The Joker- Be Real Blog

Arthur Fleck is seen laughing uncontrollably at inappropriate times throughout the movie. At first it brings in an almost comedic yet uncomfortable feeling to the viewers. But as it goes on this disorder (pseudobulbar affect) goes on to show true discomfort and pain to Arthur. Which makes us sympathetic to this character though we know he is the bad guy as he is a villain that is Batman’s greatest enemy. But the film goes on to use a dark pathos approach. An example of this is when Arthur finds goes out to find out the truth about his family and childhood. Being thrown in one direction to the next. When finally coming to the conclusion he really only has himself, he is alone and lost his identity. Being not a Wayne or a Fleck. Just an orphaned man. The only identity left is ...you guessed it ... the Joker. Which was what he was called by his long time hero comedian Murray Franklin. Being scene as the joker (clown killer at the time) was the only way he felt noticed and empowered. Though it was power through fear, it was still power.


This movie was set up in a domino effect, where everything intertwined and come together beautifully. All the different parts caused a change in the plot. Arthur got beaten up so he got a gun. The gun caused him to lose his job. Losing his job lead him to his first kills. His mother's letter was found, so he confronted Thomas Wayne. What he was told led him to find the truth on his childhood. From this he did the only thing that would make the situation better, he killed his mother. Killing her led to him taking up the name. Which led to the show, which led to him now. It’s all crafted into an interwoven plot.





Personally, I loved the movie, and Marc Maron portrayed the Joker perfectly. The jokers killings brought in people that idolized him, though they mostly saw him as a political statement. He still brought on and embodied what the joker really was...chaos. But what I really liked about this movie was the confusion/questions it brought with it. The main one being, What was truly ‘real’ in this movie and what was just a fantasy Arthur came up with. There were multiple show points of his fantasy’s integrating with his reality. For example, at the beginning of the movie he envisions himself on his idols show (Murray Franklin) where he is singled out and asked to tell his story. But what is strange is that his laughter and behavior wasn’t affected or acknowledged by anyone. The audience remained neutral. The same thing happened when he envisioned himself watching another comedians stand up. He laughed his way after the jokes, at inappropriate times and yet no one acted affected. But the best example of his fantasy’s was a major turning point in the movie that made all of us watching being to question if anything in the rest of the movie was real or just imagined. A girl he likes (and stalked) named Sophia and him had a first awkward encounter where he later was inappropriate when talking to her. But from then on it's like his personality flipped, they went on dates, all awkwardness went away. I was confused, and personally thought the writers just got lazy and was going to have a Moulin Rouge approach with this movie. Till he went into her unlocked apartment for comfort only to find out she didn’t know him at all other then him being the guy down the hall. The film showed she was never truly there. If this was fake and he just imagined it, what else was actually real in this movie. All I know is, I’m going back to watch it another time.