What Batman Taught me....

WARNING: For those of you who were unlucky enough not to have watched the movie, I seriously recommend you don't read this blog any further, and just watch it as soon as it's out on DVD.

Batman Begins is an excellent movie.

Like The Godfather, Othello and Star Wars (amongst many) it shows the epic battle between good and evil. However, the writers went one step further and were courageous enough to ask for a definition of good and evil by introducing the character of Ra's Al Ghul. This man and the League of Shadows had decided that as Gotham City was no longer living up to THEIR expectations that it had to be destroyed. But that meant that the League of Shadows had an established definition of good and evil, which conflicted with Batman’s definition. They claimed that there was a line that Gotham had crossed and was too evil to come back from and should therefore have been destroyed, without mercy.

So, how does a civilisation know when they've crossed a line from good to evil? Or more importantly, how does an INDIVIDUAL know when they've crossed that line? What is good and what is evil, and who decides it?

In The Godfather the line was made very distinct for the viewers as Michael actively decided to adopt his father’s role, and kill to save the family’s honour. Similarly in Star Wars the audience is made to believe that Anakin has turned evil when he starts to take on the teachings of his "Master." However, on both occasions without realising it the audience is manipulated into believing what Michael and Anakin are doing is wrong. But how can we be so sure?

Our conscience: An innate sense of right and wrong. But who programs the conscience? Is it our environment or is it a power beyond humanity?

In Batman it was the League of Shadows, or the environment which moulded the peoples' conscience through a legal system. It was man who decided what was right and wrong. However, this concept is severely flawed in that each individual has a slightly different idea of what is right and wrong, which Batman also demonstrates. While Ra’s Al-Ghul thought it was just to execute a criminal without a trial, Batman believed that everyone is firstly entitled to a fair trial.

The movie illustrated to me, whether it meant to or not, that man-made legal rulings aren't good enough. Instead, man requires a universal law, and an ultimate judge or provider of justice.

Yesterday my friend and I were recruiting people for our University's ISOC. Each member who joined had their own ideas of how the society should be run, each believing that they were right. Perhaps no one realised, but I was in awe of how each individual and their concept of right and wrong was unique. Masha'Allah (praise be to Allah,) what diversity! At the same time I also started to feel very sorry for those in charge, whose job it is to cater for each individual... being a leader isn't easy. But with an established, universal sense of right and wrong, which everyone must agree on, the job is made easier in my opinion.

Finally for me maybe one of the best traits of the movie was also the fact that Batman refused to give up no matter how bad Gotham had become. He would fight for justice regardless of the number of people he would have to contend with. Such a movie promotes a positive attitude on life, which we are in dire need of in today’s world.