Batman, God - and The Joker: the Shooting in Aurora

(I don't know the author of this piece but thought it was worth posting/sharing.)

  By Paul Asay

It reads like the scene from a Christopher Nolan Batman movie.

A man, heavily armed and wearing a bulletproof vest, opens fire on a theater full of innocents, killing 12 people and wounding scores of others. Officials find signs his apartment may be booby trapped — trip wires tied to what appear to be homemade bombs. When police remove the killer’s gas mask, they discover the suspect — 24-year-old James Holmes — has dyed his hair red.

The Joker, he calls himself.

If only it had been a scene. If only the people in that Aurora, Colo., theater could’ve watched the horror unfold on screen, it would’ve made some sort of sense. It would’ve driven the plot forward, pushed Nolan’s brooding Dark Knight into action. And after Nolan called “cut,” actors and extras would’ve gotten up, brushed themselves off and walked away.

But there in Aurora, there was no Batman to stop the killer, no director to cut the scene. There was no plan to it, no plot — at least not that we can see. It’s just a tragedy — another senseless horror in a world that’s known far too many.

Of all the words that can be used to describe the Aurora shooting, “senseless” may be the worst word of all — particularly for those of us who call ourselves Christian. We claim to worship a good, just and all-powerful God — a God who loves us with a passion as broad as the universe itself. We are His children, we say. And God wouldn’t let any harm come to His children … would He?

And the question hangs in the air, waiting, pleading for an answer.

It’s sadly appropriate Holmes took on The Joker’s persona. He, among all of Batman’s archvillains, offers the worst possible answer to that hanging question: God? he chirps, brushing a hand through his caterpillar-green hair. How quaint. How precious. There is no God. There is no meaning. There is no reason in this cold, dark place. The only truth is that there is no truth.

“I’m not a monster,” he tells Batman in The Dark Knight. “I’m just ahead of the curve.”

The clash between Batman and the Joker is a struggle between meaning and meaninglessness. And that struggle goes to the core of our being.

We don’t know what sort of faith Batman has — what he believes in, if anything. But it’s obvious he believes in meaning — an overarching sense of purpose that transcends our biology and upbringing. For Batman, right and wrong aren’t just man-made constructs, but eternal ideals. He believes our lives have purpose: I believe that’s why he protects the people of Gotham with such verve and holds himself to such strict standards.

But the Joker, he doesn’t believe in any of that stuff. Right and wrong, life and death, it’s all part of the same cosmic joke. Meaning? Pish.

That’s why The Joker never goes away, I think — not for long, at any rate. His philosophy is too frightening to vanish completely. In his grinning visage, Batman faces his own secret doubt — doubt that many Christians like me sometimes face during the darkest moments of our lives. We wonder, in the wake of our Auroras, whether we’re behind the curve. Senseless tragedy hits us in the gut. Any explanation we might give, any words of hope we might try to offer, seem so inadequate: A joke that only the Joker could laugh at.

And yet there is hope. And we see a shadow of it in Batman.

The superhero’s fictional Gotham is a dark, brutal and often senseless place — a comic-book mirror of our own flawed and failing world. Batman knows it well. When he was just a boy, his parents were murdered in front of him.

I doubt Batman believes God was there in that alley that night when his parents were killed. And yet, a seed of a future hero was sewn in that awful moment. God didn’t pull the trigger. He didn’t “cause” that tragedy. But I believe God could’ve, in this fictional universe, worked through it. In the midst of Bruce Wayne’s darkest night, a Dark Knight was born.

I can’t say where God was yesterday in that Aurora theater. I’m no theologian, but personally, I doubt whether such evil could be part of God’s original, ideal blueprint. But I do believe this: That in the midst of such senseless tragedy, God is with us and, if we let Him, He can work through us. In the crux of our pain and confusion, He’s there—infusing this meaningless tragedy with meaning, offering hope in the midst of this helplessness.

**

Paul Asay is the author of God on the Streets of Gotham: What the Big Screen Batman Can Teach us About God and Ourselves. He works as a movie reviewer with the Christian outlet Pluggedin.com.

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PH: Entertainment

This week's theme for blogland's PhotoHunt is ENTERTAINMENT.

What is your favorite kind of entertainment?

Swimming with sharks?


Archery?

Trying the trapeze?

Singing like these members of a barbershop quartet?

Walking on the beach?

Playing "footsie" under the table?

Watching a ballgame?

Playing cards? Reading? Working crosswords? Playing a musical instrument? Watching movies?

What is yours?

Other PhotoHunt participants.

Gov. Mark Sanford: Number One Songs, Then & Now

When Mark and Jenny Sanford got married on Nov. 4, 1989, the number one song in the U.S. was “Listen to Your Heart” by Roxette.

