If you can get past how drop-dead gorgeous Wonder Woman is and how erotically handsome Superman is, there are many lessons to be learned from the new movie, "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." Most of them paint a daunting picture of the world today, but let's face it, we live in a pretty shitty world, and this movie does a great job of showing us that.
1. Perspective matters.
In the beginning of the movie, we experience the end of "Man of Steel" through Bruce Wayne’s eyes instead of Superman’s. Unlike in "Man of Steel" where this part is made to send the message that Superman is saving the day, Bruce sees this as ultimate destruction brought on by Superman. Much like in everyday life, from person to person we see situations differently. Who is the hero to one appears as the devil to some. It’s important to understand that other people may not see your actions as you see them.
2. Sometimes doing the right thing for the wrong reason is just as bad as doing the wrong thing.
Batman has always been reluctant to kill. This makes him a true vigilante, fighting for justice without resorting to true criminal acts. But newsflash, branding someone has severe consequences. Just as in the movie, in real life we see people who are branded (think sex offenders or murderers) receive cruel and unusual punishment in today’s world far past what their sentence requires. By branding these people as second-class citizens, we banish them to a life not a single one of us would want to live. Just because they committed a criminal act, do they really deserve a life of second-class citizenship?
3. Humans aren’t meant to be godlike.
We are meant to make mistakes. We are meant to have weaknesses. We are meant to have fears. We are not meant to have the power to choose who deserves to live. In today’s world, we’ve taken power to a whole new level – the death sentence. We act as judge, jury, and executioner – God. God should be the only one with the power to take a life for wrongs committed. No human is better than another simply for the things he has done. No one stays good in this world. We all make mistakes, but 99 percent of the time we are good people – would you like to be put to death for the one percent of the time you committed wrongs?
4. Feeling powerless will turn good men cruel.
The American Dream – it’s what we all long for. Power is the American Dream. We all want to have a say in how the world is going to work by putting our mark on things. If we lose our grip on that power, there is no telling what one may do to regain it. We’re brought up in a world where if you don’t have power, you’re not worthy, and this is the undoing for many people. Nowhere is this more prominent in today’s world than with the ongoing problem of terrorism. Time and time again we are seeing young men turn to groups like ISIS. Why do they do this? They feel powerless – they need to make a difference in the world. They’re given the opportunity to regain power; they turn cruel.
5. False idolatry is a dangerous thing.
When we lose faith, we believe in anything that makes us feel important again. We idolize musicians and movie stars, losing sight of the things we should truly focus on. We would rather focus on the Kardashians than the horrible happenings in the world or the fragile state of our environment. It’s time to wake up, people.
6. We live in a world where we forge silver bullets yet rely on the kindness of monsters.
Lex Luther wants to weaponize Kryptonite to have as a silver bullet should anything go wrong. Think of Kryptonite as nuclear weapons. We have nukes, Russia has nukes, China has nukes; every superpower has nukes. Who will be the first to use them? Nobody knows. Every day, we rely on the kindness of monsters (other countries) to spare us another day. Is this really the kind of day-to-day life you want to be living?
7. The government’s job is hard.
Citizens truly take for granted the freedoms we are provided in our country. The government receives constant criticism for being soft on security when attacks happen or something goes wrong, yet if they want to crack down to be proactive in stopping attacks, all hell breaks loose because they’re infringing on our right to privacy. It’s time to choose what is more important – convenience or security. Unfortunately, Americans are lazy and will choose convenience over security any day. So next time something happens, take a look at your own views before blaming it on the government.
8. The media chooses who matters.
We live in an age where we are easily warped by what we see. The media is a manipulator – they decide what good is and they decide what matters. Fear mongering is their biggest weapon. Unfortunately, we let them tear the world apart through their methods. We’ve let them make us believe that African Americans are the violence problem and Muslims are the terrorism problem. As kids we learned that everything you see on the news or online isn’t true – where is that belief now?
9. Mental illness is a serious problem.
There is a stigma attached to being mentally ill that prevents many people from seeking treatment or even talking to another about it. If someone says they are depressed, they get a reply like, “It’s just a phase; you’ll come out of it soon.” No, depression, just like all mental illnesses, is a serious ailment that should be taken just as seriously as physical illnesses such as cancer. Mental illness is debilitating; it can drive someone to feel powerless and insane. It’s time we take people who are struggling more seriously in order to save lives.
Despite these harrowing lessons, there are a few more light-hearted lessons to be learned from "Batman v. Superman" as well.
10. Nothing is more powerful than having someone who believes in you.
A person’s life can be completely turned around from just one person taking the time to care about them. Be the person who cares.
11. God doesn’t owe the world anything.
God gave His life for you and me – the ultimate sacrifice. He doesn’t owe us anything, yet He chooses to give us mercy each and every day. We as humans are so ungrateful for what we’re given. If you are fortunate enough to live another day, you have no reason to be ungrateful.
12. Even when you know you can’t win, fight for what you believe in for the greater good.
We all knew Batman couldn’t beat Superman. The point is that if one human stands up for what is right and makes a wave, imagine what the whole human race could do if we all took a stand for what is right.
13. We can find similarities between each of us no matter how different two may seem.
This may be the most important lesson taught by the movie. Batman believes he and Superman couldn’t be any more different, then finds out that they have in common the most important thing to himself: Martha. If only we could all strive to find the similarities between ourselves and others, there would be much less hate in this world, and standing together against the real enemies could actually be possible.
Lastly, the greater takeaway from the movie…
14. The world only makes sense if you force it to.
We all make a choice about what to care about and what to do with our lives. Bad things happen every day, and we may never know why. We have to make the choice to recognize that some things are beyond our power and we just have to go with the flow sometimes. Each of us must choose to find meaning in the world. At the same time, we have to find a way to be on the same page. I’m not saying we all have to believe in the same things, but we have to realize that someone being different from ourselves doesn’t make them an enemy.
"Batman v. Superman" paints an alarming picture about the world we live in today. Fortunately, we have much to look forward to. Though this movie shows the gloom and doom in the world, it also hints that good is coming. Could it be that we are actually on the dawn of justice?
