The character of the joker is a unique one. Despite what happen to him from being hit by Batman in the scene, he stays calm and even he laughs. This kind of indifference strengthens the monstrous character of the Joker; it makes him kills his helpers and incites them to kill each other after he gets what he wants and never care about them (e.g. the robbery scene). This indifference and dishonesty makes many people unfavorable for other people, and they are usually lonely. Although an indifferent person might make some friends, but as soon as those friends know the truth of this unfeeling person, they would end this fake and unsafe relationship before the other person takes what he wants from them and leave them or even destroy them. Along the movie, some of the scenes the Joker acted are showing him by himself doing his crimes, and even when he does crimes with assistants (e.g. the party scene), he uses them just as tools that help him do his crime perfectly. Furthermore, the Joker's goal from doing these crimes and spreading fear in Gotham City is teasing Batman. He would do everything from killing his helpers to blowing up the city just to have fun teasing Batman with no intent to kill Batman as he said to Batman," what will I do without you? The Joker in this movie sees Batman like a toy he wants to play with, but in a dangerous way.
At first glance, the murderous villain known as the Joker (see Dark Knight) is a ruthless criminal, driven to wreak havoc upon Batman and the rest of the helpless Gotham City residents. In each of the Batman movies, he is the superhero’s archenemy and the clear-cut most wanted man (who really knows what he is?) by the Gotham Police. But what exactly is under that shiny red smile? Beyond all the makeup and glitz, there lies a man that must have suffered unimaginably in his past and continues to do so today. He shows a scary level of mistrust towards his fellow gang members, often shooting them dead after they have completed “their job.” His clear lack of care for his own well-being, well, carries on to others. When things don’t go as planned, you can be sure one of his men will pay the price before he would ever dare to take the hit. When it comes to his enemies, he takes his time to make sure they FEEL the pain!! The joker often taunts his victims and plays with them mentally and physically before he “finishes them off.” It’s clear that his volatile mistreatment of others stems from the bad treatment he received as a child. The Joker might seem smooth when he talks but his genuine side paints a very different picture of an uneasy man, longing for affection. For this reason, it seems fair to say that the Joker’s painted ‘happy” face is a cover for his deeply sad emotional side he tries so desperately to hide.
In this scene, it is evident that the Joker is trying to bring Batman over to his side as they together could be an unstoppable force. The Joker attempts to do this by manipulating Batman’s view on the citizens of Gotham and the world in general. He claims that the people see the Batman as a freak and are only using him because Gotham is falling apart. The Joker comes to the conclusion that the people don’t truly appreciate Batman and when they don’t need him anymore, they’ll “cast [him] out, like a leper.” The Joker then tries to play it off as though he is not a monster, rather he’s “ahead of the curve.” This intense scene displays how the Joker is trying to come across as though society is the true enemy when in fact he is the ruthless force that is causing the problems in Gotham. While the Batman is demanding the location of the District Attorney and his girlfriend, the Joker continues to play mind games. As Batman is interrogating and physically harming the Joker, the cruel and heartless villain could care less as he just continues to laugh psychotically. The Joker not only looks like a horrific monster but also behaves like a cold and heartless creature with no compassion towards anybody or anything.
Discussion Questions:
1.) The Joker is clearly a sick and twisted man with ambition. He tries to convince Batman to join him so they will be an unstoppable duo. How does the Joker try and persuade Batman to join him? What tactics does the Joker use?
2.) In this scene, the Joker uses many mind tricks on Batman. He is successful in the sense that he infuriates Batman and really gets to him. Have you ever seen an antagonistic character who used similar mind tricks? Explain.
3.) In this scene, the Joker is in his typical attire. The villain has a very unique look. How is the Joker's unique choice of clothing and makeup add to his eccentric personality?
In many ways, the Joker is very similar to The Riddler. Not only are they both Batmans archenemies, but they also use trickery to obtain what they want. As for the Joker not having a heart, I believe he does. The Joker portrays in "The Dark Knight" that he doesn't want to be an upset guy. He personally cut a smiling face on himself so that now he has a permanent scar of him smiling 24/7, as well as the red paint that he covers it up with as a disguise. Although it may seem creepy, I believe that something unfortunate has happened to The Joker to make him the way that he is. Maybe the Joker isn't so ruthless after all?
ReplyDeleteThe Joker stands out from everyone, once one sees him they instantly know he is a villian. Not everyone wears a purple suit, sports green hair, and cakes on white makeup (other than clowns). It gives him a distinct, scary look. If the Joker solely had a creepy personality it wouldn't transfer as well on the big screen. He has to have the whole package. After seeing the movie I now associate a purple suit and green hair with the Joker. People are going to remember his distinct look and connect that with his eeriness.
