Welcome to the Nishma Hollywood and Sinai Discussion Forum blog.
The Corner of Hollywood and Sinai is a regular column on the Nishma website in which Dodi-Lee Hecht comments on recent movies with a view from the Torah perspective
If you have a comment on an article within this column, we invite you to place your comments here; then we invite everyone to join the discussion.
I read Dodi Lee Hecht's article with great interest. I must first post one correction. Anakin Skywalker was not killed by his son. He was killed by powerful eletrical discharges from his mentor, the Emperor. His son simply did the coup d'grace by stupidly removing his respirator instead of getting him to a medi-droid. This, however, is not the reason for my message. The difference between Anakin and Batman is, in my opinion, one of results. There is a stark difference in the two heroes. Batman desires revenge for the murder of his parents. He therefore sets out on a career to make Gotham a safer city where criminals are afraid to practice. But a look at the contemporary issues of the comic make one thing clear: he has utterly failed. Political corruption remains rampant, gangs rule the streets, outside a few guarded neighbourhoods are endless ghettos of fear and despair. For all his bravery and power, Batman is simply putting out one little fire after another while the blaze of Gotham's evil burns brights in the background. But he plods on, knowing that this is the best he'll ever do. He has doubts as to the purpose he serves in life and the differnce he really isn't make (See the Dark Knight graphic novel) but each scumball he puts away is one less one to haunt the streets. Oh well. Anakin, on the other hand, has dreams. He wants to see the galaxy restored to peace but with his incomplete training, lousy pick-up lines, and confusion regarding the right moral path to take in a given situation, he loses his direction. The subtle truth of Anakin is, except for one moment when he blubbers "Oh no, what have I done?" after killing Mace Windu, that he never really does doubt that what he is doing is for the best. His goal is simple: end the war. If it means putting a Sith into power, so be it. After all, when the Jedi were running things, people were dying. He dreams of galactic utopia and achieves it. And in his mind, he has never done anything wrong. Unlike Batman, he believes his impossible goal is, in fact, possible and is prepared to do what he can to bring it about. Batman, therefore, represents the idealist who still has a grip on reality. He knows the just society can never exist but each person still has a responsibility to try and bring it about. Anakin, on the other hand, represents the idealist who actually believes the slogans those hippies were chanting in the 60's and is prepared to bring about their vision of peace and universal love, no matter how many people he has to kill to achieve it. So there.
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