Good Vs. Evil In The Film Unbreakable

In the twentieth century superheroes began to make their profound mark on the world, regardless of their classification as fictional. Along with superheroes came the question of what was good and what was evil, since the lines have become increasingly blurred over the years. On one hand, evil is anything that causes physical, mental, or emotional harm to another human being, whereas good is anything done for the physical, mental, or emotional well being of others. The fact remains that people are born good and without evil intentions, but it is the choices a person makes in his or her lifetime that determine whether or not that person is good or evil. One important factor to realize is that there is always a choice when it comes to committing …show more content…
For example, in the film Unbreakable, Mr. Glass, also known as Elijah, was born with a disorder that left his bones extremely fragile, which took away his childhood and nurtured his love of comic books (Shyamalan, Unbreakable). He grew up searching for his identity and purpose in life, looking for the person opposite himself, doing so by committing acts of terrorism until he found David who, unlike him, could never be injured. Elijah could not look past his disability and channeled all of his energy into destruction, creating himself as a villain in order to find a superhero to validate his identity. The path of goodness meant overcoming his ailments and working beyond his physical limitations for the benefit of society, but he chose his path on his own free will, refusing to rise to the challenge of doing good. There were the usual influences on his decisions such as the people surrounding him as well as the environment, but the decision was ultimately his own to …show more content…
Commissioner Gordon brings proves to be the epitome of what is good. In The Killing Joke, the Joker tried to make Gordon go insane using the memory of the attack on his daughter against him. It is true that “memories are what our reason is based upon” and torturing his daughter right in front of Gordon would theoretically imbalance that reason and make him go insane (Moore, Bolland). Gordon is the perfect example of a choice because instead of going insane and taking up revenge as the Joker had done, he requested the Joker be “brought in by the book,” and refused to stoop down to the Joker’s level (Moore, Bolland). He chose to be good and not succumb to the Joker’s evil temptations, showing how choice could make a person good or evil and even though choosing the right path was more difficult for Gordon, it was the best option for him as well as for the rest of Gotham. Regardless of the circumstances, influences, and the confusion of what is right and wrong, Gordon overcame all of those obstacles only to make the righteous