ReplyDelete“What would I do without you?” “You complete me.” These two twisty sentences prick the bubble that the joker intends to get his self-gratification with Batman’s existence, rather than killing his competitor. The joker acts the role of killer to provoke Batman to play as a heroic world protector in the “game”. He knows that the “game” will be pale with no tastes if Batman died. Also, he is opinionated that he will be more successful if he persuaded Batman to unite with him. Therefore, the joker assumes a harsh reality that Batman is just a tool which is used by the city momentarily to keep orderliness. And Batman will be abandoned by people sooner or later since he is a freak. Batman will never escape from the fact that he is superhuman who can get more benefits to conquer humans than being controlled by humans. The joker hypocritically uses a psychological tactics to break up Batman’s self- esteem as a hero and unmask Batman’s scar that he is a freak. It’s not only a cunning way to arouse competitor’s anger, but also a hint of despising Batman as an idiot. Joker considers himself as a sage. What hiddens in joker’s mask is his ruthless smile written by “I win you”when Batman got furious or surrendered.The joker has been twisted as a monster, even though he denied.
ReplyDelete1.) The Joker is clearly a sick and twisted man with ambition. He tries to convince Batman to join him so they will be an unstoppable duo. How does the Joker try and persuade Batman to join him? What tactics does the Joker use?
ReplyDeleteThe Joker tries several different tactics to get Batman to join him? For one, he tries to use Batman's hidden anger towards crminals and direct it towards the people of Gotham pointing out how Batman will never be accepted as a hero of the city and instead try to bring him down like they do with the Joker. Another tactic he uses is familiarity. The Jokers tries to get a connection with Batman by telling him how alike they are. He pretty much explains that the only difference between the two is the sides they are on.
3.) In this scene, the Joker is in his typical attire. The villain has a very unique look. How is the Joker's unique choice of clothing and makeup add to his eccentric personality?
The Jokers clothing adds to his personality in that it is very different from the social norm. He tries to separate himself from the rest of society and goes as far as wearing outlandish clothing and makeup. It also adds to his character and that his clothing and makeup is kind of crazy looking and almost something you would see a psych patient wear which goes perfectly with Joker's mental instability.
Regarding discussion question three, the joker's attire is a very significant detail in my eyes. He wears make up and dresses like a clown. Clowns are often correlated with happiness and humor. It's therefor ironic that the joker, who is a villain, it represented by this. It is also very suiting though. The joker takes life lightly and is never serious, just like a clown. The fact the joker chooses to cover his scars with make up is a bizarre. Its almost as though he is trying to make the best of a situation and work with what he has, but most normal people wouldn't do that by dressing like a clown; like the post above, this shows mental instability.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the third discussion question, the Joker’s makeup and clothing intensify the creepy aspects of the character and his personality. If the Joker dressed in a normal suit without makeup or green hair, his presence wouldn’t make people uneasy unless he was speaking, moving around, or doing something that is particularly villainous. For example, in the scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwbOg3AwgJM) where the Joker has been captured and is locked in a jail cell, he doesn’t say a word, but he is sitting alone on the bench and the other prisoner in the cell is keeping his distance. The Joker’s attire and actions (sitting there, barely moving) provoke a primal response from those around him, one of wariness and fear, that wouldn’t be present without his unsettling clothing and makeup.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Joker really gets under Batman's skin for the first time when he kills Rachel. To Batman, this turned the fight into a personal battle because the Joker killed his child hood friend and his true love. For this reason, Batman is enraged and is willing to do anything to stop the Joker from causing anymore harm to anyone. By making this personal to Batman.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that the Joker tries to get Batman to stop him like the Green Goblin tried to convince spider man in "Spiderman". Instead, the Joker wants Batman to know that without him trying to foil the joker's plots, his work is useless
The biggest thing about the Joker's attire is how "happy" it comes off at first. The bright colors and white face paint fills the typical clown attire. the detail that separates him from a clown is that his paint and clothes are always very dirty, giving him an evil look. another detail that solidifies his evil appearance is his scar across his mouth. it provides a visual effect that he is always smiling even when he is not.
His costume is very distinct and this helps him strengthen his popularity in the criminal world. Someone living in Gotham would have to very oblivious to everything to not know who that joker is.
3.) In this scene, the Joker is in his typical attire. The villain has a very unique look. How is the Joker's unique choice of clothing and makeup add to his eccentric personality?
ReplyDeleteThe Joker's attire is very unique. The use of happy and bright colors provide great contrast with the Joker's dark and evil personality. These opposites help to instill questions about the Joker in the viewer's mind. Also, his repulsive face paint causes him to look wicked and sadistic, and his crazy hair is in agreement with his erratic inner being.