Sometime later – about 12 or so years later – the heart he was listening to was saying "Argentina." And, as far as we can tell – and based on what the SC governor says – his heart is still in Argentina.

Where his heart is, though, is not the concern of our state’s citizens. Where his head is – now that is of concern to the citizenry.

Based on his actions, his heart and his head - and all of the rest of him - have been in Argentina lately.

His personal life is his business. We’ve never had a perfect elected official and we never will. We elect them, imperfections and all.

But when we elect our officials, while we may not expect perfection, we most certainly expect them to carry out the duties of their respective offices.

That is where Mark Sanford failed the state of South Carolina.

His betrayal of his wife, his absence from his four sons on Father’s Day – those are not impeachable offenses, although they most likely brought to a standstill his presidential ambitions.

His failures as husband and father are the business of the Sanford family. His failure as governor is of public concern, and rightly so.

Some officials claim that Sanford is so head-over-heels “ga-ga” in love with his Argentinean soul mate that he is not thinking clearly and can’t effectively govern even with his return to the state. A few are suggesting a chemical imbalance and mental instability, among other things.

Does being “ga-ga” in love mean the governor is incapacitated to the extent that he cannot effectively govern? I don’t know.

But he was definitely incapacitated geographically and unable to govern when he left the country for five days, slipping away from his own security and making himself unreachable by any living soul in the United States. There is reason to question his judgment, his decision-making skills, his concern for the state.

Some pundits say, “Oh, well, there was no emergency, so everything is okay.”
That there was no actual emergency does not excuse Sanford.

South Carolina has faced emergencies before: several hurricanes over the years, riots, the recent Myrtle Beach wildfires, for example. Anything could happen without notice: a train derailment, an airplane crash, a disease outbreak.

Maybe Sanford, who still declares that Maria in Argentina is his soul-mate, is thinking about that famous line from the movie Love Story: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

He might do better to quote Marlon Brando in the 1954 movie On the Waterfront: "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it."

Or perhaps he should just go by the title of this week’s Billboard chart-topper. It’s by The Black Eyed Peas: "The E.N.D."

Want to Have Fun at School?

Want to go back to school? Ever thought about attending a fun university?
Well, now is your chance – sort of.

Right now Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is hosting “31 Days of Oscars” at TCM University. Every movie shown from Feb. 1st through March 3rd either won an Oscar or received a nomination. The movies are grouped by academic department and course offering.



For example, today’s features are in the Zoology Department. Tonight, as part of the course called “Principles of Animal Behavior,” TCM will show Lassie Come Home, National Velvet, The Jungle Book and others.


Last Saturday’s department was World History. The Dawg and I watched Casablanca during the section called “The Reach and Influence of Nazi Germany.”








Since I love dance, I’m especially looking forward to Tuesday (the 17th) when it’s Dance Department Day. I want to see Anchors Aweigh, which is one of four movies scheduled for “Advanced Tap,” and 42nd Street, part of “Introduction to Choreography.”




Among the other departments with their own days of movies between now and March 3rd are these: athletic, law, political science, criminology, journalism, geography, theology, languages, medical and more.

Do you have an all-time favorite movie? Do you like old movies? Are there some that you could see over and over again?

When The Dawg and I play trivia, I never do well with the movie questions. For some reason, there are loads of great movies I've never seen. I’d love to sit in from of the TV day and night to watch all of these, but, alas, that’s not possible. Still, I’ll catch as many as I can.




I wonder how many I need to watch to graduate from TCM University with a degree!


(Photos/art from Ask Encyclopedia.)

Tim Conway + Disney = Fun, Fun, Fun

I’m sitting at the computer – and I’m ecstatic!
I’ve just gotten off the phone with Tim Conway, one of my all-time favorite actors. It was a joy and loads of fun to participate in a 30-minute telephone interview with him. Thanks a bunch to Beth at rolemommy for making the arrangements.
Now, for a bit of background: All during December, Turner Classic Movies is presenting some of Disney’s best family movies, including those in which Conway acted. He starred in “The Apple Dumpling Gang,” “The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again,” “The Shaggy DA” and “The World Greatest Athlete.”
A lot of our conversation centered around Disney, family movies, family values, his career and some of his best friends.
Conway said one reason he really enjoyed doing the two Apple Dumpling movies was the opportunity to work with one of his long-time friends, Don Knotts. Another reason he gave was that it was “a pleasure to work there (at Disney). No nudity, no violence.”
The actor turns 75 this month and he remains quite active. He has “Little Leo’s Big Adventure” coming out soon and he shared that we’ll see more of his hilarious Dorf character on the Christian Network.
Conway is a funny interview subject. When asked what he might have pursued had he not gone into entertainment, he said he would have been a jockey but added that he didn’t know he was supposed to actually be on the horse when it left the gate.
He told about shopping in a store one day. Another shopper came in and apparently mistook Conway for a clerk in the store. She asked, “Where’s your underwear?” So, he showed her.
Conway reflected on some of his skits on “The Carol Burnett Show.” His favorite (and one of mine also) is the dentist skit. He was one of the writers for the show and he often strayed from the script. His ad-libs caused fellow actors to laugh uncontrollably.
With movies, he said he was glad he turned down some roles and that he never really turned down something that he later wished he had taken.
His personal friends have included Don Knotts, Bob Newhart and Harvey Korman.
If you have access to a computer, go to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com. Type in Tim Conway in the search bar. Watch his funniest clips and laugh your heart out.
Don’t forget to catch him and other great stars throughout December on Turner Classic Movies. These are fantastic movies for families at all times, but especially during the holidays.

