My brothers were visiting this week and I managed to hire a babysitter to see the new Batman movie, aka "The Dark Knight." With a title like that, you'd think maybe it's about the night I lost sleep because my child had a rota virus and expelled the contents of her belly multiple times and required that I wash sheets repeatedly until dawn.
But no, it's about the Joker and how he's an agent of chaos and anarchy. Which reminds me of my son, who at age 2.5, also happens to be an agent of chaos and anarchy. I require order, organization, neatness, the flower in the vase angled just so. Etan is compelled to expel every scintilla of artful composition from our home. Markers and crayons are tossed gleefully, leaving indelible marks on newly painted walls. Hats litter the floor. Crumbs mark an interior trail raccoons could follow. Books are pulled off shelves and scattered.
So I wondered initially, why do people seem to revel in this Joker character? Why are they dressing up like poor Heath Ledger for their movie excursions? Don't they realize he's the villain?
I suspect they identify with those irrepressable early urges to upset the apple cart. Why not splash all the bathwater onto the floor? It's there isn't it? It sure is fun.
While watching the Joker explain his motives (chaos is his raison d'etre), I wondered, does the universe tend towards order or disorder? The answer, I think, depends on whether you're a mom, or a toddler..Publish Post