The Joker's point about Gotham only finding Batman useful because Batman opposes the Joker is so great because it's true. If you think about it, the order that Batman represents is only significant if it's opposed by the chaos that the Joker represents. Without the monster, the hero has no purpose, and without the hero, the monster's evil loses its depth. I think that's what the Joker was getting at when he tells Batman that they should join together to be unstoppable. Both of their existences only have purpose when put in context of each other, so the Joker is telling Batman that they should take advantage of what each other represents so that they are always needed by Gotham. If looked at from that perspective, the Joker seems as if he understands the dynamic of the hero better than the hero himself does. In Batman Begins, Batman talks about how he isn't out to fight crime, he's out to serve as a symbol of good to Gotham. The Joker is the balance--he isn't out to commit crime, he's out to serve as a symbol of chaos. The Joker's existence enables Batman to become a symbol and not just a vigilante.
ReplyDeleteThe Joker's strategy to get Batman to join him isn't exactly a new idea. His goal was to get under his skin and explain what they could accomplish together. Various comic book super heroes have been faced with the same situation; join the villain and become an unstoppable force, or continue to be a hero. The way the Joker dresses and behaves is extremely important. His attire goes well with his "Why so serious?" motto. His goal is to see chaos and society collapse. He isn't committing the crimes for personal gain like most criminals and his goofy persona expresses that. However, he was unsuccessful in the end because Batman wasn't like the Joker. He wanted to be the hero and protect Gotham City. The iconic look of the villain in The Dark Knight will live on people will always picture the Joker as he was portrayed in this film.
ReplyDeleteI see the painted face and the suit as a sign of unstability. You can definitely see that something had to happen to him when he was younger and you all had a strong point in bringing that up. His attire also makes The Joker himself....nobody else is quite like him and he stands out and has this sort of trademark personality and you won't mistake anyone else for him. So by him looking ridiculous he ensures that he will be famous and well known and perhaps give him the attention he never recieved as a child.
ReplyDeleteThe joker is one of the greatest super villain's of all time. His sick twisted attitude juxtaposed with his innocent attire makes him appear to be a villain of the highest order; one that does not have any goal. He doesn't want money, he has no need for revenge, he just wants to see society crumble. This is why his clothes are appropriate because he is not a typical villain. If he wore normal villain clothes (like all black or something) he wouldn't be any different from your run of the mill villain. Additionally, I believe that the joker is different from normal villains because of the nature of batman: a person who hides in the dark defeating crime borderline illegally. If the Joker was not so eccentric, then it would be like Batman fighting Batman. Additionally, The Joker is the perfect match for Batman since the Joker plays on Batman's greatest weakness: his motives. He doesn't NEED to fight crime, yet he does to avenge his parents. The Joker plays on that in this clip by talking about how normal human civilization is failing. Batman is well aware of this because of the death of his parents and the success he's had fighting crime unconventionally.
ReplyDeleteMany of the previous posts have talked about how the Joker's attire is either 1) ironic because it contrasts a normally happy figure with a villain, or 2) adds to his sadistic image by intensifying the creepy "vibe" that he gives off as a villain, but I think that the Joker's costume is more related to what he stands for instead of what he looks like. What I mean by this is that a clown, or joker, is a figure that traditionally plays pranks on other people. In the case of the Joker, he views what he is doing as a prank. Specifically in the scene, he is forcing Batman to choose between saving the town hero or the "damsel in distress". He also tries to mess with Batman's mind by trying to get him to break his only rule, not to kill. That is why I believe that the Joker's attire is more related to the villainous aspect of the Joker instead of the irony of the costume. Of course, the fact that the weird makeup and creepy outfit add to the sadistic image of the Joker is an obviously planned decision.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I agree with the suggestion in the initial post that the joker uses his outward appearance as a means of covering up personal emotional issues, or previous life trauma (paragraph 2). I don't feel like anything of the sort is inferred in this scene, or that a case can be made for that, as he is clearly criminally insane, as demonstrated in this scene, and through the various source material.
ReplyDeleteOk, the first paragraph is really hard to follow, not quite sure what point is trying to be made there...but in the second paragraph I really like the connection made between how the Joker is secretly very upset with his life, but has a smile painted on his face, as if to hide his unhappiness. I feel like that's one of the major themes of this movie, how what one projects as opposed to what one actually feels can be very different. The same goes for batman, as he is also a man in a mask. I haven't really watched the movie enough to analyze the reason for Bruce Wayne to become batman, but I'm sure it's there.
ReplyDeleteThe Joker is probably the greatest of all Batman's villans. He is the most devious and often traps him in some sort of kooky death trap. More so, in the original comics, their origin stories were tied together. This made them sort of like two sides of the same coin (Two-Face joke). While Batman uses his darkness to bring order, Joker only wants chaos.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, sorry for the lateness, no Internet at home
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