The backlash from disappointed people after the nominations of the 2009 Annual Academy awards were announced had been phenomenal. All this has been targeted at the fact that The Dark Knight has only been nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Earlier this month, The Dark Knight has already received awards and nominations from The Grammys, The Golden Globes and The Screen Actors Guild. But why was it passed over for a nomination of an Oscar? With only five places for a Best Picture nomination, the movie may have only just been passed over. It has received nominations from the Producers, Writers and Cinematographers Guild earlier in the month.

Unfortunately this time around, The Dark Knight will not be taking home a Best Picture award or a Best Director Oscar. Heath Ledger has received a Best Supporting Actor nomination, but Chris Nolan missed out on the Best Directors nomination. Amongst all this Oscar hype, people are questioning whether this movie even deserves the nomination that it did, and whether it only received this nomination in response to public reaction to Ledger?s untimely death.

Many people have described this movie as the best movie that they have ever seen in their lives and that it truly deserves more recognition by the Academy. Reaction to the movie has reached a level that no other movie has ever seen before.

Throughout this awards campaign, The Dark Knight has seen tremendous box office receipts. When the movie was first released the media and public reaction was massive. The greatest movie of all time was a common conception. The greatest comic book movie of all time was another. Will every super hero/action movie be measured against this movie from now on? Even talk over the internet has managed to elevate it to cult status that it perhaps doesn?t deserve.

The Dark Knight is not just a movie about a dark super hero, it is a commentary on the ongoing cultural production and reproduction of a capitalist system. It is also about creating criminal classes out of any minority group, and the use of violence in keeping the lower classes in control. Along with the high production values associated with today?s blockbusters, it shows us about monopolising the financial capital and the power of the state transferred to capital.

Terrorism is a central theme in The Dark Knight, and how the general public view these insane terrorist and the reaction from the authorities in dealing with them. In short, it shows us how capitalist dominance will prevail.

While much about the next instalment in the Batman movie franchise remains unclear, The Dark Knight collected $997.7 million in Worldwide box office and has won a Golden Globe and a SAG award for the late Heath Ledger. It was also nominated for other prestigious awards, including the 81st Academy Awards.

The Dark Knight?s executive producer has spoken publicly about the very real possibility of a sequel, and has hinted at a release date in 2011.

Related Articles