Ten Years of Batman, and of Change

Op-ed on how Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy has re-shaped large segments of the movie industry.  It is interesting to think how much things have changed in the past ten years – and yet how much things have stayed the same.  In many ways, 2005's opening of Batman Begins feels closer to today than it does to 2004.  It is as if some invisible line was crossed that year, one that can only be seen in hindsight.

What was that line?  Katrina certainly, but more to the point the real estate bubble was beginning to pop in Florida, and that was the beginning of the cascade of economic problems that bottomed out in early 2009.  It is as if the summer of 2005 is the hinge on the door to our present world.  The summer of 2005 was the beginning of The Era of the Continuing Resolution.

Obviously, this post rates the "movie" tag, but there's something else in there.