The Dark Knight, part II

As promised, here is a follow up post.

First, a response to the (im)poster, who says the following:

"Quoting Batman, 'Sometimes the truth isn't enough. Sometimes people deserve more than the truth.' The Church agrees with Batman here; it teaches that some things are more important than the truth:

Elder Packer has said, 'There is a temptation for the writer or the teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith promoting or not...Some things that are true are not very useful.' ("The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect")

I gather from this statement that the truth is not always the ultimate reward for someone's faith. That's why the Church teaches 'faith-promoting' history as opposed to true history. I am not saying I agree with this, just that that's how it is."

My response:

It seems inaccurate to call what President Packer describes "more than the truth." Revealing truth "line upon line, precept upon precept" is not the same as lying, which is what Batman referred to when he spoke of "more than the truth." Consider two examples:

First, we teach kindergarten students that 1+1=2. All well and good, but the truth of the proposition "1+1=2" depends on what base number system you're using, as well as on certain postulates of linear algebra. Even that truth that seems most basic is only conditionally true.

Second, let's turn to that great source of wisdom: Return of the Jedi. In it, we have the following conversation:

Luke: Why didn't you tell me? You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.

Obi-Wan: Vader was seduced by the dark side of the force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.

Luke: A certain point of view?

Obi-wan: Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.

Earlier, speaking with Yoda about the same thing (that Luke learned that Vader was his father), we have:

Yoda: Unexpected this is, and unfortunate.

Luke: Unfortunate that I know the truth?

Yoda: No! Unfortunate that you rushed to face him, that incomplete was your training, that not ready for the burden were you.

I remain convinced that to some degree, we have to choose to believe something before we can know anything. And I remain steadfast in the faith that, as the hymn says, "all now mysterious shall be bright at last."

This post also having gotten long, my final point will have to wait for part III.

The Dark Knight

Through no fault of my own, I saw this movie thrice in theaters. Having seen it that many times, I've formed some thoughts on it. Having shared those thoughts with others and thus encountered their thoughts, and finding some interest in those thoughts, I thought I'd share some here.

Being that it's me writing, these thoughts are almost all about the ideas and the dialogue. You'll find very little here about the visual effects, hot girls, general scariness, etc. Yes, I am a dull and dry man, and yes, I think that might have affected my success with the ladies.

THE GOOD

Here are the ideas I liked from The Dark Knight.

1) There remains a general spark of goodness in humanity. This was what Batman put his faith in in Batman Begins. The Joker failed to extinguish that spark in The Dark Knight.

2) Good guys can make extremely difficult decisions and emerge not only unscathed, but transcendent in their goodness. Both Batman and Gordon found a way to do this. Harvey Dent did not, and thus failed to meet his test. He wasn't the best of the good guys, as Batman painted him in an attempt to appeal to Dent's better nature. Dent was the weakest.

3) There are evil people. It's difficult and dangerous to judge whether or not another person is evil, and such judgment must be undertaken with caution. But there are, in fact, people that are not to be reasoned with, but fought against.

THE BAD

The following ideas I find erroneous and/or just plain bad.

a) The Joker isn't a schemer--he's just a mad dog chasing cars. Why do we assume that the Joker is telling the truth? In fact, his entire discourse to Dent in the hospital was part of a scheme to push Dent to evil. Everything the Joker carried out required meticulous scheming. He avows himself, in his final conversation with Batman, to be engaged in a battle for Gotham's soul. It's foolhardy to take statements from evil people as truth without thoroughly examining them. Among other wrong things the Joker says that we shouldn't take at face value are the following: the bit about morality and rules being a game that people will throw away at the first sign of trouble, and "you won't kill me through some misguided sense of self-righteousness" (he calls it that because he can't understand it. To those who do not understand righteousness, it is always self-righteousness. Unsurprisingly enough, such people are often selfish).

b) Harvey Dent: "You wouldn't dare try to justify yourself if you knew what I'd lost." Just because you suffered doesn't mean there wasn't a reason for the suffering or for the actions of others that somehow connect to that suffering. Sympathy and suffering should not forestall all counterargument.

c) Batman: "Sometimes the truth isn't enough. Sometimes people deserve more than the truth. Sometimes they deserve to have their faith rewarded." Maybe I'm being picky, but does that mean that the truth cannot be a sufficient reward for people's faith? Of course, it depends on the objects of people's faith, but that seems like an awfully cynical sentiment, especially coming from the fellow who just acted in the firm belief that two shiploads of people--one of which was full of criminals--would refrain from blowing up other people so that they would not be blown up themselves. And had his faith rewarded without having to be lied to.

NOTE: there's more, but this is already a long post. I'll do a part II. Anticipate please.

Humoresque

For those of you who might have trouble appreciating/loving classical music, and for those who just want to listen to something beautiful: observe!

This is Antonin Dvorak's Humoresque. Violin/cello duet by Itzhak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma.
I think this is one of the most beautiful musical performances I've ever heard.

Also, some of the faces they make are really funny.