Let us start this with a little kick. This is a picture of a coffee I made myself the other day. When I poured in the shot, I thought it looked like a dinosaur, so I had to take a picture. My dad says it looks more like a cat, but I think it's definitely a dino.
Onto something a little more sinister...
The Joker.
Probably the world's most famous "homicidal maniac." Don't just take my word for it, that's what Mr. J says too!
What is it that we like about him so much? Obviously we do like him, The Dark Knight was such a financial success. This enduring comic book villian is more than just a character however. He is what we can never be. Yes, everyone likes Batman (not necessarily Christian Bale), but we don't think of him the same way we do the Joker. In order to analyze the Joker you have to start with Batman. Without him, the Joker wouldn't exist.
Why does Batman choose to do the things he does? He's driven by vengeance. He needs to fight against crime for what crime did to him: killed his parents. Bruce Wayne is so dedicated to this ideal that he is willing to spend years of his life training his muscles and bones, traveling around the world, getting familiar with crime, studying all about computers and electronics, staying in touch with what is expected of him as Bruce Wayne, and also training his mind in general. This is a lot of self-induced pressure. In one comic book (don't ask me which, I can't remember) Batman says that training his body came easily, but training his mind was the difficult part.
So here Bruce Wayne is, however many years later, all buffed up and intelligent. This is when he becomes "The Bat-Man." This was his early crime fighting stage, and he realized at this point that to fight the corrupt, "superstitious" group that criminals are, he needed to go to extremes. His extremes were donning the cape and cloak, and using the criminals mindset against them. There is only one thing he would not do. Any guesses? He will never take a life. This is what separates him from the criminals he intends to bring to justice.
Okay, so we know about Batman, but what does that really have to do with the Joker? I mentioned that Bruce decided to go to extremes to fight the criminal fraternity. The Joker is a lot different than Batman, but he's also very similar. In a lot of ways, he is more like Batman than he is different. Let's examine the similarities. They both have "secret" identities. They're both extremists. They both have a taste for the theatrics. Difference? I wish I could say that only the Joker was crazy, but Batman has to be too, to a certain degree. The only real substantial difference between the Joker and Batman is that the Joker is willing to kill.
So why did we talk about Batman? Without Batman there would be no Joker. The Joker, although there are many stories trying to explain how he became the Joker, really has no clear origination. The only fact that we know for sure is that the Joker's appearance is directly correlated to Batman. The Joker is Batman, only cynical and evil.
Okay, I'll talk about why we like this guy so much now. Mr. T. asked "Why is it that a character as twisted as the Joker can make us laugh?" Now, let's think back to that class when (Bailey this is for you) that kid is sitting there, and you're imagining twisting his head off or cutting off all of his toes just to put him through the same physical pain you've been enduring mentally. When we see Mr. J stab a pencil through someone's head, just because that guy got on his nerves, that brings back an emotion we've all felt before. The whole violence as a funny thing doesn't apply to everyone. My mom didn't find that amusing at all, which makes no sense to me.
I think we all see a little bit of ourselves in the Joker. I think this is what has made him such a popular character both in writing and in the movies. He does have a plan, like Mr. Thompson said, but I think the difference between his plan, and anyone else's plan, is that he doesn't care if his plan works or not. As long as it's destructive, chaotic, or exciting, it was successful. He is a lot more intelligent than he let's on. The Joker has an intimate understanding of human psychology. I wouldn't find it surprising if Dr. Quinzel let him borrow some of her psychology textbooks. Mr. J understands what makes people tick, and how to really get under their skin. In almost any comic book or movie, the Joker is seen driving a bus, or stealing a plane, or riding around in a helicoptor, maybe using some bizarre technilogical advances that modern society as we know it does not know about yet. How in the world could he know how to do all of these things? He has to have spent countless hours learning how to do all of these things. I think the reason he seems so deep is because he is deep. When you read a comic book or watch a movie featuring the Clown Prince of Darkness, you have to agree with what he is saying. He always has a point. I think the Joker has stumbled upon some secret that the rest of us have yet to find. He doesn't care what happens in his life, as long as it has an outcome in his favor.
At the end of The Dark Knight Batman saves the Joker from his death, and the Joker says to Batman, "You just can't let me go!" When you think about it, the Joker just can't let Batman go either. It could be incredibly easy to kill the Batman, but the Joker doesn't. Why? Without Batman, the Joker is nothing. His life would be pointless, there would be no challenge. The Joker came into existence because of the Batman, and the Joker thrives on it. It is because of this attraction between the two, the idea that "they are destined to do this forever" (or at least until they get to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, in which my hero.. I mean villian, dies. Very sad..) that the Joker is even in existence.
