Tags
catholicism, christianity, daredevil, g.k. chesterton, marvel, marvel's daredevil, religion, story dynamics, writing
Lately, I’ve been watching Daredevil on a free trial of Netflix that I was forced to get in order to complete a different class. I might as well milk it for all it’s worth while I’ve got it.
It’s pretty different, watching Netflix shows. They tend to be written much more tightly and be more hard-hitting than TV shows. Since it’s sort of a “view at your own discretion” situation, they can also deal with things that most channels would shy away from discussing.
I love the way Daredevil is written. The dialogue is tight and loaded. Not a single word is wasted. Each character has a distinct voice, or even multiple voices–Matt has his “lawyer” voice, which is reasoned and comes across as almost stilted but very well put-together; his “informal” voice–his natural way of talking; and his “Daredevil” voice, which is much more terse than either of the others. The very choice of words builds into the characters.
At one point, Matt asks Karen if she believes; she replies that she doesn’t. In return, she asks him if he does. He replies “Catholic.” The reply is so textured, so many-faceted, not least because of his word choice.
It implies so much. Matt sees his faith as part of who he is, fundamentally; to him, it’s the thing that motivates him to take a stand and not back down; to get up again when he gets knocked down. It’s both a motivation and an example. For him, his faith is something concrete.
But it’s not just part of Matt’s identity that his word choice hints at.
It implies that Matt also believes that it doesn’t just matter that you believe; your exact beliefs matter too. That’s rather an unpopular opinion to hold in these days of watered-down Christianity, where hounded Christians greet any fellow Christian of any denomination as a friend in a world that seems to hate their guts. But that’s just a symptom–a welcome one, though–of a bigger problem.
A lot of people seem to think that it doesn’t matter what you believe, just that you do. Still more appear to be of the opinion that you can believe whatever you like, so long as you follow the nebulous call of “the right thing”–but no one seems to quite know what the right thing is.
But you see… people with all their beliefs laid out clearly on the table do.
The modern school of thought on “the right thing” grows out of a set of damaging beliefs from religions that people don’t dare to call out individually. And thus, they water down beliefs that common thought understands to be hurtful. Christianity gets watered down right along with them, even though it shouldn’t.
As a result, we get a series of feel-good philosophies that are, once you’ve lived them out for a while, hollow and dingy, and when they don’t feel fulfilled people just move on and try the next one, or they throw their hopes into exercise or yoga or things that have much more potential for harm.
That is not what religion is meant to be.
Let me repeat myself: that is not what religion is meant to be!
Religion is hard-hitting. It doesn’t pull its punches. As G.K. Chesterton once said, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”
Either you believe it all, or you put your faith in nothing. It’s as simple as that.
Personally, I believe that there is God and the devil. I believe in Heaven and Hell; I believe in the Bible, and I believe in the Savior. I can’t compromise. This is, as it is for Matt Murdoch, part of who I am.
I won’t apologize (as in, say I’m sorry.) But I will apologize (as in, live out my faith for everyone to see, and defend it if it’s attacked.)
Another thing about the zeitgeist; anything is permissible as long as “it’s just who I am!” Well, this is just who I am. Are you offended?
If you are, I recommend that you look really closely at the reasons why.
(I also recommend that you watch Daredevil. There’s some language, and it’s very violent, graphic and even gory in parts, but it’s also a very good show, both writing and morality-wise.)
Thanks for reading, and God Bless!
I’ve read some of the comics – obviously I don’t like him as much as my DC boys, but he’s okay. I’m impressed with Marvel for creating an openly Christian character , though. (Fine, Catholic – it’s a subset of Christian, check Acts 11:26).
While I agree with you on principle about being specific about what you believe, they did that with a vengeance only fifty years ago, and you and I wouldn’t have been allowed to even talk to each other.
World as it is, we need all the allies we can get – I don’t have to agree with you about everything to fight with you for the things we do agree about.
Also, yeah, ‘do the right thing and all will be golden’ is out there causing a literal world of hurt.
Yes. I really like how he’s portrayed–normally Christians in entertainment are approached with hesitation and we have to headcanon ’em in, based on things like behavior. (Like, I headcanon that Elliot from “Leverage” is Christian, because of his outlook on life.)
That’s true. All the same, I wouldn’t say that things have gotten better–there’s been sliding on both sides of the scale, and things were just as complicated then as they are now too.
“Daredevil” is fantastic. If you like what the show did with the character, you absolutely HAVE to read “Daredevil: Born Again”. It’s the best thing Frank Miller ever wrote. It’s also probably the most Catholic comic ever written. Frank Miller understands Daredevil’s Catholicism better than most Catholics, and “Born Again” is absolutely stuffed with Catholic themes and imagery. It is also, incidentally, brilliant.
As for the show, the episode “Cut Man” is possibly my favorite superhero movie/episode ever. Just perfect.
I’ll have to check that out, then! 😀
Yes! I loved the ending with how he saved the little boy…. Maybe I’ll turn this post into a series on good vs. evil in writing and life, and how making a difference to just one person still matters.
This is so excellently crafted and written, I love it!
*blushes* thank you!
I’m not sure I’ll get to Daredevil anytime soon (my roomie and I just started Merlin, so that’s going to take us a few months at least), but I appreciate this analysis, not just of the show but of the culture. Very well-written.
Merlin! Another show I love 😀
Thanks 😀
Another reason I love Daredevil is because he’s just a human being–he’s fallible. Some authors seem to forget that about their characters, sadly.
I know. 😀 Which is part of why I want to watch it.
That is true . . . I hope I don’t do so too much. 😛
Indeed. 😀
I kind of view my characters as complex beings that exist in confusing dualities, so I don’t know what that does for my writing 😛
The best part of “Daredevil” is that Matt gets the stuffing absolutely pounded out of him over and over again on a level we really never see happen to any of the Avengers…but he still wins. I love that.
The famous hallway fight is one example, but the Nobu fight is even more striking. The entire time Matt was just absolutely brutalized by Nobu. It’s a seriously vicious beating. He is obviously outclassed the entire fight.
BUT – he wins, due solely to sheer willpower and an utter refusal to admit defeat.
It’s similar to a fight Matt has with one of the villains in “Born Again”. Near the end of the story a super-soldier shows up with super strength and resistance to pain. He has a special toughened skin and has military fighting skills; basically a slightly more powered up Captain America. In theory, Daredevil shouldn’t stand a chance – but he wins the fight through sheer force of will, refusing to admit defeat even when it was obvious that he was outmatched.
It’s a “Daredevil” staple, and it’s one of the things that makes him so compelling.
I love that too… He just won’t give up and I think that’s a lesson for all of us.
I seriously need to go out and find that comic.
It’s important for characters to fail sometimes. Cause what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…
*AHEM*
Why *ahem* me? I mean it. Without failure, it’s like you’re spoiling your characters.
Indeed
Yeah. If you only give your characters candy and happy endings, they never get anywhere.