"Joker" is an Interesting Movie

by Matt Gaskin

It made me think of Camus' opening paragraphs in The Myth of Sisyphus, "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest—whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories—comes afterwards. These are games; one must first answer."

The contract theorists took this question as granted when arguing that order and government, any sort, was better than the state of nature without laws. That state of being, they reasoned, where each individual is a law unto themselves, amounts to a state of constant war and anxiety. It's such a terrible state to be in, that people in masses would be willing to sacrifice their freedom to a sovereign just to obtain a modicum of peace. Well, maybe not Rousseau, but Rousseau was a well known jerk.

But what happens when life within the state becomes so intolerable that the question of suicide, whether it is better to live or to die, is no longer so clear cut? Locke held open the possibility of revolution in the face of tyranny. Marx held that this was the natural result of class oppression within capitalist societies. Rousseau envisioned a purging of society's impurities, starting at the top (some took that literally), but again...that guy. Maybe it's not about any of those things. Maybe it isn't the result of class struggle wherein the workers finally assert control over capital, enlightened thinkers overthrowing tyranny, or the highly moral ridding their society of filth. Maybe it's the case that any society which produces a sufficient amount of suffering and hopelessness, regardless of it's philosophical tradition, will tip the scale where enough might reasonably ask whether it wouldn't be better to die. And when death no longer holds sway, neither do any other consequence. Society, then, is no longer one group revolting and toppling another, but the rising up of the impossibly aggrieved who suffer so much that it would be better to burn everything down and risk death than to spend another moment under the burden of its weight. Because if they die, then they are free, but if they do not die, then at least they are not suffering as they were.

Maybe this is how the insane gain power, and find themselves at the head of mass movements.

Normal, sane people, operate on the premise that certain lines can never be crossed because the consequences are too great to bear. Things may not be great right now, they reason, but there are certain lines that once crossed would make things much worse. A rational person knows not to transgress the law, or satisfy every desire at the expense of the future, because they know that will cause them to be worse off in the long run. I could, for example, empty my bank account in the morning and fly one-way to Europe. I've wanted to travel there for quite some time, and doing this would satisfy that want, but I won't, and neither would most, because the consequences would be too much to handle. You would lose your job, jeopardize your relationships, and wreak chaos in your life. The same goes for following and obeying the law. Normal, rational, sane people will uphold even an oppressive and tyrannical system out of fear things might get worse. But the irrational, the people who have already lost everything, are missing those scruples. They are the ones who first cross the lines. They are the ones who set the example. They are the ones who give the mob permission to abandon their fears and damn all consequences.

"Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." - Lucifer, Milton.

These are not people who are fixed on tearing down a building with the intent of putting up a new structure in its place. These are people fixed on tearing down. It is the hallmark of a failed state, and the person who gave them permission, the insane individual who took from everyone the responsibility and consequences of their actions, is lifted up as a god. And at that point, aren't they? They are the deity which took away sin, lifted oppression, and allowed them to feel the euphoria of single minded, united action. They are a savior. They are an unhinged Jesus, a law unto nobody.

For the Joker, the world was not about rich and poor, not about class or morality, it was about pain and violence. "No, I'm not political. I don't believe in anything". If he had beliefs, then he wouldn't have become what he was. Everyone else had beliefs, the Joker was simply the one who gave them all permission to act. That was his role in the riots. He was the one responsible, so no one else had to be. "It's not funny. You started all of this", the policeman said, "I know I did", Joker responded with a smile. He was a willing scapegoat, a volunteer. When the riots would be over, everyone could point to him as the responsible party, and the rest would be relieved of their guilt.

This is the hidden truth behind the leaders of mass movements, the heads of their personality cult. The people love him because they can blame him. They love him because they can give themselves wholly over to them and stop being burdened with choice. They relieve themselves from being complicit in their own suffering.

What evidence is there for this? Joker only killed two types of people, those he idolized, and those who hurt him. Ultimately those ended up being one in the same. He killed his mother because she enabled his horrific abuse and lied to him about his identity. He killed his former co-worker for lying and losing him his job. He killed the men in the subway because they robbed him of his dignity and began to beat him. He killed the talk show host for posting a video of his stand-up in order to make fun of him. But each of those in turn were also his gods. Taking care of his mother formed the core of his fantasy life that he was a good boy. His co-worker was his fantasy of being assertive and aggressive. The subway was about his fantasy of being a protector and not a victim. Finally the talk show host was his fantasy of success and being loved. When he killed those people, he killed those fantasies. He killed every pretension he had of becoming those things.

Once he killed these "gods", he became a god unto himself, enabling him to become a Prometheus, the god who gave fire to man who then turned the world to chaos. Accountable to no one, maintaining no hopes or dreams, or political aspirations, just pure, raw, emotional torment.

Every society has its natural limits, and those limits are not governed by high minded rationalism. They are unbound and unconcerned with consequence.

Joker was an interesting movie.