Joker is Realistic, and That's Terrifying
Certainly one of the most discussed films of the year, Joker earns that draw. It’s a movie that dives into the problem of mental health treatment in modern society and how those that suffer from it are often pushed aside. It’s certainly interesting, and definitely thought provoking.
With this article I’m going to dive into the idea as to why this character is just so terrifying. There may be spoilers ahead, so go and watch this movie first or dive in if you don’t care. Just a courtesy warning really. So with this film, it wasn’t screened here which is odd.
That aside, I went to the earliest regular viewing of the film and left it with a rather stunned attitude. It was a disturbing film, one that you could see certain events forming, yet it still felt shocking to see them actually happen.
The absolute descend into madness from this guy that wanted to be good, but found it so much easier and calming to just embrace his darkness. You could see that as he became more confident the further along he went. It even helped clear a certain neurologic issue that had been plaguing him when he wasn’t sure of his direction. The laugh being that aspect of course, you may need a repeat watch to see that aspect of it.
It cleared up quite well when he found the Joker within. Even the light at the top of the stairs as opposed to the murkiness that was there for so long as he walked up them. The continued development of a happy dance, and a growing lack of care towards others. That attitude of getting a purpose that felt right, and then pushing towards that even if he fought against it for awhile. It’s a setup where those around him, and the general social system of society fails him. The entire time the Joker is just attempting to get people to talk about this sort of thing, and it drives him to extremes.
This element is where the concept of this being a terrifying character comes into play. We can of course debate which interpretation of the character we feel is best, but there’s no debating that this was the only truly realistic take on the Joker. That’s what makes this character so scary, is the fact he’s realistic. This is a plausible person that could exist in regular modern society. A person that’s pushed to their limits, cut off from what makes them keep them steady and then gets picked on when nothing is going right for them.
You get to directly see this person slowly break down, and it feels real because it could be an actual scenario. He’s constantly trying to be a good person, to do the right things. You see that with the counseling that gets cut, the pills he takes because he wants to be happy that are removed. All of the happiness in his life is an illusion and when he’s got nowhere to go he puts on a show to get the crowd he’s always wanted. That’s disturbing, as I’m more than sure there are people like that out there.
Where things don’t go well, and they need help that just isn’t there for them. This movie will hopefully open up some dialogue around that, and the social systems of today. Just to hopefully work towards preventing anything like this from actually growing. It’s also worth noting the concept of a mob mentality around this idea of darkness, or treating someone like a symbol is also a big part of society. We’ve seen that with elections, historical events where people turn a blind eye and when things are bad people look for something to give them purpose.
It’s a domino effect where one man’s potential turn, could sway others and make the situation even grander than initially intended. Keep in mind that Joker always notes he isn’t political, others use him for that as opposed to him directly having that desire. Again, we’ve seen that many times in history. Overall, an incredible film that’s rather stunning and terrifying in how it portrays this character, along with the society that surrounds him.You can read our review of the movie below, or check out the hub for additional coverage from the year in film.
Read our Joker Review
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