Jack McComb
Recently, I have had the great privilege of seeing Joker in theatre. The movie has been steeped in controversy from its very first trailer. Some critics said the film was devoid of substance. Others took it a step forward, arguing the film is some kind of reflection of incels and their “ideology,” making its content “irresponsible.” These sharp criticisms from mainstream critics and journalists, however, are vastly different than the audience’s opinion. Metacritic gives Joker a score of 59 out of 100 based off the opinions of 58 film critics, while its audience score was a solid 92. And I have to say, after seeing the film, I side with the viewers on this one.
Joker follows Arthur Fleck, a man with an unnamed mental illness who lives with his elderly mother. Fleck works as clown for hire, and is depicted holding up signs for small shops in Manhattan. Fleck, in the beginning of the film, is trying to make the most out of life and even aspires to be a standup comedian someday. But despite his bright dreams, Fleck is constantly pushed around by the world around him. Kids beat him up, people look down upon him because of his mental illness, and the treatment he was getting for his mental illness is forgone because of government budget cuts. Worst yet, he gets fired from a gig at a children’s hospital he had after dropping a handgun his coworker gave him to protect him from people jumping him on the street. All of this slowly drives Fleck to madness, fatal madness. He stops letting the world push him down without retaliation and kills people who either hurt him or he feels are responsible for the oppressive conditions of his life. All while dressed as a clown. In doing all of this, he inspires a social movement against the social elite of Gotham city, who take advantage of working people and have no concern for those less fortunate than them.
Every shot in the movie perfectly captures Fleck’s slow but evident descent to madness and vengeance by depicting plentiful scenes where it is just him, left alone with his thoughts. So many shots of the film are dominated by his likeness, which isn’t necessarily always the case, even for a main character. This limits the twisted clown world of Gotham city to the perspective of Fleck, and while a lack of “world-building” may bother some, it makes sense for a character like Fleck considering that his view of himself and the way the world works is supposed to be “distorted.” All of this perfectly situates the viewer right in the mind of Fleck.
The acting is incredibly convincing and riveting. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance greatly encapsulating the mannerisms of a man like the Joker, from relatively minute details like his iconic laugh to Joker’s emotional angst of feeling like the world walks all over you, when you really deserve to be in the limelight. Thomas Wayne (played by Brett Cullen), the father of Bruce Wayne, is also played very well. Cullen manages to capture the self-righteous callousness commonly associated with the elite.
So what’s the message of Joker? Well, it’s definitely not some kind of extremist’s fantasy as many have painted it to be. The film hardly presents Joker as living a glorious life, even when he embraces the madness. And the film still shows that Joker’s self-aggrandizement as delusional, so to state that his character plays into the beliefs of incels who believe that they really are great people (even though they aren’t) is rather ridiculous. Ultimately, Joker is not a political film, but one that shows the price of ostracization. The film does indeed humanize a man who becomes violent. However, Fleck became the Joker because of a society that didn’t care about those who are pushed around, over and over again.
This is a controversial message. It seemingly posits the blame on everyone but the perpetrator. But is it appropriate for us to look at a character like Arthur Fleck and act like the things he went through should not be considered at least possible catalysts for him becoming who he did, and simply treat him as someone who freely let himself embrace violence and chaos. I think that such refusal to examine this question is more dangerous than whatever extremist group this film will probably not inspire. This is because, if we refuse to question the conditions of Arthur’s world in turning him into the Joker, we may never see how thee attitudes of our modern society may not be conducive to a supportive and more peaceful existence.
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