The Dark Knight
Unless you are living on Mars you know that the new Batman movie is in theaters. People are lining up to see this movie in amazing numbers:
LOS ANGELES -
Batman's joust with the Joker has set another box office record. Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, "The Dark Knight" set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Saturday. Here is the link to the entire report: Batman
$66.4 million in one day! That is unbelievable!
Should a Christian see this movie?
That is a good question but honestly most Christians don't care what is in a movie,they are going to see what they want. They may scream and condemn any music that has a beat but they are going to watch their TV shows and their movies. For the Christians that are concerned with the content of a movie let me see if I can provide any information that may help you decide what to do.
The Dark Knight is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace.
The Christan sites that offer reviews are usually not very accurate. For example, when Batman begins came to theaters a few years ago, I read reviews that said there was no obscenity used in the movie. I went to see the movie and ended up counting something like 30 obscenities.
When Iron Man hit the theaters I read a review on a Christian site that stated, "there is nothing in this movie that would offend the most conservative church goer." Before the movie was over I had heard 14 obscenities.
We have learned that it is really hard to determine if a movie is appropriate or not.
From Christian Answers:
Whether you are an avid fan of the Batman franchise, a casual summer moviegoer , or someone curious about the performance of a young actor gone far too soon, rest assured, you will not leave the theater disappointed. You will, however, likely leave the theater mesmerized by a film, and a performance, that will be talked about for a very long time to come.
The content of 'The Dark Knight' is far darker than the already bleak 'Batman Begins', and Christian parents should use caution in whether or not to allow children or younger, impressionable teenagers to see the film. The violence is heavy handed, and far more ruthless than in the original. Frankly, The Joker makes The Scarecrow from 'Batman Begins' look like a Saturday morning amateur. The Joker maims and kills without remorse, and one of the very first scenes features a 'disappearing pencil' trick that is stunning in its quick brutality. The mood is dreary, which we expect from Batman movies, but Harvey Dent explains to us 'It's always darkest before the dawn.' Well, the rising sun is still a long way off for Gotham, and caution is urged for parents wondering whether to expose their children to that darkness. There is very little profanity in the film, much less than the first film, and practically no sexual content (some women are seen lounging in their bathing suits on Bruce's boat, but the camera is on them for a minuscule amount of time), but the violence more than makes up for what other content is left out.
The film hits on all sorts of different spiritual topics, and I could probably write a dissertation on them all. I won't get in to everything here, for the simple fact that doing so will reveal specific plot twists and developments that I don't intend to spoil. Suffice it to say, themes of sacrifice, redemption, fear, selfishness, revenge, and the basic sinfulness of man all present themselves in the film, along with a various host of other. Characters are forced to choose who lives and dies, while others are forced to decide whether to continue fighting evil when it seems like nothing will work, or simply giving in and joining the forces of evil. Each character has their own world cave in around them, and each must persevere, or be sucked into the maelstrom.
You can read the entire review at this link:
Batman
This is going to be a movie that your teenager will want to see. They will not be able to escape the hype and the fact that teenagers everywhere are going to be talking about the film.
My 13 year old daughter who loves acting wants to see the performance of
Heath Ledger as the joker. So at this time I am thinking about going to see the movie with my daughter this evening. We will probably be attending the 6:00pm showing at the Century Theater in Abilene, TX.
The rule in my home is very simple. No matter what we watch, TV show or a movie, we discuss the philosophy and message when it is done.
This forces them to think and confront the philosophy they are viewing. It also allows for good discussion and time well spent with my children.
If we do attend the movie I will post a review as soon as I can.
2 Comments:
Yes, as a Christian, you have to be careful about what you watch. My wife and I went to see this on opening night, and I wasn't disappointed. There was violence, but I was expecting that, but there wasn't sex or vulgar language in it. I wrote about a line that the Joker says in my blog. Check it out:
http://imablogger.net/?p=51
Firstly, setting aside for a moment the moral issues and just looking at the movie from the light of scripture.
We must guard our hearts and minds as to what we allow into them and be very careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul give us a description of what can grieve the Spirit.
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers and grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
If we are to do these things we must watch what we put into our hearts and minds. Remember our hearts are wicked to begin with, so adding more wickedness will produce like results and at best give Satan more ammunition with which to do battle in and for our minds.
I have to struggle myself with the movie question because I am a big Sci-Fi fan and although the shows I like are not dark or evil inherently, some themes have to be examined.
On the flip side of the movie question coin is the direct financial support of the motion picture industry which produces pornography, filth and sinful themes that shape and mold our ungodly American culture where most people can't grasp an idea unless you relate it to them from a movie illustration.
Paying entrance into the theater, renting and buying the DVDs directly in indirectly support this industry that has plainly stated over and over that they are against almost every moral principal like marriage between a man and woman, premarital sex, and that abortion is indeed murder.
Watching a motion picture on a network television program really doesn't support the industry unless you count buying from the advertisers that buy the commercial time for those programs.
I have went to one motion picture at a theater in the past 10 years and that movie was National Treasure 2. I don't avoid the theaters simply because of some hypocritical mindset, I have declined to go more because most every time I see a new movie release, it just doesn't appeal to me and I don't have the desire to go.
I refer back to what the comedian Jerry Clower said once to a group of young people. Jerry was a born again Christian and made no excuses for his beliefs.
When a young person asked him "how do we know whats right or wrong"
Jerry replied and I am paraphrasing here:
if you have decided to do something and then you find yourself asking others their opinion on it before you do it, your fixing to mess up.
He told the story of before he went for an outing, he asked his mother if his shirt was clean enough, she told him, if he doubted it, change shirts and put on a clean one.
secondly, if you find that you are arguing with yourself about whether this thing you have decided to do is right or not, your fixing to mess up
thirdly, if you feel uneasy when you are doing this thing you have decided to do or you had just rather nobody else seen you do it: your messing up.
and lastly, can you thank God for what it is you are about to do? The Bible says give thanks for all things. If you can't thank God for providing to you this thing you are about to do, your fixing to mess up
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