Tag Archives: Christopher Nolan

Sovereign Dictator on a Boat: Carl Schmitt and the Dark Knight

The so called “Crown Jurist” and legal philosopher of Nazi Germany, Carl Schmitt, once said, “Sovereign is he who decides on the exception”[1]. Not only is this true in the realm of real world politics, but also in the world of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and this essay will reveal the Schmittian nature of a particularly interesting scene in the film wherein we see the rise of a so called “Sovereign Dictator” on boat.

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