Why The Dark Knight is one of the best movies ever created.

Rating: 10/10 (11 August 2008)

Although I realize that movies are a subjective experience and is unique in such a way based upon our preconceived ideas and presuppositions of what may or may not be entertaining to us personally, very few movies dare take us to a place that we know instinctively is true about each and every one of us and describes it in a way that becomes a creative mirror in which we are forced to look upon ourselves, and become disgusted or intrigued.
What we have is a great movie that surpasses others in respect of revealing the truth that hides beneath the veil we create to make ourselves more respectable to others and to ourselves. It's a mask that we all put on everyday to make ourselves feel better about ourselves and our integration to those we consider to be our friends, our relatives and our world.
When we see the Joker, we become revolted (at least I hope so) by his maniacal desire for destruction and reckless abandon of anything good. The Joker is motivated by nothing but pure hate for everything, even himself. Hate has so filled his soul that he seems distant, but so familiar. He seems to be the antithesis of what we desire, but not so removed that he becomes a figure we cannot associate with. How do you battle that level of hatred? Tolerance is impossible to give to the intolerant. Love is a mute weapon to those that have been hardened by hatred. It is here that we find the Joker within all of us. Have you not hated? Have you not been intolerant? Are we so beyond corruption that we can't see that Harvey Dent's transformation is far too plausible in each and every one of us? The Joker simply motivated Harvey by his pain and encouraged his hatred. He transformed. We see this in Anakin Skywalker who becomes Darth Vader. We see this in many movies but not so distinct and psychologically arresting as the Joker. The Joker goes beyond the limits of reality but reveals the truth that lies within our hearts in a personal way. Our ability to hate everything and to wish hurt upon others when we are in pain. Even if you keep it hidden within, you know the capacity is there. It's not beyond us, it's with us each and every moment, and all it takes is one incident and you too become that which you hate to acknowledge is part of yourselves.
Batman wasn't immune to its effects either. Hatred motivates Batman just as well as the Joker. The two become symmetrical. To fight invincible hatred, you too must become one that hates as much, or more than your opponent. We know that hatred is wrong, but it's the only weapon against hatred. You become what you fight, you become something you abhor. This is Batman's dilemma.
When we look at the two ferries and their ability to destroy one another or to succumb death in the absence, do we find ourselves wishing that we had the strength not to blow the other boat to bits? It becomes fantasy that one of the boats didn't destroy the other, and we have the gall to call this movie dark? Real life is far darker that what we want to believe since we have deluded ourselves to believe that we cannot enter that realm of self denigration.
Who would have thought that a fantasy movie could be as bold as to show this and under a cover of an action flick? What we are presented with is a vivid documentary of our own corruption that lies within all of us. This is where The Dark Knight treads its dark path. Whether or not the true intension of the movie was to reveal this mystery of the human condition, the brilliance of The Dark Knight shows us something that we are at once familiar with, but in many cases, as the voting suggests, we are also repulsed by it. For those people who didn't enjoy the movie, it is because The Dark Knight reveals too much truth for comfort.
The Dark Knight isn't simply a great movie, it's an absolute masterpiece that is awe inspiring to those that have the honesty to look into themselves and see the revelation of their own condition and find that they too are weak and susceptible to corruption, given the right conditions. What is that condition? To either find yourself in the presence of hatred, or to be consumed by it. We can see those truths within Hitler and how an entire country succumbed into the madness of hatred. We see it more today when we see "radical Islam" with its complete and utter intolerance towards the west and towards others that don't align to its agendas. This is the level of hatred that replicates the ideology of Nazism in its entirety. It's there for everyone to see, but we refuse to see. We don't want to believe that that type of hatred exists and we become self deluded when we refuse to see the truth.
The Joker's level of hatred exists within this world, and we face the same dilemma as Batman. Do we fight against this evil and consider it evil to battle against it? This is exactly what is happening today! It's relevant, and we wish it weren't that way, but that is exactly the point. We wish, and we become self deluded when we do, and become useless against stopping hatred from thriving. Hatred has a way of expanding, having a life of its own. The Dark Knight reveals the truth about hatred and we will either acknowledge it as being true and relevant, or dismiss it simply because we cannot tolerate that much truth being revealed.
My prediction is that The Dark Knight will win at least 3 Oscars including picture of the year.