The Dark Knight Rises

This summer has been pretty damned good to those of the nerdy persuasion-- The Avengers was incredible, Spider-Man was pretty good, but good lordy was The Dark Knight Rises fantastic.

Come at me bro

I loved the movie, and couldn't have been happier with the way it turned out-- but I don't want to turn this post into a review since I think there are plenty of those already. No, I want to talk about what the movie inspired in me. Before that though, there is the sad fact that some insane piece of shit used this movie as a vehicle for his own twisted desires.  That guy ruined what should have been a wonderful experience for the people in the theater but I have to say the the way those involved in the movie have responded is inspiring.

Not only did Christian Bale visit the victims, but Hans Zimmer composed a song to raise money; a song which you can find here:  http://www.watertower-music.com/releases_spotlight.php?search=Charity 

For me, Batman has always been about finding peace. What I mean by that is not that Batman is peaceful-- no, he certainly does get around to a lot of punching.

He's sad because he's punched everyone there is to punch

Batman's search for peace has always been more about coming to terms with the death of his parents, but it progressed to much more than that. Of course there are different iterations of Batman, but let's take the Nolan Batman as our main subject. Bruce's parents were the victims of bad luck-- a child was frightened and asked to leave the opera, and through a stroke of terrible timing they were shot by a desperate mugger.

Many years later, Bruce attends the hearing of his parents' killer only to see him released. Shortly thereafter, Joe Chill is killed in front of Bruce. Rather than take solace in the fact that the killer is dead, Bruce feels more unrest than ever before. He eventually confronts Falcone to tell him that Gotham is not afraid-- Falcone threatens Bruce and points out that he has a lot to lose in the form of friends and loved ones. This inspires Bruce to go on a journey of self-discovery.

Also known as the shotgun approach to detecting

Needless to say, Bruce finds his way and eventually becomes the world's greatest detective. Fast forward two movies and  eight years, and Batman is at the top of Gotham's most wanted. Gotham is in an unprecedented stretch of peace and as such, has no need for Batman. And yet, Bruce cannot come to terms with this. Just as Batman has disappeared from Gotham, so has Bruce Wayne disappeared into the halls of Wayne Manor. But why, you ask? Why would Bruce Wayne hide when it's Batman who is the wanted criminal? Because Batman is the true identity, and Bruce Wayne is the cover. 

He's already wearing a mask

I thought the movie played this beautifully-- and that's where I think the movie is most inspiring. Although Bruce Wayne started his journey looking for a way to avenge the death of his parents, he ends it by finding a way to save his city. Batman became a symbol for Gotham in a way that Bruce Wayne never could-- but what gets me most about the character is how he has become a symbol for people in the real world too.

Like I mentioned earlier, Christian Bale and Hans Zimmer have reached out to the victims of the Aurora shooting, but the character of Batman has done so much more than that. Director Kevin Smith started a non-profit that combats sex-trafficking, and he named it after Bruce Wayne ( http://viewaskew.com/thewaynefoundation/ ). Smith also does a podcast where he talks to people who have been involved with the Batman universe: he's spoken with Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Mark Hamill, and many more. A kid who grew up idolizing these people now gets to talk to them about Batman. Hell, Kevin Smith even writes Batman comics now. All this simply because loved Batman ( a gross oversimplification, but you get the point).  

It's not lupus

Another wonderful story from the Dark Knight is of the  Route 29 Batman, a man who dressed up to inspire sick children. This guy is just someone who happens to have the money to dress up in silly outfits and run around being nice to people-- which I'm sure he would have found a way to do, with or without Batman. I suppose the point of all this is that I want to focus on the ways in which characters can inspire greatness, rather than focusing on the ways in which we can blame the Aurora shooting on anything other than the guy being a complete and utter sack of shit.