The Dark Knight is about go rising and storming box offices with a grizzly bear voice and a belt full o gadgets – exciting, no?
Well, before he makes his cinematic ascension, I wanna talk about where he’s been and where he is. The Dark Knight is a long and complicated move, and I intend to tackle it in a single post, so I’ll try to concisely deal with major points when I get to it. Nonetheless, it’ll probably be a long post, so…
Alas, this post is not that post (got enough to make a fence yet?). Instead I have a few words (Like its ever just “a few,” right?) about my approach to such things. I’m pretty certain that movies, books, etc… are, symptomatic (Mt 7: 17-20) of a culture’s health and outlook and that they in turn can sooth or worsen those symptoms. This is especially true in our world where many of us spend so much time with movies, music, and television. What I’m not doing is critiquing cinematics, special effects, acting, or even entertainment value – at least not directly. I’m getting at the substance of things because I think they can affect people in gradual ways. Generally speaking, if I’m gonna talk about it, its probably pretty well made and popular.
“But… its just a movie! No one bases their life on movies! I’m just watching to be entertained anyway…”
Well fantastic, enjoy your life as the only human being to exist outside the influence (not mind control, but still) of culture. For millennia, every society has taught morals via story, fairytale, and legend – we are no exception. People exist as single, integrated entities. What you see, hear, do, and think about now affects who you are and how you will continue to see, think, and act. If you want more argumentation, go talk to my buddy Paul, especially the fifth chapter of that letter I told you about.
Some qualifications – I’m not ranting against sad movies, the of portrayal of evil characters, dark themes, difficult situations, death (provided its not a glamorized gore-fest), sin etc… I also don’t advise the production of overly simplistic and cheesy moralizing or characters are just plain perfect (Lamesauce!). As a friend of mine always says, “Art imitates nature” and our nature is some kind of fallen (like really fallen) as well as full of hope and potential (like eternal potential…). My “beef” with movies usually comes in when they try to depict evil as good or vice versa. I find the best movies are either pretty accurate in their morality, or perfectly unbiased (is that possible?). What I’m getting at is the fact that a movie contains both eventsand scope (or lens). The events are the basic plot line, characters, action, etc… The scope or lens is the general attitude or background perspective that implicitly, subtly, or cleverly attempts to lead your mind (and heart) to respond to the events in a particular way. The scope usually involves well-placed character speeches, the music’s mood and placement, and the careful timing of scenes to connect events with their consequences. This scope/lens issue is the big one.
Additionally, people have this nasty habit of using words that describe a value judgment (right/wrong) in their description of movies. A comparison:
“The Dark Knight is a good movie!”
“The Dark Knight was intense, entertaining, and well made!”
The first one can mean almost anything, and therefore means basically nothing. “Good” is an abused word that really belongs in the realm of value judgments (Morality). Its use here waters it down and confuses the listener about whether the speaker thinks it contributes to the good of the world or was fun to watch.
The second statement is precise, stays away from value judgments, and is arguably true.
It had Bruce Wayne seeking revenge and confusing it with justice until Rachel Dawes slapped him (twice!) and set him straight. Given that this was followed by Bruce’s eventual conversion and his decision not to kill, the lens of the movie kinda suggests that we should not confuse justice with revenge. He (Batman, the now trustworthy hero) also demonstrates standing up against despair and evil (Ra’s al Ghul) because has hope that Gotham can be saved – To be direct, this is good and true.
Rachel (being already established as a wisdom figure) at one point also tells Bruce that what’s inside doesn’t matter, but that what you do is what “defines you.” Batman repeats this to her later and it convinces her of his moral goodness set against the background of dramatic, and slightly triumphant music. [that’s the scope justifying the message of the events – I hope y’all are getting the gist of my approach] I hope you guys saw through that… because its not good. Its actually pretty dangerous if taken in unconsciously.
The Truth is that what defines us is ultimately whats inside (i.e. beloved child of God – can’t change that factever). The Truth also is that what we do does “define” us – this is because we are creatures of habit, and our habits become our character, and our character stands before the judgment as a testament to whether or not we acted like what we are or acted like what we aren’t. So yeah, our actions do define us, but the only reason that the “definition” matters is because of its relationship to what’s inside, which Rachel says “doesn’t matter.”
So yeah, does the good outweigh the bad? I’m not sure, but the good points are fairly obvious, and the bad stuff is smuggled in this sort of half truth that makes you feel good about the whole inside-outside character schism.
Now, maybe your asking yourself “Is this crazy Ephesian trying to suggest that I should just not watch movies with imperfect anthropology?” To which I would respond, yes and no… I’m not really telling anyone what to do, that’s more or less conscience’s job. I’m just laying out information and untangling messages so that conscience can see clearly what it’s making a decision about. That being said, anyone striving to live a good moral/ethical life should make a conscious effort to avoid unnecessary exposure (sometimes its unavoidable) to things which contradict their ethics – even if you can see through a lie, its not a good idea to knowingly subject yourself to that lie’s repetition. Further, people of different ages, attitudes, and temperament have different variables to factor into their discernment.
In short, ask yourself these questions every time you decide to find entertainment in something remotely questionable (and I’m not really crusading against Batman Begins, this stuff applies in general):
“Is this deceptive”
“Is this unnecessary?”
“Is it avoidable?”
“Does it actually improve/contribute my humanity, or just distract me from it?”
“Can I get what this offers from something less questionable?”
Pax!