Joker : A "villain" created by society.

                                                            Interpretation by: Tejah Hossanah

                                                                     **SPOILER ALERT**

       

Joker is a film that beautifully demonstrates how our environment can cause us to behave in ways that are uncharacteristic.  In the beginning of the film we see a sad, afflicted man who continues to try and spread laughter and joy. All while experiencing inhumane triggering scenarios. Every interaction with a fellow human being felt like emotional poison which eventually turned into a build up of venom which he spewed right back out. The one time Arthur had a  positive interaction with a fellow human being, there was a undertone of violence, as she created a gesture of a gun and pretended to blow out her brains. After this interaction we can see Arthur begin to fall into his alter ego "joker".  The birth of Arthur Flecks' villain persona officially occurred on a train ride home. Arthur was already feeling low as he had just lost a job he could truly express himself at. While staring into space he notices a woman being harassed by a group of men. He begins laughing as the situation acts as a  trigger to  his neurological disorder.  This catches the attention of the young men and they decide to bother Arthur instead. After ridiculing Arthur, they aren't satisfied. They decide to inflict physical pain to Arthur instead. Please be mindful and remember when Arthur was given the gun it was under the context "you have to protect yourself out there, or else you'll get fucked". So Arthur uses the gun to defend himself, and murders the group of men who assaulted him. After this situation we see Arthur dance, he feels empowered and confident, this is a rush that comes from him finally sticking up for himself.  Arthur's villain alter ego is completely born and he begins to see the world as an evil place.

After committing these murders he feels like he's finally being seen.  Arthur puts his mother to bed then  reads a letter that she expresses is very important. In the letter he learns that Thomas Wayne is his "dad" and Arthur decides to go to Thomas Wayne's house. While approaching the house he sees Thomas Wayne's son, who he begins being playful with, this catches the attention of Thomas Wayne's employee who becomes hostile with Arthur. This is now the second negative interaction Arthur has encountered after attempting to be playful with a child. After explaining his reason for being there, Arthur is told that his mother is a "delusional sick woman". When Arthur returns home, he is met with the scene of his mother being wheeled out on a stretcher. While in the hospital at his mother's bed side The Murray show plays in the background, Murray is Arthur's father figure in his dream state. In the segment that is playing Murray is making ignorant comments which are followed by a clip of Arthur's stand up show. Through Arthur's excitement he doesn't see that Murray is making fun of him. He then goes to a movie showing that Thomas Wayne happened to attend as well. When he sees Thomas Wayne get up so does he. He follows him into the bathroom. After waiting for another man to leave the bathroom Arthur approaches Thomas Wayne. After approaching Thomas Wayne and explaining who he is, he is told that he is adopted. This interaction acts as a trigger to his neurological disorder and causes him to start laughing. Which results in him getting physically assaulted.  After this wild turn of events Arthur is awoken by a phone call from the event coordinator on the Murray show telling him about his invite to be on the show. After this, Arthur goes to a hospital to get documents on his mother. This opened his mind up to the truth of why he is the way he is, which was due to mistreatment and trauma he endured in his childhood. The documents also contained his adoption papers which acted as another trigger for Arthur. After this upsetting discovery he goes to his neighbors' house in hopes of comfort. In a calm manner he was told to leave. The next day Arthur suffocates his mother with a pillow. After this he then goes home to prepare his act for the Murray show, please be mindful his act was meant to be a suicide attempt. The day of the Murray show Arthur gets a visit from his old coworkers Randall and Gary. Randall a slithering snake who played a huge role in Arthurs' break. As he gave him the gun, and told their manager he tried to buy a gun off him which was one of the main reasons he lost his job. "Joker" with this knowledge and memory kills Randall. After this Arthur feels another rush, as he feels like the injustices that were made towards him are slowly being avenged. So on the way to the Murray show he lets loose and dances, accepting and loving the persona "Joker". When Arthur gets to the Murray show his hopes in Murray were once again awoken because Murray stood up for him when his employee tried to present the argument that Arthur's clown gimmick was too controversial. While waiting on the sidelines to go on Arthur notices Murray ridiculing and mocking him. When Arthur sits down beside Murray, Murray continues to make ignorant belittling comments towards Arthur. While Arthur flips through his joke book he sees his quote "just hope my death makes more sense than my life." This acts as a trigger and reminds him of what he truly meant to do that night on the show, which was end his life. But while being taken back to this dark thought he's brought back to reality by another one of Murray's inappropriate comments. After attempting to tell a joke, Arthur confesses to the murders that took place on the train. Murray continues to be ignorant to the words Arthur is saying and this results in him being the punchline to a dark joke. Arthur was no villain, yes he may have inflicted pain on to others which could be considered villain like. But truly he is just a example of another human being failed greatly by society who was pushed to a point he couldn't come back from.  

"What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner, with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash"- Joker

Film by: Todd Phillips

**Remember to reach out for help if you need it. There are a lot of "evil" people but many good people still walk the earth as well. Stay strong I love you fellow imperfect human beings.**