Batman the Dark Knight (2008) and Religious Views Essay

Batman the Dark Knight (2008) and Religious Views - Essay Example Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) the District Attorney is threatened by this action. Going by the situation he approaches Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and the Batman. As there are very little that could had been done by being within the boundary of law, Batman is asked to bring back Lau from Hong Kong. The Joker brings in a series of terrorism in the city and Batman again had to don in his black cloak and fight against the terror. Instead of following the league and reprocessing the super hero cliche, Nolan tries to depict his two archetypal characters that are the Joker and the Batman with an emphasis on religious relevance. Religious Aspect The directorial aspect of Nolan resemble with the Buddhist understanding, where the evil deeds of the movie have been shown as an effect of various adverse causes and situation. Unlike other superhero movie evil is not created out of vacuum here. In fact the joker has been portrayed as a victim of severe emotional and physical child abuse. The Distri ct attorney who is the protector of law also breaks the law of the city when he asks the Batman to do something which remains unresolved by law. The absence of good has been constructed through actions in the movie. The emergence of Two-Face in the movie reveals the dichotomy in the human nature and that no single human being is either a white character-full of virtues or a black character-full of vices, they represent shades of grey. Two-Face has also been symbolized by the fact that despite the economic crisis in the city of Gotham, the mafias and the Joker are able to keep small army of people. The movie depicts the joker as the most non- religious person and the Batman is the religious person who thinks for the good of the human kind. Respecting humanity is the essence of any religion in the world and hence Batman can be regarded as the religious character despite some controversies which does not acknowledge him as a Catholic and denotes him rather, as a Catholic who has drifte d away. A religious person is expected to follow certain rituals like paying a visit to the church. The Batman does not seem to follow these rituals and hence might lead to a controversy when regarded as a religious character. However while diffusing the bomb the Batman says, â€Å"If I had the time or the right – I’d say a prayer†. Again, the character of Two-Face is regarded as non religious in traditional sense. Even this has been projected as a villainous character as a result of severe psychosis. The movie reveals how human beings are vulnerable and get more influenced by Satan than by God despite the religious beliefs of some characters. Also the importance of rituals and good deeds or actions can be controversial at times while commenting on a character’s religiosity. Analysis of the ritualistic aspect of the movie The three main characters can be analyzed in the context of rituals and religious beliefs. Harvey Dent or Two-Face who was initially wh ite turns black in the end when he is killed. Batman is represented in shades of gray while the Joker is depicted in black shade. The Joker does not believe in ethics or religion. On the other hand, the Batman, through his actions symbolizes godly deeds but he does not believe in rituals. When the Two-Face is cured from his psychosis state, he is seen to wear the Taoist symbol on his belt. This might give an impression of ritual which according to Nye, is more