the dark knight...not just keeping us happy and comfortable

(Note: possible spoiler)

A few days ago I talked to someone who had hated The Dark Knight; she said that no one should ever have to be exposed to something that violent and negative. She was disgusted that such a film should be made, much less lauded.

We like our action movies, our comedies, and our romances to be in neat, sorted genres, where we know exactly what we're going to get. It makes us comfortable. It lulls us. It's often entertainment, nothing more. An easy beginning, a simple buildup of suspense, and a relieved denouement. Even in superhero movies, the hero rarely loses everything. There's almost always some easy reason the villain is evil, some way we can pity him or put him in a box: we can look at Dr. Octopus' accident, and we can see the numbers on Magneto's arm. We’re reassured.

Not merely slick and exciting, The Dark Knight brings up uncomfortable issues. It presents evil as a three-dimensional adversary. Things are not going to end happily for everyone. Things will not be fair. You will watch while this happens, and you will think about it. You could say, why put anyone through that, if they’re out for adrenaline rush and some popcorn? And even if we do appreciate serious things, primally driven serial killers need never be on the menu, no matter what point you’re trying to prove.

That view almost fits the society of Huxley's Brave New World, where discomfort is banished along with love, pain, and art:


"We prefer to do things comfortably."
"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin."*


There's poetry, danger, goodness, and sin in The Dark Knight. As for God, I think it's a fairly spiritual film. Harvey Dent's character shows that the ability to forgive is what keeps us human; if we lose that, we lose something integral to our personhood. Witnessing his agony forces us to ask: what would we do? How would we respond? How are we responding right now, with our thousand tiny frustrations, our hundred paltry reasons to be resentful?

The Joker (who became my favorite screen villain—except for Lecter—in under ten minutes) is as close as you can get to a Devil figure while remaining human. You can't blame his actions on a convenient back story; his many different renditions of how he became scarred seem to show his amusement that people want to pin his motives on a tragic childhood or love story. He is not merely weak, corrupt, or insane; he delights not merely in the nature of chaos, but in watching others become corrupt. And, while he is disgusting, while he is repulsive, he manages to dominate almost every scene he's in. In the theater, the whole audience giggled whenever he walked onscreen. The other characters, all of whom despise him, are still fascinated by him. There's only one word for his portrayal: seductive. The same persuasiveness that convinces Two Face to take the gun could believably have convinced a woman to pick an apple.

It is important to realize that stark evil does exist, and that it is seductive. Things on this earth may not always be “fair” or “just”, but it is our free choice how we react. We can harbor rage or we can seek out selflessness. We can sacrifice. We can resist evil even if it croons to us. We may be hated and spit on, but our resilience always has value. We are loved completely by a God who wishes us not merely to be comfortable, but to choose the good freely, knowing that evil exists.

I thought The Dark Knight was incredibly entertaining as well as thought-provoking; you may prefer other movies, other genres. But even if it's not your cup of tea, dismissing it by calling it "pointlessly dark" is a bit hasty. There is a stark moral battle portrayed in it, one which deserves our concern. It’s no more difficult to stomach than the truth of good and evil, choice and consequence. Entertainment keeps us happy; art often points out a reality we’d be happy to cover with popcorn and butter.


*Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, 1932

women with problems: the myth of the romantic comedy

I recently caved in and watched a true, undeniable chick flick, which I try to avoid because they usually end up irritating me. Not because they're cheesy, or predictable, or merely because they easily equate sex with love. I find them most frustrating because of the way they're subtly telling women to deal, or rather not deal, with their own problems.

The underlying message of many a romantic comedy is: you don't have to find a way to deal with your problems, because they will cease to be an issue as soon as you meet the right guy. If a man doesn't love you, that's because he's blind, not because you need to take a look at yourself. You're rarely, if ever wrong. If you're compulsive, shallow, egotistical or unwilling to let go of baggage, why should you try to better yourself? Why should you grow a backbone, practice self-control, strive for any virtue, or simply quit whining? Out there is the perfect man who will be a willing doormat to your denial, alcoholism, low self esteem, etc. etc.

Case in point:

The Holiday (one of two main subplots)

Cameron Diaz: I'm a self-centered, shallow, neurotic girl whose only sympathetic trait is that I have such bad taste in men, you might feel bad for me.

*goes to England*

*stumbles into Jude Law*

Cameron Diaz: I'm trying to avoid men because I'm messed up, but let's be honest here, we all knew that would last five minutes. And you're cute and you won't remember me because you're drunk. Let's have sex.

Jude Law: Huh?

*they do*

Jude Law: Whilst I seemed to be the rakish man you thought was hot, lo! Fair lady, I am in fact a responsible, cultured, sensitive widower and stay at home father with two small children who want a stepmom who looks like Barbie. I even cry. A lot. All the time.

Cameron Diaz: I can't deal this! Why can't you be a jerk? Then, no guilt. I'd completely screw us up. Can't we just have sex again and not worry about it?

Jude Law: You're the most depressing girl I've ever met…I love you. ( real line there). I want to be with you till the stars turn cold.

Cameron Diaz: I'm incapable of saying I love people. And I hate shoddy English villages. So tacky.

Jude Law: *cries*

Cameron Diaz: But oh, I can't resist those tears. Oh well. I guess I'll stick around.

THE END

(Other major offenders: Bridget Jones 1&2, Notting Hill, etc.)

This sounds like a key fantasy of women who buy into pop psychology's belief that if you say you're OK enough times, it will eventually be true. And if you say it loudly and aggressively enough, the gorgeous, faithful man you want will be yours. And yet, a thousand women’s magazine articles declare that we still have low self-esteem, still get frustrated with ourselves and with even the “perfect” men.

Women need to realize they are strong enough to admit faults, to recognize and foster virtue. They have value, so much value, but this worth comes with responsibility. Viewing the ideal man as a mindless consort (who doesn’t really care if you’re a decent person or not) is terrifyingly stupid. How many contemporary women would be furious if the gender roles of this dynamic were switched in current movie after current movie?