Batman - The Dark Knight is a great show. It is dark, sick and gloomy, yet it never fails to remind viewers that hope lingers just around corner.
The Joker was sick, damn sick. And Heath Ledger was brilliant. Watch the show and you’ll know experience first hand why such a ‘Hollywood film’ is winning critical acclaim.
The Joker said to Batman in the show “You complete me.” It freaky and freaking true. Without the Joker, Batman has no reason to exist as the attorney general and chief commissioner were doing a great job cracking down crimes. Without Batman, the Joker finds no worthy opponents in Gotham. They NEED each other. Both tormented, demented and damaged. To read more about Joker's love-hate relationship with Batman here.
I recall a Tom and Jerry episode where Jerry (yes the mouse) was chased out of the house. Tom went thru hell to save Jerry. And once Jerry is safe in the house, the never ending cat and mouse chase begins again. Tom loves it, Jerry loves it, and the viewers love it (at least Loh Wei does). Tom and Jerry’s existence is mutually dependent. For those who watched Matrix, you’ll recall the hate-hate relationship between Agent Smith and Neo…remember they neutralized each other?
The climax of the show (to me) was a thought experiment designed by the Joker. I shall not spoil the show for you. But it reminds me of an exercise I did in my Analytical Skill course in school and on a recent post by Zhengkai.
Thought experiments
Scenario 1
A runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track. In its path are five people who will definitely be killed unless you, a bystander, flip a switch which will divert it on to another track, where it will kill one person. Should you flip the switch?
Scenario 2
The runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track where it will kill five people. You are standing on a bridge above the track and, aware of the imminent disaster, you decide to jump on the track to block the trolley car. Although you will die, the five people will be saved.
Just before your leap, you realise that you are too light to stop the trolley. Next to you, a fat man is standing on the very edge of the bridge. He would certainly block the trolley, although he would undoubtedly die from the impact. A small nudge and he would fall right onto the track below. No one would ever know. Should you push him?
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4954856.stm
The Joker was sick, damn sick. And Heath Ledger was brilliant. Watch the show and you’ll know experience first hand why such a ‘Hollywood film’ is winning critical acclaim.
The Joker said to Batman in the show “You complete me.” It freaky and freaking true. Without the Joker, Batman has no reason to exist as the attorney general and chief commissioner were doing a great job cracking down crimes. Without Batman, the Joker finds no worthy opponents in Gotham. They NEED each other. Both tormented, demented and damaged. To read more about Joker's love-hate relationship with Batman here.
I recall a Tom and Jerry episode where Jerry (yes the mouse) was chased out of the house. Tom went thru hell to save Jerry. And once Jerry is safe in the house, the never ending cat and mouse chase begins again. Tom loves it, Jerry loves it, and the viewers love it (at least Loh Wei does). Tom and Jerry’s existence is mutually dependent. For those who watched Matrix, you’ll recall the hate-hate relationship between Agent Smith and Neo…remember they neutralized each other?
The climax of the show (to me) was a thought experiment designed by the Joker. I shall not spoil the show for you. But it reminds me of an exercise I did in my Analytical Skill course in school and on a recent post by Zhengkai.
Thought experiments
Scenario 1
A runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track. In its path are five people who will definitely be killed unless you, a bystander, flip a switch which will divert it on to another track, where it will kill one person. Should you flip the switch?
Scenario 2
The runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track where it will kill five people. You are standing on a bridge above the track and, aware of the imminent disaster, you decide to jump on the track to block the trolley car. Although you will die, the five people will be saved.
Just before your leap, you realise that you are too light to stop the trolley. Next to you, a fat man is standing on the very edge of the bridge. He would certainly block the trolley, although he would undoubtedly die from the impact. A small nudge and he would fall right onto the track below. No one would ever know. Should you push him?
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4954856.stm
There are many variations to the above thought experiment, but most people will feel more comfortable flipping the switch than pushing the man down. Why? The action involved in simply a flick of the finger, and the outcome is the same, 5 lives saved, 1 live sacrificed?
No answers, just interesting to think about.
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