Batman: Religious Symbolism

At the climax of the 1989 film Batman, Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) wears a white dress, jacket and shoes. By the end of the scene, she’s lost the jacket and the shoes, and the dress is noticeably dirtied. Coincidence? Probably.

The white dress also makes sense if you interpret the climactic cathedral scene from a religious perspective. In the dress, Vicki looks a lot like a bride — an association that is only strengthened when the Joker tells her, “I’ve got to get you to the church on time.”

Some sects of Christianity refer to the human race as the “Bride of Christ.”

Could Vicki Vale represent all of us, and are Batman and the Joker fighting for her soul? Almost certainly, if you take into account the excellent Prince song, “Dance With the Devil”, that was (unfortunately) cut from one of the movie’s two soundtracks (“Dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight… He wants your soul and he wants it tonight”).