Once again, a super hero movie does a wonderful job of nailing some key truths about our world, yet does it in such a way that it leaves God completely out of the picture.
Is it Hollywood’s job to teach us about God? Of course not! Is it the Christian movie industry' job to teach us about God? No, it actually isn’t. But more on that at a later date.
For now, I will focus on the recent “The Batman” movie. The problem of corruption in Gotham City is
as staple of a theme in Batman as surface to air missiles is to James Bond’s
cars. How this last movie tackled it
though, gives some humanity to the villain and puts the hero right in the
middle of the problem. If the villain is
fighting corruption, can he be all that bad?
What actually separates the vigilante Batman from the villain,
anyway? Is it simply that he's not AS crazy? Or, is Batman really the answer? For the record, I really liked this version of DC's most famous superhero.
Yet, the main problem with these movies still persists. Just like real life problems of racism, hatred, drugs, sexual assault, violence, bullying, etc. continue to be fought with the toothless weapons of legislation and the dead-end volleying of ideas on social media and at water coolers, movies continue to address real problems without any mention of or concept of or nod to God.
I realize that it’s much more entertaining to watch
something in an alternate universe, but do we, the fans, really leave it
there? When we observe people living REAL lives in an "alternate" universe of do-what-I-want-with-no-consequences,
it makes you wonder whether we’re all just hoping that there is a REAL alternate
life waiting for us somewhere beyond this world. "Maybe I can just live my next lifetime in a
world where there’s no murder or hate?" we casually reason. There must be a reason why there's such a huge market for alternate universe productions: Marvel has close to 100
movies and TV episodes that can be put in a timeline, for instance. Star Wars has a similar universe going on, to
the point that people have developed their own fan base on YouTube as a full
time job. One YouTuber, for instance, is
advancing theories like Jar-Jar Binks is the evil emperor. What if that is actually true? Well, it would blow many minds, but it would actually make no difference whatsoever in any way in our day-to-day lives.
Here’s a test that I have not looked into, but I’d be
willing to wager something on: There are
many Summer movies coming out in 2022 that are parts of a franchise or at least
a sequel of something. Out of all of
these this Summer, out of all of these alternate worlds, how many worlds have God as a part of them, in any way? How, then, are problems solved
and chaotic plots resolved in these movies?
Having said all of this, I’m still a fan of such movies. Why? Because all truth is God’s truth. Because no matter how hard we try to portray real human emotions and problems in a fictional universe apart from God, we will end up proving things that the Bible has been talking about for thousands of years. As an example, let’s use the end of The Batman (minor, possible spoiler warning). Batman realizes that, no matter who he puts away for however long, Gotham will never change. Yet, he says that he still has to fight it. Even after the observation that he may die doing it, he doesn’t relent. Even after another tantalizing offer comes that could woo him away from Gotham to an easier life, the person trying to woo him says something like, “yet I know you won’t come, because you belong to another.” Batman’s mind is already made up – he’ll never leave Gotham and go live the good life with his billions of dollars – because he simply belongs there.
Here’s the truth that God’s been talking about for, well, EVER: We are meant, as humans, to belong to Him, to be on mission with Him, to be about something bigger than ourselves. This mission, since God created us with that mindset already, is a mission specifically designed for us. This is why, any mission apart from God, no matter how noble, leaves us empty and will fall short of truly solving any problems. We are not meant for self-sufficiency or loving whoever we feel like or being true to ourselves, we are meant for putting others before us, for loving people in the way God loves us, and for being true to our God. Nothing ought to draw us away from this mission, for once this mission is instilled in our head, once our love for God becomes a part of who we are, we cannot be convinced of ever leaving, for the world and others who are wooing us will realize that we belong to another.
