The film The Dark Knight, written by Christopher Nolan, Jonathon Nolan and Bob Kane, does a good job of presenting the philosophical themes of dualism and mimetic desire through its two main villains. Over the course of the Batman film, the alter ego of billionaire Bruce Wayne, fights to protect the city from the Joker and ultimately his friend-turned-villain Two Face, also known as Harvey Dent. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay Mimesis or mimetic desire is the idea proposed by René Girard who states that the desire for things is inspired by our innate need for imitate others. This imitation of others can then lead us to imitate desire. For example, going from wanting the same sports car as someone else to wanting that specific car they own. This causes conflicts and rivalries between people that spread to affect the group as a whole. Once someone gets what they want, those without it become angry and vengeful and so the cycle continues. Girard believes this is why violence exists in the world. The Dark Knight shows the consequences of mimetic desire on the inhabitants of Gotham City. After the Mob is discovered hiding money in Gotham's banks, Gotham begins to take a stand against organized crime in the city. In front of this stand are Harvey Dent, Gotham's perfect prosecutor who uses the law and Batman, the dark symbol of Gotham who uses force. They both seek to be symbols to emulate, Harvey Dent inspires the city of Gotham to work harder to eliminate organized crime from the city, while Batman's actions are literally copied by citizens wearing the same costume who attempt to help him. City in turn hires the Joker, a sociopath in clown makeup, to make the situation worse. He has power with the mob because they are afraid of him and Gotham City. This mimics Batman's tactic of having power over criminals due to their fear of him and his presence in the city. Girard states that when fear and chaos threaten the very structure of society, the community chooses a single person to blame in order to restore the previous peace, this is called scapegoating. However, scapegoating is a lie, as no one can ever be entirely responsible for such rampant fear and chaos. Therefore, peace does not last long and the cycle will eventually continue. Girard believed that because mimetic desire and rivalry were innate in man, the cycle could not be broken unless the scapegoat was replaced by a Christ-like figure to inspire nonviolent imitation within the community. Harvey Dent, as Gotham's White Knight, seems to be that character, fighting crime with law and not brute force. Even Batman supports the idea of ​​Harvey Dent replacing him and creating a Gotham that no longer needs Batman. However, the Joker ultimately corrupts Harvey Dent and destroys the mimetic desire for peace that Harvey inspired within the people and government of Gotham. With the burning of fifty percent of his body, the loss of his lover Rachael, and some persuasion from the Joker, Harvey becomes Two Face. He begins, imitating the Joker, to sow fear and violence across Gotham by attacking the police. Thus, our figure of purity and peace was corrupted and false victim of the fear that it was supposed to chase from the City. Ultimately, Gotham turns to scapegoating again, choosing Batman as responsible for the crimes committed by Two Face and the Joker. Thus, at..