Don't get me wrong, The Dark Knight was incredibly well done. It was fast-paced and deep and thrilling; there was lots to rave about. But nothing could have prepared me for the utter twistedness of the Joker. And the story of Harvey Dent was equally as disturbing to me. Dent was, in fact, the personification of a deep-seated fear of mine- the fear that one day something terrible might happen to me that I wouldn't be able to cope with, and that I'd end up becoming a bad person as a result. (I wrote a lengthy post about this whole thing a few days after it happened, if you want to read it, it's over here: http://www.facebook.com/notes/mary-powell-walz/batman-motorcycles-and-fear/26177087201).
Fast forward four years. I've seen The Dark Knight Rises twice now, and love the movie to death. And so last night, I decided it would be good to revisit The Dark Knight as I felt like there were pieces of the story missing in my memory. So after work I sat down and watched it.
And it was interesting to see how my perspective has changed in four years.
The Joker was as cringe-worthy as ever. I was still creeped out by him. But I found myself looking at Dent's story in the context of the movie, of the series, and coming to some very different conclusions. "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain," Dent said at one point in the movie, and this was my fear summed up. This time around though, I realized something.
Dent was wrong.
Because yes, he did become the villain. The Joker messed with him, and he cracked and turned evil. But there were so many others in the story who did not. The passengers on the two ferries that The Joker was going to blow up. Rachel Dawes. Jim Gordon. And, of course, Bruce Wayne.
When Rachel died, Bruce and Harvey both lost someone they loved. The Joker messed with both men equally, it seems, and one chose to become part of the problem, the other to become part of the solution. Bruce chose to keep fighting against evil, and, as Batman, to sacrifice his own reputation for the cause. He could have become like Dent, but he chose the higher road.
It all comes down to a choice.
When you stop and think about it, movie heroes and villains are often quite similar. Both sets of people are usually quite passionate, have a strong sense of justice, and some definite goals. Both also tend to be wounded. If you stop and think about it, most heroes have something broken in their past that has pushed them towards heroism... just as most villains have something tragic in their past that has pushed them towards villainy. One group takes their anger and pain and allows it to consume them, to make them evil, the other allows their anger and pain to push them towards stopping evil.
It's all very interesting. And I find myself thinking about how all this might be relevant in our own lives.
Last week I wrote a post about how this world contains both beauty and brokenness, and how difficult it can be to live in such a world. And I'm not about to claim that I've figured it out within a week (though some of you left some good comments on my post). But I have realized this:
Every day, we can choose to be agents of beauty or agents of brokenness. We can be part of the problem or part of the solution, we can take one step closer towards heroism or villainy.
It's our choice.
Sometimes choosing rightly is easier said than done. There are forces in our lives that would cause us to want to choose wrongly- past experiences, flawed mindsets, emotional issues, addictions- and these forces can be strong. And so we must give ourselves- and others- lots of grace. We will screw up, but we can learn. And we must also remember that we have the power and grace of One far stronger than us backing us up, that we are never alone in our pain. Sometimes choosing rightly must begin something seemingly insignificant- a feeble prayer for strength, a decision to get help, a confession that we have a problem.
But we always have the choice to take a step towards heroism, no matter how small that step may be.
The fact that God has given us the ability to choose this is both terrifying and liberating. Yes, there is the fear that we might choose wrongly. And yet, it is freeing to know that I can choose not to become like Harvey Dent, no matter what life throws at me. The Joker says that madness is one small push away, but he does not have the final word. Today, probably many times over, I can choose light over darkness, I can choose to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
I pray that God would grant me- and all of us- the grace, strength, and courage to choose well.
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