Bruce Wayne and The Joker almost mirror each other in these scenes from The Dark Knight - thanks to Nolan's genius character symmetry 

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight revolves around characters from DC Comics, but unlike other Batman adaptations, the 2008 film is rooted more in ideas than iconography. Nolan portrays Bruce Wayne as an anti-hero, who is capable of villainy as much as the villains in these stories. So, his Batman isn't simply a messiah out to clean the criminal rot from Gotham.

As a billionaire playboy, Bruce is also part of the rot, whose very existence in the system can be frowned upon. Nolan doesn't outright antagonize the character, but he shows that this son of a known philanthropist cannot simply be a hero to look up to. His charitable behavior doesn't negate what Bruce represents.

The Dark Knight built on the idea that Bruce Wayne and The Joker are not too dissimilar. They might not be two sides of the same coin, but they are not the conventional hero and villain either. It becomes particularly evident in two scenes from the movie, where Bruce and Joker nearly mirror each other's movements and dialogue.

It happens when Bruce enters his penthouse to endorse Harvey Dent as the district attorney for Gotham. In another scene, the Joker enters the same space and says or does almost the same thing Bruce does.

How do Bruce Wayne and The Joker almost mirror one another in The Dark Knight?

Film School Dropouts on Instagram recently brought to attention a unique connection between Bruce and Joker in The Dark Knight. As seen in their attached post, Joker acts almost exactly as Bruce does in an earlier scene. It almost feels like he is mimicking the billionaire, who refuses to reveal his true identity as a vigilante out to clean Gotham's criminal scum.

The similarities between these scenes are hard to dismiss. They show Bruce as his cocky self, endorsing Harvey since he secretly sees the man as a beacon of hope for the city. If Harvey takes on this responsibility, Bruce can shed his vigilante persona. It can also help him be with his childhood friend and love interest, Rachel Dawes, who is presently dating Harvey.

Yet, while Bruce seeks order, Joker seeks anarchy. As Alfred Pennyworth aptly points out elsewhere, he is just one of those men "who just want to watch the world burn." There is seemingly no rhyme or reason to his madness, which Bruce can use against him. He doesn't even desire wealth or a higher status than other criminals.

In a different scene, Joker burns down a whole pile of cash just for the heck of it. He seeks maddening chaos, which is why he is nothing without someone like Batman, who seeks order. While that sets them apart, there is an aspect that makes Joker and Bruce eerily similar. They both put on a facade to reach their goals.

As a clown, Joker makes a grand entrance and terrorizes everyone, while concealing his true motives to dismantle the city's order. Bruce uses the mask of a suave billionaire to hide his true intentions behind endorsing Harvey. Despite their differences, they use Harvey as a tool to reach their goals. Film School Dropouts aptly elaborates on this in their caption. It reads,

"The film [The Dark Knight] reckons with the philosophy of heroism and vigilantism, using Ledger's Joker as a mirror for Christian Bale's Batman to look upon. Chaos and justice, heroism and villainy, control and anarchy all become indistinguishable from one another."

Let us know other ways that connect Bruce Wayne to The Joker in The Dark Knight.

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Also read: “He cuts through the film”: When Christopher Nolan compared Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight to the Shark from Jaws

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