my reaction of joaquin phoenix's joker.

PHOTO COURTESY OF https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/joaquin-phoenix-joker-2553970

***SPOILER ALERT***

I LOVE superhero movies. Little girl me had such a crush on Val Kilmer in Batman Forever. When Robert Downey Jr. became Iron Man, I was pretty much hooked. I'm no superhero expert, I just watch a lot of theory and spoiler videos on Youtube. I'm not going to lie, when I heard Joaquin Phoenix was playing Joker, I was a little confused and intrigued. When the first trailer was released, I was HOOKED. I knew I had to see this in theaters. The trailers made me feel uncomfortable, but in a good way. So, I knew the movie was going to make me feel feelings.... and I was right. 

Now, lets just get this out of the way... I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I felt like I needed to say that so there was no question of my reaction. My boyfriend also LOVED THIS MOVIE (hello date night!). But I think we had two different reasons as to why we loved it.. and that's what I want to discuss. My review isn't necessarily going to be of the movie itself, but more a reaction to the character and what it can tell us about our society, at least in the United States.

I mentioned in my previous post that I have dealt with some level of mental illness. I have been lucky, because what I have dealt with is minor compared to how some others have to live through life. Throughout my life, I have mostly dealt with anxiety and depression. I have always had major anxiety and fears, which I plan to write about further in another post. I have also suffered from depression, even as a child. I mention this because I want you to understand my point of view for what I'm about to discuss.

Arthur Fleck definitely suffers from depression, anxiety, and some delusions. We know that he suffers from depression by his statements of feeling as though he doesn't exist and when he tells his social worker that all he has is "negative thoughts". He states multiple times that he feels invisible, to the point where he isn't even sure if he actually exists. His anxiety is evident through his uncontrollable laughter. If you noticed throughout the movie, his inappropriate laughing is at moments when he is either upset or nervous. His delusions become obvious at the end, most notably when the story shows that his "girlfriend" actually doesn't know anything about him, and isn't even entirely sure of his name. 

I want to mention that I can, to an extent, relate to his uncontrollable laughter. A Google search says that this is called Pseudobulbar Affect, or emotional incontinence. Something else that comes up is Emotional Lability, which is when a person's outward expression of an emotion doesn't match what they feel on the inside. i.e. laughing when one is actually upset. Anyways, my point is that I can somewhat relate. I have a history of smiling when I am nervous, and it has gotten me into trouble. Often times, if my boyfriend and I are arguing, for example, I will start smiling (and sometimes laughing) although I find nothing humorous in the conversation. It has often gotten me accused of things that aren't true.

Anyways, the theme reveals itself to be that his life is not a tragedy, as he thought, but he feels as though it is a comedy. He also has this connection to dance and the theatrics of his actions. We can first see this after he murders the Wall Street men in the subway, and he then dances in the restroom after running off. Essentially, each time that he goes further into his "true" self, you can see him dancing. I think that it's because he feels as though his actions are a performance for those around him... he is seeking the attention of other's. 

Fast forward to the end, he makes a point that I find is very important to identify. This is essentially the entire point of this point. I don't remember exactly how Arthur states it, but when he is on the talk show he points out to Robert De Niro's character that he invited Arthur on the show to make fun of him.. and that he thought it was acceptable, but they have clearly two different concepts of what makes something funny. At this point, I entirely agree with this point, although I can't agree with Arthur's actions.

My entire life, I have struggled with this concept of laughing at someone else's misery. I have never found those clips of people getting hurt funny. I hate listening to prank phone calls. And I NEVER find it acceptable to make other's laugh at the expense of someone else.  I do not believe that is is okay to put people down, especially because you do not know their inner demons. Joker is a perfect example of why. I believe his actions are entirely realistic, although unacceptable. Combining his desire to perform, on top of being pushed over the edge... it is natural to see that he would do something so drastic. He did it for the reaction! 

Again, I feel as though it is important to note that I do NOT agree with his reactions at all. But I think it's important to understand how delicate the human psyche can be, and more so for some. 

I heard that there were some bad reviews of the movie because of how it portrayed mental illness. But at someone who can understand just how thin that line can be, I think it is important for people to watch this movie and really reflect on just how easily we could find similar situations on our society. (That might be another blog post later on, let me know if you'd be interested in real stories that reflect some of the situations in the movie).  It's hard, in my opinion, to identify exactly which moment sent Arthur over the edge.... because there are some many. Each time he thought he had hit rock bottom, something else emerged. And this was someone who was already struggling to be a "normal" member of society and was very quickly losing his support system.

I apologize if this post seemed unorganized. The movie brought so many feelings and thoughts out of me, and sometimes it's hard to keep them organized. Plus, there were so many good things in the movie that deserve discussion, like the visuals (Like the scene after the murder in his apartment). I would love to know if you disagree with any of my thoughts. And if you've read this far and haven't seen the movie, then you need to go now... even if you aren't a superhero movie fan.