We all know that Christopher Nolan is a genius, but did we know he was also a fortune teller? Well Rush Limbaugh seems to think so. Even though
The Dark Knight Rises has been in development for several years. Conspiracy theorist have dreamt up a scenario in which Nolan chose Bane to be the main villain as an attack upon GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. So forget all that nonsense about Nolan wanting a villain that could be a physical challenge to Batman like he says over and over again.
Rush Limbaugh gave credence to this theory by discussing it on his popular radio show. The theory goes, Mitt Romney's old employer Bain Capitol shares a similar name to Bane. So that means when American voters hears Obama's campaign mention Bain during the race voters will associate Mitt Romney with an evil villain.
"Do you think it is accidental that the name of the really vicious firebreathing, four-eyed whatever-it-is villain in this movie is named Bane?"
"So this evil villain in the new Batman movie is named Bane. And there's discussion out there as to whether or not this was purposeful and whether or not it will influence voters. It's going to have a lot of people. The audience is going to be huge. A lot of people are going to see the movie. And it's a lot of braindead people, entertainment, the pop culture crowd, and they're going to hear Bane in the movie and they're going to associate Bain."
To claim that Nolan or Warner Bros. intentionally chose Bane several years in advance with the assumption that Romney would be the Republican candidate for president is absurd. But Rush isn't completely bonkers. I would not doubt that Obama will drop the name Bain Capitol as often as possible. The strategy of associating Romney with the Bane is actually quite sound. American voters have shown from time to time that they are susceptible to manipulation.
If you need a recent example just look to Dr. Howard Dean and his scream that ruined his 2004 presidential campaign. He finished in third place in Iowa that night, but was still considered among the favorites for the Democratic nomination. While he gave a concession speech his enthusiasm got the best of him and he barked out one of the most awkward screams you'll ever hear. After that he was fodder for late night talk shows and supporters deserted him quickly as to not be associated with him. In the end the former Governor of Vermont wasn't toppled by his socialistic approach to medicine but by a creepy high-pitched holler.
Rush finished his monologue with this wacky statement.
"But, anyway, I didn't really know what the point of this story is. They're trying to point out that in Batman the good guy and the rich guy are one and the same, and that's Bruce Wayne. And so what this guy is saying here, hey, instead of falling in with the evil guy being Bane, let's just say Batman is Romney. Batman's Romney, he's the evil rich guy, he's the good rich guy, he's out to save New York. The rich guy's the good guy. Of course the evil guy is always rich too in these Batman movies. You may think it's ridiculous, I'm just telling you this is the kind of stuff the Obama team is lining up. The kind of people who would draw this comparison are the kind of people that they are campaigning to. These are the kind of people that they are attempting to appeal to."
The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters July 20th 2012 and stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate.