The Dark Knight and Made in America
Posted by SPaul on September 15th, 2008Our resident blogger Steven is off recording a pro-manufacturing song today (no joke!) that we’ll tell you about in the near future. In the meantime, here’s the first installment of an occasional series of observations about pop culture and manufacturing.
My wife and I saw The Dark Knight on Saturday evening. (Yes, we are among the last folks in America to see the latest Batman offering…but cut us some slack…we have seven-month old twins at home!) We both loved the movie and were impressed with the late Heath Ledger’s frightening portrayal of “The Joker.”
But I also had a moment of “Made in America” zen. In an early courtroom scene, Gotham City D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) pries a malfunctioning carbon-fiber pistol from a thug and would-be assassin on the witness stand, examines the weapon, and deadpans, “Made in China. Next time, buy American.” There’s also a later scene in which a shady Chinese company wants to set up a joint venture with Bruce Wayne’s mega corporation. How fascinating is that?
So often, Hollywood gets American manufacturing wrong. That’s why I’d like to give special praise to those who do get it right. A big ManufactureThis thumbs up to The Dark Knight. (I’ll review Ironman after I see it on DVD. Stay tuned.)
September 15th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I’d like to call your attention to a powerful pro-manufacturing song on YouTube, “Dollar to the Giant”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUj8leZxmK8
September 16th, 2008 at 3:27 am
I watched and listened to “Dollar to the Giant” 3 times. It’s amazing how true the message is. China is “cutting us a new one” and we just sit on our hands doing nothing. To bad a guy like Willie Nelson or Bruce Springsteen didn’t record this song so millions of Americans could get the message. I wish your Steven success in his venture. By chance did you listen to “Dollar to the Giant”? If you did, what’s your take on this song?
September 18th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Interesting observation about the lines and scenereos in the Dark Knight movie. I remember the Made in China line but had forgotton it. Thirty years ago that line would have been “Made in Japan” Things have certainly changed. First our steel. Now our medium - large fabricating plants. I’m going to check out the movie now! http://www.JokerHeathCollectibles.com
September 19th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
[…] section for movie advice when you surf ManufactureThis. Earlier this week, you got our take on The Dark Knight. Now, we have not one, but two (!) movie previews for […]
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
[…] Does pop culture view manufacturing as cool now? Perhaps. The top two grossing movies in the U.S. this year so far are Ironman and The Dark Knight, which had a pro-American manufacturing message to it. ManufactureThis blogged about the latest Batman installment a few months ago here. […]