So here Bruce Wayne is, however many years later, all buffed up and intelligent. This is when he becomes "The Bat-Man." This was his early crime fighting stage, and he realized at this point that to fight the corrupt, "superstitious" group that criminals are, he needed to go to extremes. His extremes were donning the cape and cloak, and using the criminals mindset against them. There is only one thing he would not do. Any guesses? He will never take a life. This is what separates him from the criminals he intends to bring to justice.
Okay, so we know about Batman, but what does that really have to do with the Joker? I mentioned that Bruce decided to go to extremes to fight the criminal fraternity. The Joker is a lot different than Batman, but he's also very similar. In a lot of ways, he is more like Batman than he is different. Let's examine the similarities. They both have "secret" identities. They're both extremists. They both have a taste for the theatrics. Difference? I wish I could say that only the Joker was crazy, but Batman has to be too, to a certain degree. The only real substantial difference between the Joker and Batman is that the Joker is willing to kill.
So why did we talk about Batman? Without Batman there would be no Joker. The Joker, although there are many stories trying to explain how he became the Joker, really has no clear origination. The only fact that we know for sure is that the Joker's appearance is directly correlated to Batman. The Joker is Batman, only cynical and evil.
Okay, I'll talk about why we like this guy so much now. Mr. T. asked "Why is it that a character as twisted as the Joker can make us laugh?" Now, let's think back to that class when (Bailey this is for you) that kid is sitting there, and you're imagining twisting his head off or cutting off all of his toes just to put him through the same physical pain you've been enduring mentally. When we see Mr. J stab a pencil through someone's head, just because that guy got on his nerves, that brings back an emotion we've all felt before. The whole violence as a funny thing doesn't apply to everyone. My mom didn't find that amusing at all, which makes no sense to me.
I think we all see a little bit of ourselves in the Joker. I think this is what has made him such a popular character both in writing and in the movies. He does have a plan, like Mr. Thompson said, but I think the difference between his plan, and anyone else's plan, is that he doesn't care if his plan works or not. As long as it's destructive, chaotic, or exciting, it was successful. He is a lot more intelligent than he let's on. The Joker has an intimate understanding of human psychology. I wouldn't find it surprising if Dr. Quinzel let him borrow some of her psychology textbooks. Mr. J understands what makes people tick, and how to really get under their skin. In almost any comic book or movie, the Joker is seen driving a bus, or stealing a plane, or riding around in a helicoptor, maybe using some bizarre technilogical advances that modern society as we know it does not know about yet. How in the world could he know how to do all of these things? He has to have spent countless hours learning how to do all of these things. I think the reason he seems so deep is because he is deep. When you read a comic book or watch a movie featuring the Clown Prince of Darkness, you have to agree with what he is saying. He always has a point. I think the Joker has stumbled upon some secret that the rest of us have yet to find. He doesn't care what happens in his life, as long as it has an outcome in his favor.
At the end of The Dark Knight Batman saves the Joker from his death, and the Joker says to Batman, "You just can't let me go!" When you think about it, the Joker just can't let Batman go either. It could be incredibly easy to kill the Batman, but the Joker doesn't. Why? Without Batman, the Joker is nothing. His life would be pointless, there would be no challenge. The Joker came into existence because of the Batman, and the Joker thrives on it. It is because of this attraction between the two, the idea that "they are destined to do this forever" (or at least until they get to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, in which my hero.. I mean villian, dies. Very sad..) that the Joker is even in existence.
Besides, doesn't the Joker do Bruce's job for him sometimes?
I'll wrap this up with a little quote from The Long Halloween, my favorite comic book. Batman is trying to find the Holiday killer, and he meets Mr. J on a plane (stolen by the Joker, naturally). This is their conversation.
Joker: I don't know what you're so mad at me for. I'm trying to stop Holiday just like you are!
Batman:By killing everyone in Gotham Square?
Joker: Why not? You don't know who Holiday is. I don't know who Holiday is. But, the odds are he or she might be in the crowd tonight and --
Batman: You're Insane.
Joker: Has it really taken you this long to notice?
HAHA XOXO
5 comments:
Sorry it's so hard to read at the beginning. I'm not very Blogger capable, so you'll just have to live with only being able to read two words a line.
Correction: not everyone likes batman. some of us hate him.
If you hate batman you can't like the Joker. You can just not like him very much. Theres a tremendous difference in hating and not liking very much.
There's also a tremendous difference in being drastically annoyed and hate. And i liked the part you added about me. And you have some very good points! :) Seriously, i WOULD date the joker. I think that's what makes him so good. He does his homework sort of. He knows some basic things about psychology, and he uses it to his advantage. Like in that comic book where he shows gordon pictures of his daughter. Few people want to see there post-puberty daughter naked. Or even think of their daughters in a sexual way. So, that's what really worked. Good thing Gordon wasn't a sick pervert, or that would of been quite strange..
PS my word verification is:mumstero
Of course, with the dad/gordon/barabara/daughter thing, there are guys who think of their daughters in a sexual way, and that's what makes them so darn creepy.
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