![](\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SK6qSsdJTnI\/AAAAAAAACzs\/lqVayj2BPYc\/s320\/dark-knight250.jpg\")
<\/a>I saw \u201cThe Dark Knight\u201d when it first was released, but it was only later, when I was discussing it with a close friend, that I realized just how theological it is.<\/p>\nConsider the story of Bruce Wayne\/Batman. Bruce\u2019s father is building a better world for the people of Gotham, yet it is up to his son, Bruce, to finish his work. Meanwhile, Batman\u2019s good works are looked upon skeptically by the authorities and citizens of Gotham, though there are a few followers\u2014especially children, such as Lieutenant Jim Gordon\u2019s son\u2014who see through the uncertainty and understand Batman for what he truly is. Batman\u2019s debt to the Gospel stories seems indisputable.<\/p>\n
One of the questions Nolan struggles with is what it means to be a hero. A hero is obviously someone who fights for good and saves the day\u2014but are not heroes also supposed to be beloved by those he or she serves? Bruce\/Batman is certain he is helping the city, but the citizens are not so sure. Is he truly a hero, or simply an uninvited vigilante? Ultimately, Batman \u201cbecomes\u201d what Gotham wants him to be\u2014a criminal\u2014by taking the wrap for Harvey Dent\u2019s crimes because it is ultimately best for Gotham. One can\u2019t help but be reminded of Jesus\u2019 capture and trial by Pontius Pilate. When asked if he was the king of the Jews, Jesus\u2019 only reply is, \u201cYou say so.\u201d Christ did not protest when his people put him to death in the place of another criminal, because, after all, he was dying to save us from sin and death.<\/p>\n
The Joker, meanwhile, bears an uncanny resemblance to what Revelation calls \u201cthe Adversary.\u201d Heath Ledger\u2019s sinister portrayal of the Joker makes Nolan\u2019s film much more intriguing than Tim Burton\u2019s “Batman” (1989). From the beginning we see that the Joker is disturbingly smart\u2014in the opening scene his plan to rob a bank unfolds with terrifying efficacy. Next we find out that despite his wacky appearance he can hold his own with the dirtiest of Gotham\u2019s criminals\u2014in a few short scenes he shows the Gotham mob what he is capable of. Yet what perhaps the most unsettling aspect of the Joker is that he is nameless.<\/p>\n
Batman and the police have no records on him, and even his own story of how he got his scars\u2014how he became the man he is\u2014changes throughout the film, leaving the viewer without any sense of purpose to the chaos he is creating. Evil is always troubling, but purposeless evil cannot be reckoned with. The Joker is not interested in money, or even, it seems, power. What he is interested in is chaos. He seeks nothing more than to disrupt the flow of life in Gotham, as he tells the convalescing Harvey Dent:<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do if I caught it. You know, I just do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon’s got plans, you know. They’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I am not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
How many times in Scripture do we encounter the \u201cEvil One\u201d cunningly creating chaos in the lives of others? Just like the Joker, the devil has no discernable form or story, no apparent motive aside from pulling people away from the path toward goodness. The Evil One focuses on people\u2019s weaknesses and exploits them, just as the Joker did with Harvey Dent, appealing to his deep desire for justice to persuade him that the only true form of justice is chaos.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Intrigued? Read the rest<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A lot has been written about “The Dark Knight” — finding nuances in the tale that shed light on our own troubled times. But now, for something completely different, comes this intriguing analysis by Margaret Stahl in America: I saw \u201cThe Dark Knight\u201d when it first was released, but it was only later, when I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","category-this-and-that"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Prior to that, Deacon Greg worked for 26 years as a writer and producer for CBS News, where he contributed to \"The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,\" \"60 Minutes II,\" \"48 Hours,\" (Emmy Award, Writers Guild of America Award) and \"Sunday Morning.\" He was co-writer for the acclaimed documentary \"9\/11,\" hosted by Robert DeNiro. (Emmy Award, Christopher Award, Peabody Award, Writers Guild of America Award.) His radio essays were featured in the bestselling book \"Deadlines and Datelines\" by Dan Rather. He's also a two-time winner of the Catholic Press Association Award. Other places you may find him: AMERICA, U.S. CATHOLIC, CATHOLIC DIGEST, REALITY (Redemptorist Communications) and THE BROOKLYN TABLET. He also contributes homiletic reflections to the parish resource CONNECT!, published by Liturgical Publications. In November 2009, he began serving a three-year term as a consultant to the Communications Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Deacon Greg grew up in Maryland (Go Terps!) but he and his wife today live in the beautiful borough of Queens, New York. You can contact Deacon Greg at dcngreg@gmail.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/author\/gkandra"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2968\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}