The Dark Knight

     It all started when man switched from pagan religions to modern religions. Instead of praying to the gods of weather and harvest for forgiveness, they found a way to blame people. Conditions people couldn't control like natural disasters became god's punishments. In constant fear of God's wrath, humans began the game of blaming others for the natural hardships they faced. Here and then the scapegoat was created. The man or woman on whom society could blame their problems. John Proctor became Salem's sacrifice.

     The people of Salem allowed Proctor to die because they were scared and they needed for life to be prosperous again. Even after they knew the children had lied, they went on with hanging, because to turn back is to admit wrongdoing. But its more than that. Why would anybody believe children, the ones who have imaginary friends in the first place? The Salem people believed the girls because children are the hope for the future. Children are the fruit of all struggles: everything a parent does is to ensure that their child can carry on comfortably. To admit that the girls had made everything up was to admit that the society had failed to culture the children and to pass on their heritage and values. It meant that the entire Puritan dream, to be the beacon of hope and "the city upon a hill", had collapsed and that they had failed.

     Similarly, in The Dark Knight, Batman takes the fall for the death of Harvey Dent. Dent, an electoral candidate campaigning against crime in Gotham turns to the dark side when his fiancée is killed in the crossfire, and proceeds to commit murders of his own. When Dent dies as a repercussion of his actions, Batman takes full responsibility and becomes the villain. Even though Dent was no longer a good man, he was still the symbol of hope, change, and innocence in Gotham City. To tarnish that image, after his death, was to give up all hope of ridding the city of crime. The city didn't need a hero, so Batman became the villain. The truth didn't matter because idea needed to be protected.
     Men like John Proctor and Batman gave up everything to protect the people they loved. They became scapegoats because that's what society's fragile fabrication needed them to be. And while their downfall could have been prevented, it was by no means in vain. John Proctor's death allowed for society, no matter how flawed, to continue. His confession was so readily accepted because Salem needed a villain. Society will always need a villain, even a fake one, to push them towards the light, towards good, and towards the future.