Why so serious?

"I'm not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how... pathetic their attempts to control things really are... You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go 'according to plan'. Even if the plan is horrifying! If tomorrow I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics because it's all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!"

I saw Batman: The Dark Knight this past Tuesday. I didn't see it when it first came out for a number of reasons. I think part of it was that all the hype made me care less, but I also think they could have done a much better job with the trailers for the movie. This isn't what I want to talk about, though. I enjoyed the movie a lot in large part due to the dialogue of the Joker. I think there is a lot of what he says that deserves thought and we shouldn't overlook it just because he is, in fact, a raving lunatic.

Specifically the quote above stuck out to me above anything else in the film. Why? Sadly, I think it is because I agree with him. It is a reflection of our selfish nature that we are constantly scheming and doing our best to prosper ourselves. To be perfectly honest, I think a lot of people do need that wake up call, that reminder that their attempts to control are indeed... pathetic.

He makes another good point in that it may not be necessarily the death or murder that is upsetting people, but rather the change from the plan. When things seem to be under control it doesn't matter what the casualties are, but when control is lost, every death is a horrifying thing.

Now, I don't condone the actions that the Joker took, but I don't think that makes what he said any less true.