Examples Of Nihilism In The Joker

In today’s naturalistic-influenced western culture, many of Hollywood’s movies contain existential and nihilistic themes. According to Leonard Manschreck, nihilism has not only infiltrated drama and the arts, but also our religion. He goes on to urge westerners to understand the nihilistic tends in our everyday life. In the movie, The Dark Knight, Joker serves as an example of nihilism by suggesting that life is meaningless and we are all part of a chaotic world.
Nihilism, as defined in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy further articulates nihilism as “the recognition that life has no intrinsic meaning.” There is no such thing as right and

wrong, or good and evil. Nihilism also rejects science and just asserts that life has no meaning and there is no sense in the pursuit of meaning.
Based on these definitions, the Joker in The Dark Knight is a perfect representation of nihilism.

There are two quotes from the movie that demonstrate a nihilistic worldview. In the first quote, the Joker says, “It’s not about money, it’s about sending a message— everything burns.” The joker is basically saying that nothing has value (in this case, money) and that we are all going to die in the end. Although this quote doesn’t specifically suggest that life is meaningless, the second quote does:
You see, their morals, their code, it’s a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they’ll eat each other. See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.
In this quote, Joker not only devalue’s morals, but also suggests that people are created and formed by the chaos that sounds them, hence the line, “they’re only as good as the world allows them to be.” When the Joker says, “I’m just ahead of the curve,” he is satisfied of his revelation that life lacks meaning, while the feebleminded “civilized people” are desperately searching for something that doesn’t

exist.
Throughout the movie, there is a complex interplay between Joker’s worldview and Batman’s worldview. Although there is some evidence of Batman possessing an existential worldview, this evidence is not as obvious as Joker’s. At one point in the movie, Joker calls Batman self-righteous, possibly suggesting that Batman carries a humanist view of life (the view that values humans above anything else, even a divine/supernatural being). This worldview definitely conflicts with Joker’s because it places life importance one something (the self) rather than nothing.
In Christianity, the Bible tells us that our life absolutely has meaning. Even though we are fallen creatures (as a result of the fall), Genesis 2:27 says that we were created in the image of God. Today, although that image may be distorted, it still resembles God. According to Scriptures, we were made for the purpose of glorify God. Donald Crosby states “that loss of belief in God leads necessarily to nihilism.” Therefore, we need to ground our search for truth and meaning in the gospel, in order to prevent a tendency towards nihilistic views. (541 words)