Could a man in a cape and cowl who fights a man in clown makeup surpass the biggest film of all time? All eyes are now on The Dark Knight to see if it'll do just that. After bringing in over $75 million in its second weekend and continuing to smash records, speculation has begun as to whether or not this time it'll be the Bat that sinks Titanic.

Chistopher Nolan's epic The Dark Knight has now crossed the $300 million mark faster than any other movie, beating the mark set by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Pirates crossed $300 million in 16 days, but it's taken Batman just 10. Estimates have Batman's latest film reaching $400 million in 18 days, which would set another new record, beating Shrek 2 which got to $400 million in 43 days. After that, of course, it's just a question of when or if The Dark Knight will be able to topple the $600 million plus record held by Titanic. James Cameron's schmaltzy doomed romance has held that top spot securely for ten years, but now it seems like another iceberg may be on the horizon for Titanic: a bat-shaped ice berg.

So what's the appeal? Even though it wasn't my favorite film, I understood why Titanic reached the lofty heights it did; it had a very broad appeal, from women looking for romance to men looking for adventure to historians looking for some visuals to go with what they knew of Titanic's sinking. It was a film that truly had something for everyone. Contrast that with The Dark Knight: a very dark, very bleak, very violent film that has none of the warm fuzzy feelings of Titanic, none of the lightheartedness, and far more of the tragedy and grief. Why would so many people find that appealing?

For certain, Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker has something to do with it. His tragic death earlier this year has people curious to see what he did with his final role. Add in the fact that it's a masterful performance and a spot-on portrayal of one of the most disturbing villains ever created, and you have something a lot of people want to see. That I can understand; but what about the rest of it? This is far from an uplifting film, and especially considering the dark times we're living in ourselves, why would so many people want to repeatedly go and indulge in a film that takes that darkness and magnifies it ten-fold?

Maybe in some twisted way the fact that The Dark Knight is so dark and bleak and hopeless helps provide some measure of hope to those who view it. Perhaps we have the mentality that things are bad right now, but at least they aren't as bad as what's happening to the characters in The Dark Knight. It seems an odd place to me to go looking for hope, looking for it in the darkness.

The fact is, however, looking at something darker (in order to make our own situation seem not as bad) won't provide the hope that we really need. In fact, very few of the things we put our hope in—the economy, the government, people around us, our own abilities—will prove to be stable or reliable; they will all ultimately disappoint.

So where do we find a hope that we can count on? Hebrews 6:18-19 tells us. It says, "God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Isn't that what we all need? Hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure? Well, the only place we'll find it is in Jesus Christ; he is our hope, and he is a hope that will not disappoint.

As The Dark Knight continues to rake in the dough, I will continue to be perplexed by the film's amazing popularity. Don't get me wrong; I'm a huge Batman fan and thought it was a fantastic movie. However, it wasn't exactly a feel-good film, and considering the times we're living in, it would seem that people would need to be reminded that there is hope rather than that things could be and probably will be far worse.

Leave and read comments...