Christopher Nolan is a respected Hollywood director known for his crowd-pleasing, action-packed blockbuster films but his most successful films (The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises and Inception) focus on introspective albeit dark themes. In light of the tragic shootings that took place on July 20th in Aurora, Colorado, Nolan's films are being looked at in a new light.

The Dark Knight was Nolan's breakthrough film and the second film in his Batman trilogy. It re-imagined the classic comic book character, The Joker (Heath Ledger, A Knight's Tale) and introduced the world to a more sinister persona whose mania stemmed from childhood trauma as opposed to the comical mischievousness that previous Joker incarnations have displayed. This singular character put Nolan on the map.

Nolan soon followed the success of The Dark Knight with Inception, a film that focused on the inner workings of the human mind via a glimpse into its dreams. The core of the movie’s premise is that one thought, one belief could change the course of person’s life and in essence form who they become. The characters of this film spent the better part of film trying to implement a thought into another character’s brain, a task which is nearly impossible because in order to accept the thought the character must first believe that the thought originated in his own mind.

The film was a blockbuster success partly due to Nolan’s superb writing, mind blowing special effects and an unexpected twist ending. This second success only heightened the anticipation for the third and final installment in the Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. The film was to feature a new villain, Bane (Tom Hardy, Inception). Though Bane is not a popular character among casual Batman buffs, comic book enthusiasts know that he did famously “break” the Bat ensuring that the dark themes and well-rounded characters that Nolan is famous for would also be present in this film. When moviegoers packed a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado no one expected that the night would erupt in bloodshed killing 12 people and injuring 58.

Now it seems that America is faced with a new villain and unfortunately this one is real. He didn’t originate from the movie screen even if he did get the idea from it. Just yesterday the gunman, James Holmes, told the police that he was “The Joker” and his hair was died red for added effect.

And while it was easy to understand why The Joker in The Dark Knight was who he was this new Joker isn’t as clear cut. There is no brilliant screenwriter to tell us about his childhood, only neighbors who barely knew him and categorize him as a loner. There is no Batman to enact vigilante justice, only police and a court of law that will promise to give him a fair trial. All the people are left with is their pain, their lost loved ones and the booby trapped apartment of deranged man.

In the coming days, there is going to be a lot of blame thrown around. Some will blame guns. Some will blame violent films. Some will blame Nolan for creating such dark films and even darker characters like The Joker. In the end, you have to go back to a line from Inception. “True inspiration is impossible to fake.” Holmes may have been inspired by Nolan’s film but in the end Holmes pulled the trigger. The blame squarely lies with him.

As for Nolan himself, he issued this statement about the tragic events via The Dark Knight Rises official website:

“Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises I would like to express our profound sorrow at this senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe that movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theater is my home and the thought that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their family.”

It’s ironic that even someone who seems to understand the inner workings of the human mind so well and express himself so clearly is at a loss of words in the face of this tragedy. Real life is not like the movies and right now, America probably wishes that it had someone to explain why this happened. More than that it probably wishes that it knew that at the end of all of this that everything would go back to normal again just like it does in the movies.

In The Dark Knight, the film where The Joker was so prominently displayed, a line was uttered by Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart, Thank You for Smoking) that is aptly appropriate for this situation. He said, “The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.” Aurora means dawn. Maybe that in itself is evidence that this community and this country will move on and continue to heal. For now, they can only hope.