Architecture and cinema: analysis of the relationship between narrative and architectural space in Christopher Nolan’s the Dark Knight Trilogy

Abstract

Cinema’s invention in the 19th century has changed humans’ relationship with the built environment and introduced new possibilities of representing architectural spaces. Both architecture and cinema mediums concentrate on certain (common) notions such as space, time, narrative, editing and framing all of which contribute to the strong relationship the two disciplines have. The relationship between architecture and cinema is a two-directional one; both disciplines mutually influence and affect each other. This thesis suggests that the notions of space and narrative should be regarded as the most important elements of the relationship architecture and cinema have since they encapsulate other notions mentioned and, in order to fully realize this relationship, these two notions should be analyzed in relation to each other in detail. Cinematic narrative and architectural space represented in film constantly influence each other; any change in the narrative affects the representation of space and employment of a certain space alters the cinematic narrative. In order to analyze this relationship, this thesis concentrates on how architectural spaces and cinematic narrative mutually influence each other via a close analysis of The Dark Knight Trilogy. As a result of the analysis conducted, it is found out that space and narrative have a strong and twodirectional relationship: the cinematic narrative has the power to infiltrate into architectural space represented in the film and, as a result of this, alters the meaning of the space represented. Moreover, this situation contributes to the narrative and is used to highlight certain narrative concerns within the film.