Here are some philosophical questions to
consider as you watch The Dark Knight.
What motivates the Joker's evil actions
and love of chaos? Is the Joker insane?
That is, is he in control of his actions? Can he
be held responsible? Would it be more
disturbing if he were crazy, or if he
weren't? The Joker makes claims about
human nature--about what all people are
like deep down. What are these claims? Is
he correct about the people of Gotham?
Is he correct about people in the real
world? What about you and the other
people in this room? Why can't Batman
kill the Joker? Does Batman's inability
to kill make him *stronger* or *weaker* than the Joker? Why? Consider the scene with
two groups of people on boats. What point is the Joker trying to make by pitting
these groups against one another? Does he succeed? At the end of the movie Batman
embraces a lie about Dent and about
himself, and recruits Gordon to help
spread the lie. Does this mean the Joker
has won? What do you make of Batman's
claim at the end of the movie that
"sometimes people deserve more than the truth"?
In Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche writes "man is something to be
surpassed" in order for a new type of
human, the Overman, to come into being.
Are any characters in The Dark Knight
possible examples of the Overman?
Is Batman an Overman? Is the Joker? Why or why not?
