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So Moses and friends and me caught Dark Knight yesterday @ Chadstone Shopping Centre. Boys night out!
Chadstone is reputedly the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere, it was nice being there. Singaporeans are preoccupied with size ya? So are aussies haha.
Dark Knight was fantastic, a good 2.5 hours of solid character development, it saw Batman getting troubled by a very complex villian.
Seems like Batman too is veering away from the cliched path of impenetrable superheroes and turning to a more human approach just like the latest 007. Batman gets hurt, physically and emotionally. He also requires the constant protection of his trusted friends around him to become what he is, a protector of Gotham City and he meets his toughest enemy yet when the Joker comes and threatens to destroy everything that Batman stood for.
Slowly goading Batman into mental submission by playing on the morals and conscience of the Bat, he attempts to make Batman discard his identity and his belief that he will not murder anyone. Methodically murdering the people in Gotham City, the Joker forces Batman to take drastic measaures to put an end to the Joker’s madness.
It was interesting seeing that power isn’t only in brute force but in the display of clever wit and careful taunts. Sometimes all it takes to stop someone is just to challenge the very foundation which he is built on – his values, principles and lifestyle. I love seeing how Batman tries to get a grip on what he believed on and not allow himself to forsake the greater scope of things just because of emotional entanglements.
However, what was really inspiring was also the response that came from the heart of Batman at the end of the movie when he offered to take the blame for all the murders that Harvey Dent committed after he was cunningly manipulated by the Joker. The reason for Batman taking the blame even though he did nothing wrong was to maintain the hope that Gotham City still has a physical symbol of justice and truth. Harvey Dent was the attorney that placed 50% of Gotham’s crooks behind bars and if the public were to know that Dent fell from grace in the end, it would undo whatever good that was done by him when he was still a DA. Thus Batman rather all the convictions fall on him because in the end, he would be seen as nothing more than an outlaw vigilante and the light of Gotham would not be snuffed out.
I realised that Batman wasn’t really a superhero, but more than that. A hero is someone who gets recognised for whatever contribution he made that bettered the lives of others, but how shall a person who is so self-sacrificial honoured?
I love shows that honour the self sacrificing nature of people. The deep sorrow that cries out because no one might actually hear the depth of your sacrifice but you’ll do it anyway because its for a greater good and purpose.
Beautiful.
I remember reading about unsung heroes during primary school. It came in the form of a Bookworm storybook and inside the book it spoke about the contributions of people like rubbish collectors, road sweepers etc. All these people have contributions that are phenomenal to the maintainance of our society, yet it is the more prestigious jobs that gets all the glory. How is this fair?
Maybe sometimes the heroes are not all that heroic, but people who serve and work in the quiet background too deserves the recognition
Alright, im heading out for dinner with Alethea and Elina. Long ride into the city! Laters.
