The Dark Knight And Arendt's Banality Of Evil

Another common thing that the Joker does is that he attempts to conceal the true reasons for his actions. In other words, the Joker uses defense mechanisms to distance himself from reality as a means to protect himself from the horrid things he has done (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). He demonstrates the specific defence mechanism of rationalization and he does this by trying to justify murdering Harvey Dent's, a pivotal character to the film's plot, girlfriend. He explains to Dent that her death was not his fault and he does such things (i.e., killing innocent people) to show others how pathetic they are for believing that they have control in their lives “ “ (De La Noy & Nolan,

The main conflicts in the world of The Dark Knight Returns revolve around escalating crime in Gotham city and forces of the authority attempting to control it. The authority should be a moral force and represent justice. The figures that represent the authority should be selfless and work only to promote the integrity of law and order. Authority proves to be contradictory in Miller’s novel as the authoritative figures express qualities of vigilantism and overall moral ambiguity.

In the Novel “Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury, the characters support the Universal Theme of “Good Vs Evil”. The characters are divided into two groups; those who act morally right and are good-hearted, and those who just do not seem to have any sense of empathy and are blinded by selfishness and greed and choose to do harm for no other reason than the thrill of it. The protagonists face a series of battles with themselves and their sense of who they are, as well as against the evil forces. This evilness is reflected on the carnival freaks who constantly use fear and manipulation as a weapon to make all people egotistical and greedy, whereas our good characters utilize laughter, love and friendship to defeat the evil that is acting upon them.

The Dark Knight (2008), directed by Christopher Nolan, demonstrates the idea of good versus evil. Batman is known as the protagonist, and Joker is known as the ultimate villain. The representation of crime in the film is seen from the actions of both characters. The film essentially depicts the act of deviance meaning, “behaviour that violates social norms, including laws”. In normality the government would have the greatest amount of power, but in the Gotham city, power is complex. There is minimal structure of law and order in Gotham city due to powerful people like Batman and the Joker. Citizens of Gotham city can no longer fight for themselves in a world filled with supernatural powers. Therefore, the only hope that citizens have rest in the hands of Batman. Although Batman attempts to save Gotham city from Joker’s criminal intentions. Batman, however, also plays a role in deviant activity while attempting to catch the Joker. Realistically, Batman violates the moral code due to destructive behaviour, and putting the lives of citizens at harm. He does not care for social norms, nor whether his acts are of legality. He is devoted to combat organized crime with Harvey Dent, a district attorney in Gotham city. Batman is in fact, the definition of crime, he understands but does not abide to individual rights and social contracts which make up the rule of law. In addition, the man behind Batman, Bruce Wayne also portrays a form of deviance by disguising himself as Batman.

Harvey Dent wanted to be district attorney and be able to control crime. He wanted to be everything Batman couldn’t be and have power over crime. This can easily be compared to Macbeth wanting to have power. What makes Harvey Dent a tragic figure is the fight he has with his inner self. Harvey Dent had said “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”, this is ironic because it foreshadows future events.

The town of Gotham goes into hiding and protecting because of Bane. Bane has many people in the power elite who are working for him on the bad side. The people of Gotham turn to theft and lose control of their sanity because of their fear of dying. Bane made people lose their minds due to fear and uncertainty. These factors pushed them over the edge into committing crime. “Social Disorganization researchers perceived criminals and delinquents to be normal individuals whose criminal acts were stimulated by their environment” (Rafter and Brown 2011: 50). Bane put up a TV for Batman to watch his city crumble to the ground after Bane releases all the prisoners who have been kept in prison for years on end. “Regarding rates of self-reported offending,

The Joker, is a purposeless criminal. He will destroy anything, or anyone who gets in his way, just to accomplish his goal, to break Batman's personal rules, to never kill or harm anyone, but to save Gotham City from danger and

The Joker has no alter ego. He walks around the way he is with his deformed face full of scars and in some versions, with his bright colored hair and bleached skin, always with that maniac, chilling laughter which always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He has no personal agenda to all the brutality he inflicts, no thirst for revenge or materialistic goals made him reach this point. He lives to dismantle the codes the society lives by and all he hopes for is to rip apart the expected codes of morality, so the people can then be free of any faith, any belief of right or wrong. He creates situations for the people of his town

“The id is the completely unconscious, impulsive, childlike portion of the psyche that operates on the “pleasure principle” and is the source of basic impulses and drives; it seeks immediate pleasure and gratification.” (Boundless, par. 5) The most memorable scenes in The Dark Knight begin with the Joker asking, “You wanna know how I got these scars?” (Nolan) and every time he gives a different reason. The first is that “My father, was a drinker, and a fiend. And one night, he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. He turns to me and says, ‘Why so

Throughout “The Dark Knight” by Christopher Nolan crime and deviance is seen throughout the film. Crime and deviance in The Dark Knight has two faces as society accepts crime for those whose are helping them and at the same time punishes those who are punished. Society in Gotham accepts crime when the Batman commits it to help for the betterment of society; however, crime is not accepted when it is committed by mob bosses, gangs, criminal cops, and most importantly through the joker. The forms of deviancy/crime which are seen throughout the film is the Labeling Approach, Human Rights Approach, and Human Diversity Approach.

An Analysis of Peter van Inwagen’s The Magnitude, Duration, and Distribution of Evil: a Theodicy

Good people can cause severe harm if their motives are influenced by the values shared in a public corporation or are a result of manipulation controlled by the law. Bob Henderson’s ability to satisfy his interests to obtain success by dismissing social responsibility and contributing to the rise in obesity is wrong. Hannah Arendt founded the theory “The banality evil’ through analyzing Adolf Eichmann’s case during the time of the Holocaust. Eichmann and Henderson share similarities of both being ordinary men who influenced large scale harm. The intent of this essay will be to compare and contrast the perception of evil and discuss at which point radical evil may be mistaken for banal evil.

In a movie where good and evil are divided by a very thin line, the Dark Knight rises up to fight against injustice and corruption in Gotham City. An action sequel to the original Batman Begins, this installment is a lot darker filled with more explosion, twists, and suspense. For the first time, a comic has been integrated into the issues of the real world. With the help of District Attorney Harvey Dent and Lieutenant Gordon, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining mob members and clean the streets of Gotham for good. Their success is only short-lived when they encounter the Joker, a mysterious mastermind who is out to prove that nobility cannot hold in a world of anarchy.

The abstract concept of evil has vastly transformed throughout human history, ranging for the supernatural and mystical to the very humans amongst whom we live. In modern times, evil has become an entirely ambiguous term. Who is evil? What is evil? Men like Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein have been garnered with the term ‘evil’ for their atrocities against fellow humans. Now it seems evil has a solely human significance; when a person violates the individual rights of others on a massive scale, he/she is evil. In Shakespeare’s time – the Elizabethan era – evil had a similar, but somewhat altered connotation in the human mind. Evil was an entity that violated the English Christian

What is considered evil depends upon each individual’s view of morality, which constantly changes through the course of that person’s life. Roy Perrett’s “Evil and Human Nature” explains this by elaborating on the customary interpretation of moral evil. This evil, caused by an intentional bad action or harm, opposes another type of evil, natural evil, which occurs without