Oftentimes, art and film reflect the real-world tensions that afflict our society. For actor Aaron Eckhart, the current anti-Trump demonstrations that are taking place in cities across the U.S. hark back to a film of his own: “The Dark Knight.”
Speaking with HuffPost’s Lauren Moraski on Monday, Eckhart, who stars in the upcoming film “Bleed for This,” looked back on “The Dark Knight,” in which he starred as district attorney Harvey Dent.
In the film, Dent and Batman aim to stop crime and bring down The Joker ― albeit through different methods. Batman/Bruce Wayne’s wealth enables him to fight The Joker, but the superhero’s desire to take action is ultimately relatable. It’s a sentiment that plenty of Americans feel right now, Eckhart said.
“We all have those feelings inside of us of like, ‘I would like to make a difference. I would like to be able to act. How do I do it?’” he said. “Batman, especially in the ‘Dark Knight’ and that trilogy, is an excellent example of ― now he has different tools than us and he has money but ― our desire as good citizens to make a difference and how do we do it with all the corruption that it amongst us right now.”
Eckhart, who said he saw protests in New York while walking home in midtown, added that the film can provide a glimpse into many of the issues we face in real life.
“Cinema, art is a mirror of our time ... even if it’s a Western or if it’s a superhero movie or whatever, it’s all coming from the collective unconscious,” he said. “So ‘Batman,’ I thought, had so many complex levels.”
Watch more from the interview with Aaron Eckhart here.
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