The Joker, created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, made his debut in 1940
in Batman #1.
Since then, the Joker has appeared in tons of comic books, television series and movies
(both cartoon and live action).
At this point, I think just about anyone would agree that The Joker is a cultural phenomenon.
Most recently, he was portrayed by Jared Leto in 2016's (apparently Oscar worthy) "Suicide
Squad".
Each portrayal of the Joker has its own twist and a different version of his backstory,
sometimes even making it explicitly clear that even The Joker himself isn't sure of
his own past.
Now, I've touched on all of this before but my previous video focused mostly on Utilitarianism
and Deontologism.
Today, I want to talk about The Joker's most consistent character trait, his belief in
the philosophical doctrine of nihilism.
I think the "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy" does a great job suming it up.
"Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or
communicated.
It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence."
So let's explore The Joker's coping mechanism (laughter and complete devotion to chaos)
in dealing with what he sees as the meaninglessness of life, particularly how the Joker's nihilistic
attitude could have originated from just one bad day.
*The Joker Talking* Let me ask you something. What does it matter if you send me back to the asylum if it doesn't matter to me?
I've proven my point; Gordon's been driving mad. I've demonstrated there's no difference between me and everyone else.
All it takes is one bad day. That's how far the world is from where I am, just one bad day.
This analysis of the Joker's character will reveal that while adaptations of the Joker
vary, the one thing that is always consistent is his nihilistic Mindset.
This author who's name I can't pronounce whom I will now call John, wrote the book Humor as a Response to Nihilism.
It describesnihilism as a force every human must reckon with, which arises as people contemplate their
own mortality, the nature of human existence, and see the futility and lack of meaning in
their lives because of life's inevitable outcome: death.
People cope with these existential questions in a few different ways.
Marmysz explained that people who dwell on the seeming futility of life can suffer from
malaise or "a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is
difficult to identify".
What does order, morality, and knowledge matter if life is truly meaningless?
Why not do whatever one wishes when we are all just going to die anyway?
Enter the Joker whose way of dealing with his own existential crisis was to devote himself
to chaos and laugh at the absurdity of life.
While most people find meaning in their daily lives and the things they do, the Joker feels
that their efforts are just meaningless attempts to maintain control, something they never
had in the first place.
The events as to how the Joker's physical abnormalities came to be are not consistent.
Infact, portrayals of the Joker (in terms of his backstory) are consistently inconsistent.
However, all Jokers are nihilists at heart, whether he's a prankster out to take over
Gotham City with a flying saucer or a mobster, driven mad, climbing to the top of the criminal
underworld.
Batman fans widely accept Alan Moore's acclaimed graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke as
the Joker's likely origin story.
In this story, a failed comedian tries his hand at crime to support his pregnant wife.
She dies in a freak accident but by then it's too late to back out.
The comedian, dressed as The Red Hood, turns out to be a pasty and winds up in conflict
with the forces of good (you know... forces of the bat variety).
The Red Hood falls into a vat, and the chemicals inside disfigure him.
His skin turns a pale white, his lips turn red and his face is forever locked into a
gruesomely creepy smile.
This is the driving force behind The Joker, the concept that when enough bad events occur
to the same person, anyone can lose their love for life and humanity.
We are all just one bad day away from becoming the Joker.
Since The Killing Joke, this darker version of the Joker has been influential in all the
following portrayals of the character and as a result he's become increasingly nihilistic.
One Joker portrayal that visits the darker reactions to nihilism and the character's
devotion to chaos is Heath ledger's performance in The Dark Knight.
In this adapation, The Joker's commitment to chaos seems it's most complete and absolute.
It's interesting to note that Batman and the Joker both deal with nihilism in the Batman
series, but both react in opposite ways.
The Joker embraces the concept that life has no meaning and devotes himself to chaos, while
Batman becomes a vigilante on the side of justice.
The juxtaposition of the two character's stances create conflict.
The Joker tries to convince Batman to let go of conventions and embrace chaos, while
Batman tries to convince the Joker to adhere to societal norms.
The two arise as supervillain and superhero because of each other.
However, I would argue that it's the darker side of nihilism, which renders a villain
scarier than any monster, ghost, or bloody horror story.
While the Joker's reaction to the dark side of life is to laugh, always to laugh, there
is something unsettling in that.
Sometimes things can indeed be so bad that it's downright absurd.
The concept of a sociopath who is loyal to no one and as unpredictable as the very concept of chaos itself
is indeed an unsettling notion, making a formidable foe for Batman.
If you dwell upon the deeply nihilistic portrayals of the Joker, you'll find that the Joker's
complete devotion to creating chaos is no laughing matter.
Like Alfred says in the Dark Knight: "Some men aren't looking for anything logical,
like money.
They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with.
Some men just want to watch the world burn".
And THAT is scary.
AAHHHHH!
Thank you for watching That Sci-Fi Show.
Do all the YouTube stuff, especially try to share this video around and get the channel
some exposure.
I would really appreciate it.
Until next time,my name is Jay Parks.
Thank you for watching That Sci-Fi Show, please do all the YouTube things... I'm fixing my hair... See? See? That's for YOU drunk comics podcast.
You're mean.
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