at its importance as a piece of pulp art in post-9/11 America. Many commentators have been speaking of how Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy has changed superhero films as we know them. (James Berardinelli gives a good breakdown of this.) And although this is most certainly true, to me the larger importance of Nolan’s trilogy won’t be felt for quite a while, when the current reign of post-9/11 fears and anxieties have passed.