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Can you negotiate with the stereotypes presented-stock characters?

Examples of stock characters in ''The Dark Knight Rises'' are...

. Action Hero, Superhero, Secret identity
 - Batman
. Femme Fatale- Catwoman
. Killbot- Bane's terrorists
. Supervillain, Town Bully, - Bane
. Sidekick, Legacy Hero- Blake (Robin)

The use of stock characters and their relation to stereotypes in 'The Dark Knight Rises' because it helps set the audience's expectations of what they are going to watch. By using these stock characters, the director can apply the stereotypes he wants to use and link them to the messages and themes of the film. For example, portraying Bane and his army as Killbot's and Supervillains and them giving them the stereotypes of terrorists, he can convey a message with the film that the audience is familiar with.

''Four Lions''

. Anti-Hero- All of them
. Byronic Hero, Tragic Hero - Omar
. Sidekick, Jock- Waj
 .Scapegoat- Mahmood
 . Redshirt- Faisal
 . Villain - Barry

The use of stock characters and their relation to stereotypes in 'Four Lions' is different than Batman because the director uses stereotypes without linking them to stock characters. He instead portrays the terrorists as stereotypes and lets the audience link what stock characters they are. For example, at the begining of the film, we see Omar and Barry acting like stereotypical terrorists and a audience would classify them as antiheroes but over the course of the film, we see Omar is less ridiculous than Barry and that Barry is the villain of the story. The humour comes from the film and its characters because the audience has to define what stock characters the terrorists are represented as and the foolish things they do surprises the audience and their expectations.

In four lions, are we aligned with the heroes or villains?

The narrative of the story in four lions is structured in a way that we cant decide if they are heroes or villains and the film relies on the viewer and topical events to create a depiction of the characters as heroes or villains. Whilst the viewer may despise terrorists, the film's narrative aligns with them as normal people, neither heroes or villains. It is up to the viewer to create their own opinion or interpretation.

If Four Lions is parodying terrorism and Dark Knight is showing the importance of fighting it, why are they offering such different views? Which is more dominant in cinema.

The two different films have such different views because in Dark Knight, the incorporation of the theme of terrorists sends a message about terrorism , it also has a job as a narrative device in classic hollywood narrative and as a disruption to the equilibrium. In Four Lions, the message it sends is more important than the narrative of the story, which is why it is  an non hollywood narrative, The director wants the topical issue of terrorism and terrorists satirized in order for people to laugh about it and break the taboo of it as a subject. The classic hollywood narrative is much more dominant in cinema than an non hollywood narrative because it provides familiarity to the audience who have expectations on what they are going to be watching.

Consider the impact and style of the director for Four Lions and his previous work.

The director of Four Lions, Chris Morris is a comedian and writer known for his controversal satire and style of humour. He has created a satirical news show, in the past called Brass Eye, which saw media attention for the episode 'Paedogeddon!' This style of satire and making humour of taboo or dark subjects is typical of Morris and Four Lions is an example of his style also. Morris's use of shock humour is also carried on in Four Lion's with the theme of his work, that shocking people to send a message is prevalent.