This entry is part of our Power of Film series, in which people recount the ways certain films have helped them understand God, the world, and themselves in deeper ways. Occasionally, they even encounter God shining through the celluoid. (SPOILERS are possible in this series.)
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The Dark Knight is the sequel to Batman Begins, the first chapter in a reboot of the Batman franchise directed by Christopher Nolan. In this film Batman/Bruce Wayne faces his arch enemy, the Joker. What is peculiar about this “bad guy” is that he seems to have no motives, no background, no real reason for being; he is simply an “agent of chaos,” and he is out to drag Gotham down to his level unless Batman can help it. Caught in the middle of the struggle between Batman and the Joker is Harvey Dent, Gotham’s new District Attorney who is eager to put a stop to the crime and corruption that plagues the city. Batman wishes to help Harvey bring Gotham to a point in which it will no longer need Batman thus leaving Dent, as it’s one true protector. The Joker on the other hand wishes to push Dent to a point in which he would become a criminal as well leaving Gotham with no hope.
Batman and the Joker battle over Gotham’s soul, which is represented in Harvey Dent. Batman insists that the people of Gotham are worth fighting for, worth sacrificing for. The Joker believes that “when the chips are down, these civilized people…will eat each other.” The question posed is the following: Are people essentially evil or good?
I believe The Bible poses a similar question in the first chapter of the book of Job. After Satan is done roaming the Earth to see what’s been going on he has a conversation with God. God presents Satan with Job and argues that there is no human as good as him. Satan doesn’t believe him, he believes this is only because God has been good to Job; take away the blessings and Job will reveal himself to be a sinful man. We know then how the story goes, God tests Job allowing Satan to do is worst but Job stays faithful to God.
Although Job is mainly about the nature of Job, I believe that it speaks to the nature of all people. Of course as we know human beings can sometimes commit unspeakable acts: war, rape, famine, corporate greed, lust. We’ve all seen and participated of this. But I would argue that the Bible does not present that as humanity’s fundamental nature, but as a condition that desperately needs repair. The book of Ecclesiastes says “God made humans upright, but they have sought out many schemes,” and the biblical narrative begins with God blessing humanity first, and than they choose to sin.
The same thing happens in The Dark Knight. Harvey Dent falls; he becomes Two-Face and goes on a killing spree murdering five people and then dies. It appears the Joker won the battle for Gotham’s soul; it appears that even the best of people are fundamentally evil. Yet, Batman realizes there is only one way to remedy this tragedy and that is offering himself. “Tell them I did it” he commands Lt. Gordon. Batman decides to take the blame for what Harvey has done thus preserving the reputation of Gotham’s “white knight” and giving the city hope. As it is written in Romans 5:8 “While we were still sinners: Christ died for us,” and than in Colossians 2:13, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.”
Christ paid the price for our sins; he bore our transgressions and took the blame. The Dark Knight helped me understand the sacrifice of Jesus in a new way, and allowed me to wrap my head around it in a manner that became more real. As Batman believes Gotham is worth fighting for, Jesus believes we are worth dying for even though we do not deserve it. He is our savior; “not the one we deserved, but the one we needed” He is our vigilant guardian, our protector, our “Dark Knight.”
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Andres Figeuroa (@andyradial) is a Master of Arts in Theology student at Fuller Theological Seminary. He studied film at the University of Puerto Rico, and currently is a member of Radial.