Released in 2008, The Dark Knight was released as a sequel
to Batman Begins, continuing the story of one of the most popular fictional
heroes of our generation. The movie was
praised by critics and audiences alike due to its engrossing story and intense
action sequences, however the real reason people flooded into theaters seats
was for that of the movie's main villain, the Joker. The movie portrays the Joker as a villain
that not many viewers have seen before in that though he is physically unable
to go toe to toe with the hero, his ability to manipulate those around him and
eventually bend them to his will gives him all the edge he needs. It can be said that the Joker is a talented
psychologist in that in each of his encounters he seems to know exactly what to
say and what buttons to push in order strike fear, as seen with his contrasting
stories when explaining his scars in various parts of the movie. By the end of
the movie, after many lies and half-truths have been uttered, he has used his
skills to break both the good and bad characters into working for himself before
finally being brought down by Batman.
In recent weeks, our class has gone over the book The
Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson. Though
the book gives many different ways of breaking out of the conflicts and
depressions in people's lives, a heavy portion of the book and main theme is
tied to the fact that spiritual warfare is still a very real thing in our world
today, just as it was in the Old and New Testament times. These demonic forces know just what it takes
to bring us down, as they have made it their goal to spread deceit and lies
among the church and world as a whole to bring us down to their level. We combat this not in our own strength, but
first by bringing those lies into the light of God's truth.
A unique passage of Scripture that in many ways parallels the
character and story of the Joker can be found in Luke 4:1-13. It is here that we find the temptation of
Christ by Satan, specifically tempting Christ in three particular ways, being
that of physical need, materialism and status (or pride of stature). He tempts Jesus by using his own set of lies
and half-truths in order to trip Christ from God's will. Just as the Joker knew best how to make man
fall, Satan knew the best tricks to push us over the edge and believe his lies.
However, just as described in The
Bondage Breaker, Christ combats Satan by bring his lies into the Truth of God's
word. We must seek to do this every day by
seeking Christ out in our life and relying on Him and bring truth not only into
our own lives, but that of the world as well.
Great post! I loved the comparison of the Joker to an evil psychologist who manipulates those around him to do his will. And the parallel made with Satan and individuals bound to him was perfect. I think that linking the two helps us to understand the reality of spiritual warfare and how easily we can become ensnared into the workings of Satan.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting comparison. I've never thought of the joker in that way before, but I can definitely see him as a portrayal of a demon. I suppose each of Batman's nemesis can be seen as some sort of demon, or at the very least, a person being influenced by Satan. If that is the case, then Batman would be the superhero equivalent of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI find it sad that our society is so numb and immune to the deep satanic messages in our culture today. The battle of good and evil is often portrayed in movies, yet we rarely recognize who the true enemy is in our lives. Just as the Joker saw Batman's weakness, we need to be aware of our strongholds and seek Christ for strength.
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