"The Dark Knight" -- a Pardaigm for Terrorism?

Firstly it may be a little nit picky but Nolan directed the Prestige not the Illusionist. Secondly, I must say that I feel you are looking for conclusions where they don't exist. You build up a straw man with your arguments rather than present solid and logical arguments. What sort of media are you watching where an anchor or reporter justifies for example the actions of the terrorists on 9/11 by calling them freedom fighters. I'm sure that somewhere in the marketplace of ideals someone actually believes that but to claim that is a mainstream belief is intellectually disingenuous. Finally, the cornerstone of your analysis is terribly flawed. You say the Joker is not motivated by the human trifecta: "greed, power, or politics" which is true, but to then say that the terrorists that American society seems to focus on the most, Islamic Fundamentalists, is overtly incorrect. Although a perverted world view, these groups set themselves to very political motives such as the the destruction of Israel and the eradication of all faiths other than that of Islam. I consider myself a liberal, but it is this sort of 1 upmanship and "I'm right you're wrong" mentality that prevents us from having a spirited and much needed discussion about terrorism and the emerging future. So let me personally thank you for making a great, philosophically challenging movie about good and evil and the importance of morality in society into a show of political ignorance and childlike argumentation.

... if I'd made the arguments to begin with.

The point of my comment is my belief that true terrorists -- whatever their affiliation -- are not motivated by temporal concerns, and their actions cannot be ended by providing them with temporal solutions. There is nothing physical or temporal that one could give The Joker that would cause him to retire to his Barcalounger, put his feet up, and call it a day. He is the embodiment of the true terrorist. The same is true of most true terrorists -- although reasonable minds can and will differ.

And the view of many on the left is to the contrary. No achors or reporters, of course -- after all, they are, by their own definition, unbiased -- but many others, from Cindy Sheehan [http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=764499n] to Michael Moore [“The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not ‘insurgents’ or ‘terrorists’ or ‘The Enemy.’ They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow—and they will win.” 4/14/2004] -- have advocated similar positions.

And for the record, I did not mention 9/11 -- you did. I did not mention "Islamic Fundamentalists" -- you did. And the only one taking an "I'm right, you're wrong" stance is you.

But at least you were right about The Illusionist, and I thank you for your correction (which I have made in the original),