Part 2 - Reclusiveness and madness

Two films from this term's course deal particularly with representations of excessively unsocial behavior in people - that is to say, private desires are unchecked by considerations of the good of society as a whole. The Dark Knight (2008) and Paprika (2006) both deal with reclusive characters uninterested in living among the general public. These two films also explore a social structure unable to contain the characters' pursuit of personal desires.

The architecture in these two films reflects a madness of a different sort than that of the first three - a madness of disorder and chaos rather than a madness of order and control. Unlike the first three films, there is no clear template for this kind of architecture other than intense variety in form, colour and lighting and a worn look and feel indicating human use - or overuse. This lack of template is a reflection of the nearly inifinite variety in people and their preferences, or subconscious desires, for built form. While no particular real place is referenced in these films, some ties to familiar examples of chaos can be made. For example, New York in the 1980s and early 1990s - a chaotic city rife with crime at the time - could be the inspiration for Gotham city in the Dark Knight (2008). Paprika (2006) draws inspiration from the threat that nature has historically presented to the order of the built environment.

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The Dark Knight - The Privacy of the Corporation	Paprika - The Dream World Invades the City