Lipstick, Part 2

Okay, so yesterday we were talking about lipstick.
Remember? This week, everybody’s been talking about lipstick: Palin, Obama, McCain. So, I guess it’s a great topic. In case you’ve forgotten, British Parliament actually banned lipstick in 1770, but that story was told yesterday.

Anyway, the fact that lipstick has stayed as a topic of conversation reminds me of the staying power of lipstick – on lips, not in the news. Six hours, 8 hours, 10 hours, even 16 hours, or so the ads claim. What I’ve found is that the longer the "paint" is supposed to stay on, the harder it is to move my lips with the stuff on. It has some sort of drying effect.

“Stick” in the name may a bit of a misnomer sometimes. Some lip colors come in little pots, in tubes with brushes, in pencil form and such. No one really wants to call it “lip pot.”

Lipstick is more than a lip paint for females. Did you know there was a television show named Lipstick Jungle? There was a movie called Lipstick (1976, starring Mariel and Margaux Hemingway) and another film named Why I Wore Lipstick To My Mastectomy. There’s even a rock band named Lipstick. If you're someone around my age, you probably remember one of Connie Francis' songs, Lipstick On Your Collar, in which she sang that "lipstick on your collar told the tale on you." Have you ever left lipstick where you shouldn't have or had it left on your collar?

And there’s a lipstick plant.

Now, between this post and yesterday’s post, I think I’ve written everything I know about lipstick, but stay tuned to the news for more political debate about this small cosmetic!

Lipstick plant photos by aletteke and roccovalentino on Flickr.

Movies

Moviegoers – like movies – are varied. Some folks are avid moviegoers and want to be first seeing the newest flicks; many others rarely take in a movie.
My dad was in the latter category. For one thing, he thought spending money on movies was somewhat wasteful. His other reason was that he didn’t want to hear bad words or off-color language. Of course, to him, pregnant was a word that shouldn’t be spoken in mixed company or at the dinner table, so, as you might imagine, there weren’t many movies that would have suited him.
I want to feel emotions at movies. Preferences are the tear-jerkers, heart-warmers and also the slapstick comedies that make me laugh ‘til I cry.
Let someone else have the shows of fright and horror. I don’t want to be scared stiff at movies; there’s enough of that just driving out on I-26. Science fiction isn’t high on my list either.
For the tear-jerkers, “Rudy” and “Brian’s Song” are among the best. Sure, those are old ones but they are two worth seeing over and over. “Karate Kid” and “E.T.” were among those I would call heart-warmers.
For slapstick and laughter, some of the best are “Naked Gun” and its successors; “There’s Something About Mary”; and “The Full Monty.”
Occasionally a movie comes along that is a comedy with a serious message, like “The Bucket List,” a more recent release than those already mentioned. The Dawg and I went to see that one and we agreed that it brought laughter and tears. Jack Nicholson had one of the funniest lines ever in that show.
Two that don’t fit into particular categories but are all-time favorites are “The Sound of Music” and “The Passion of the Christ.” Those are in categories by themselves. And who didn’t like “Mary Poppins” - just a joyous “feel good” film.
And then there was the Robert Redford movie “The Candidate.” To me, this is a film truly memorable for its final few minutes. Throughout the movie, Redford portrays a man running for high office - shaking hands, discussing issues, answering questions, doing everything candidates do to win elections. We all are familiar with such a character. He throws himself into the campaign. Then, at the end, he wins, and as his supporters celebrate in the hotel, he sits alone on the bed in his room, seemingly perplexed, and asks to no one in particular: “What do I do now?”
Now that’s a phrase that has been uttered by more than one newly-elected official. I guarantee it.

Sherry Shealy Martschink