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

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