On The Joker, Christianity, and The Dark Knight

There has been much ado as of late in the religious arena regarding the film The Dark Knight, in particular Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker. More than one site has regarded him as more of an anti-christ. But what I'm more interested in are the similarities there are to Christianity's lord and savior, of which there are many.



The most convincing comparison is, essentially, the purity of both of these individuals.

Christ was born a man in a time of immense sin and moral decay. It is said that God was so frustrated with humanity he closed the gates of Heaven. Christ is sent to teach us, restore order, and open the gates of heaven. He delivers us his moral code in the form of the beatitudes - Jesus' assertion that justice exists through God - dressed brightly in a white robe. He is free of sins of the flesh.

Joker, on the other hand, is a man who is born in a time where there's this universal moral code - which he proposes is "a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble." He proposes a new moral code, a new path to justice to Harvey Dent, dressed brightly in a white Nurses Outfit. "Introduce a little anarchy, upset the established order," he cooed, "And everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair." Joker is free of rules.

The thing both Joker and Christ aren't free of, however, is fate. And they both believe in some twisted form of that. It's no coincidence Joker's first line in this film is "I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger." Joker implies that we are all slaves to fate. One bad day can destroy an individual - it did it to him.

Christ makes an extremely similar argument in John 8:31-36, stating we are all slaves to sin - and he has come to free us, just as the Joker frees us of rules.

Absent fathers seem to have destroyed both of these characters. Christ's "father" clearly wasn't around, since he seemed to be busy running creation - and Christ knows it. Depending what Gospel you read, some of his last word were "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

It gets more interesting when you consider the original Hebrew. Translated as "My God, My God" in the Bible, the actual Hebrew word used is Abba - meaning, literally, "father." Insert that word, and we have "father, father, why have you forsaken me?"

It doesn't take a Freudian scholar to recognize Joker's father screwed up pretty badly. As Joker wills Gamble, he reminisces, most likely falsely - "You know how I got these scars? My father was a drinker and a fiend. One night he goes off ca-razier than usual; Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. Daddy doesn't like that, not one bit." His father goes on to carve a smile into his face. Later in the film, Joker grabs a wealthy individual by the face, portrayed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D, VT). Leahy, in his distinctive voice, tells Joker, "we're not initimidated by thugs." Some are willing to argue Leahy could be representative of the traditional christian God, older, wise, and steadfast.

Joker replies, somewhat famously, "You know, you remind me of my Father. I hated my father!"

Most importantly, one must consider the character's mission. Joker is an individual who inspires individuals to follow him on a quest culminating in his own self destruction. Joker arises as an individual who meets Batman and preaches his New Gospel - the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules. Joker then embarks on a quest to sacrifice his own life in order to show Batman this truth.