The
Joker’s very demeanor would instantly be alluring to someone like Tim
Burton. Burton loves to hybridize ideas
that seem juxtaposed, and that is essentially the way that the Joker is
presented. He has an incredible ability
to be both chilling and hilarious in a sense of twisted balance that Tim Burton
captured very accurately in the film. The trickster is an enduring character
archetype and the Joker is a great example, though he is not a perfect
match. Much like many other trickster
characters, he is rebellious, curious, rambunctious, and deceitful. The complete opposite of Batman, his only
goal is to create chaos, challenging societal norms and social custom.
The
most obvious trickster quality the Joker possesses is deceit. Tricksters typically like to use a quality
that another person has in order to create some form of chaos, as if using the
person’s momentum against them. A scary
and violent way that he does this (probably the most mentioned scene in the
movie) is when he announces that he will be showering the people of Gotham with
money in a parade, only to Gas the entirety of the crowd with poison. One way that this plays against the trickster
archetype is that he has no true motive for doing so other than that he simply
has the desire. Classic tricksters tend
to have a motive, whether it be that they want to eat someone, steal their
child, be married, or simply get paid. The
Joker enjoys evil for its own sake.
Another
form of deceit that takes on a different role is the face paint. The Joker, like many tricksters, is a shape
shifter. Even though he cannot
physically change his appearance, he chooses sometimes to wear face paint, and
sometimes to take it off. In situations
where he wants to be on the peoples’ side, he goes without the mask. This is a way that he can lure people to his
evil plans. On the other side, his clown
costume is there to separate and elevate him.
He is different with the mask, scarier, and often more violent.
Tricksters
disregard social protocol and authority.
The Joker questions the way that society works by ignoring social boundaries
and formalities. He reacts inappropriately to most situations against what most
people would expect. The Joker says
whatever he wants and does whatever he wants, just like when he sabotages the
fine art in the museum. His reckless
vandalism is an overt strike at Gotham’s government and police force because
there is no practical reason to do so. Tricksters
tend to react differently to stressful situations. The
Joker’s responses to hostile circumstances are usually the opposite of what
someone would expect. Every time he
kills someone, and he kills many people throughout the movie, he is in a frenzy
of laughter, at one point even talking with a person’s burnt carcass.
While I agree that the Joker is definitely a dark trickster character, I think that he remains more complex than he appears. While many viewers state that he has no motive for his actions other than to create chaos, he illustrates to Vicki Vale in the art museum scene his desires to make everyone like him. Despite his evil nature prior to the chemical deformation, it is the acid burns that push him over the edge and no longer restrain his malicious actions. However, this motive seems to be mixed with so much inner struggles that he does become more aimless in his annihilations but not completely. He does not try to murder Vicki Vale or even attack Bruce Wayne until he is challenged. To throw off the Joker as a simple minded jokester character or aimless in his actions other than creating chaos, would be overlooking his complexity. After all, his is a trickster character with the typical characteristic of deceit. I would not agree that his motives are aimless other than to create chaos but rather a deceitful act to cope with his inner demons.
ReplyDelete-Leanne Reisz
I disagree that the scene in which the Joker showers the people of Gotham with money, then poisoning the lot, goes against the trickster archetype. In fact, it shows his trickster/joker nature. In any type of deal with a trickster, as we discussed in class, there is always a catch; the trickster will do something for you, only if you do something for him in return. Therefore, the Joker showering the people of Gotham with money (we can assume the people are in need because the decaying of the city; it is overrun by criminals, filthy businesses have taken over, there isn't a strong sense of police authority), and in return for this money, the Joker wants their lives (the return/payment).
ReplyDelete- Summer Balbero