The Truth of Society

Truth Behind Society

Society is a silky veil, flawless, by observing its surface people can only perceive the images of perfection, tranquility, and harmony. Therefore, satisfaction would consume the minds of people, providing them contentment.

However, when the façade of this orderly society is unveiled, when the ideas of sociology forces reality to present its true self in front of the crowd, the truth can be shocking and dissatisfying to most, just like what Peter Berger tends to present to readers in his article “Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective”, from his vast understanding of sociology, he describes that, "… people who live in those houses on the other side of that river, should probably also stay away from sociology. They will find it unpleasant or, at any rate, unrewarding" (Berger, 7). However, the reality is fairly simple to grasp, the truth behind the façade of this well-constructed structures and human relationships is fragility, and when the structure crumbles, uncertainty and chaos rise. In the movie “The Dark Knight”, the main antagonist the joker, motivated and driven by the idea of nihilism, his greatest strength comes from nothing but the determination to prove that the society and its systems are but a sham, “a bad joke” as he portraits it. The strategy he uses to achieve his goal is to attack the greatest weakness of the society, which is order, because order is the only borderline that distinguishes peace from chaos. Think of it this way, the world today is advanced, the systems used to keep people in their places are well-built and considerate. Therefore, most are in no position to complain, individuals are born to be taught by others to become something that would contribute to the society; they are informed to follow rules and regulations; they are warned that if they intend to break the balance of the system, they are to be imprisoned. Every person who lives under this system is to follow its laws and constitutions, and a complaint would result in nothing. Thus, the greatest fragility of the society is from a psychological sense, and that is why the idea of a higher power – government – exists, just like what Karl Marx intends to convey, that social order had to be maintained by domination, there is always punishment for those who commit crimes, and the federal bureau would watch and spy using complex networks and surveillances on those who oppose the constitutions written by the higher order. But what if this system is bankrupted by an idea that says no one should, or need to listen and follow all the rules constructed by the government? What if the government becomes powerless and worthless? The result to the extinction of the domination is people under the system would no longer follow its restrictions and regulations. Like the essay previously mentioned, that the fragility of this society is psychological, which is exactly what the antagonist in the movie “The Dark Knight” intends to prove to the audience, that when the power of the police force and government is nullified, there is nothing they have left to threaten the people and criminals, and by that time, the strength of the higher order, becomes a weakness.

The joker exploits the lawlessness of the human nature, he believes that behind the façade of the society is existential, cosmic anarchy, and people can easily be intimidated and convinced by simple words. In many cases, his ideology is correct, despite the extremeness of the concept. But the humanity never ceases to impress, there is one thing that joker and many of us fail to understand, that the order and the stability of the society do not only come from the rules created by the higher power but also the survival of humanity as a whole. David Emile Durkheim, a French social psychologist delivers an amazing concept, he states that we as a whole are a living organism, each and every part is central to survival in this world. Therefore, people must respect each other’s public values and all disagreements must come to a conclusion of consensus. He also states that disorganization can lead to unpleasant changes. Durkheim’s sociological ideas are proven by Tanya Galash-Boza’s article “Bandits Going Wild in Haiti”. The article describes the scenes from Haiti after a great earthquake. Taught and learned from the media, people would easily assume that Haiti is a paradise for criminals because of the overwhelming poverty, and the earthquake could be the perfect cover for those who intend to start riots, commit crimes and spread sufferings. But the truth is completely opposite, after the earthquake, the government used all its forces on recovering the lost properties, which left people unsupervised. At that period of time, there was no law, no regulations, no guidance to tell people how to act. However, under that circumstance, only a few crimes occurred, and people were keeping each other safe, “… did not see any proof that social banditry reigned. Instead, I saw people in Port-au-Prince organizing themselves into groups and providing their own security” (Galash-Boza, 11), as the article describes. However, the true irony is that media spread the words reporting “rampant rapes” in Haiti after the earthquake, assuming that bandits “take advantage to harass and rape women and young girls under the tents” (Galash-Boza, 11) when the truth couldn’t be further away from the false images created by the so-called media.

The society is indeed very fragile, but underestimating humanity’s struggle for survival and stability is also wrong. During a scene in “The Dark Knight”, in order to prove that humans are but a hoard of beasts when they are forced to peel of the social skin, joker immobilizes two cruise ships in the middle of a river, one filled with criminals, one crowded with innocents. There is a detonator on each ship, if they are to ensure the survival of people on one ship, they must choose to detonate the other. The civilian ship puts up a vote, and the result is to destroy the criminal ship. But on the other ship, a dark-skinned mob takes the detonator and throws it into the bottom of the river. In the end, neither is detonated, not knowing what people on the other ship would do, the innocents fail to pull the trigger because they know that even without the guidance, they must survive as a whole while ensuring their dignity and integrity.

Structures define the society, but with the will to survive as a whole define the entire humanity.

Work Cited

Berger, Peter. “Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective, 1963.

Golash-Boza, Tanya. “Bandits Going Wild in Haiti” Footnotes 38, Feburary 2010, Washington.

https://lms.uconn.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1181453-dt-content-rid-5858896_1/courses/1173-UCONN-SOCI-1001-SECZ82-25126/Galash-Boza-Bandits.pdf

The Dark Knight. By Christopher Nolan. Perf. Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, and Christian Bale. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008. Online.