July 9, 2008 - 10 comments

It’s No Joke(r) – Batman’s Movie Graphics Mirror “The Crow”

While strolling through Noho the other day, I was stopped in my tracks by the recent Batman: The Dark Knight movie poster. The image of Heath Ledger as The Joker, with his shoulders hunched, dark coat and white face paint immediately called to mind one of my favorite movie characters - The Crow.

The similarities in the graphics and toys from the two movies are striking.

Besides the obvious visual examples, there are notable common elements regarding the characters and actors. Although the characters are on opposite ends of the "good vs. evil" spectrum, they were both profoundly affected by losing someone they loved, resulting in the need to transform their appearances and seek revenge. The most startling similarity, of course, is the shocking deaths of both movies' stars. Neither Brandon Lee nor Heath Ledger lived to see their films released. Both died tragically at age 28.

So what do you think? Did Batman's marketing department intentionally mirror the graphics with the goal of subliminally tapping into the cult phenomenon of Brandon Lee's Crow? Or is it just an eerie coincidence?

Sharon Terry is a marketing and public relations consultant at theMechanism, a multimedia firm with offices in New York, London and Durban, South Africa. She’s partial to Batman even though she married a joker.

Published by: sharonterry in The Thinking Mechanism

Comments

sarah k
July 10, 2008 at 11:47 am

sharon! followed the link from facebook to here– you should let me post this as a guest blog on my site! lemme know what you think of the idea.

hope youre well besides! 🙂

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sarah k
July 10, 2008 at 11:47 am

sharon! followed the link from facebook to here– you should let me post this as a guest blog on my site! lemme know what you think of the idea.

hope youre well besides! 🙂

Comments are closed.

YuppiePunk World HQ
July 10, 2008 at 5:29 pm

Not a bad theory. We had it too! Plus — we offered up some other potential black and white makeup wearing celebs who might be next…

Read the feature here.

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YuppiePunk World HQ
July 10, 2008 at 5:29 pm

Not a bad theory. We had it too! Plus — we offered up some other potential black and white makeup wearing celebs who might be next…

Read the feature here.

Comments are closed.

Dave Fletcher
July 11, 2008 at 9:19 am

Thanks for the link over to your feature YuppiePunk. Also, thanks witz.org for the trackback!

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Dave Fletcher
July 11, 2008 at 9:19 am

Thanks for the link over to your feature YuppiePunk. Also, thanks witz.org for the trackback!

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Sharon
July 11, 2008 at 9:29 am

And also thanks, Sarah! I’d be happy to be guest blogger on SarahSpy!

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Sharon
July 11, 2008 at 9:29 am

And also thanks, Sarah! I’d be happy to be guest blogger on SarahSpy!

Comments are closed.