I just watched Joker. I know that a lot of critics have had a problem with it. Yet all the people I know and trust told me the critics are wrong, so I went to see it.
And I really liked it. Yes it has a lot of violence, and quite a few disturbing things happen.
But I was ok with that, and then I found myself wondering why. After all, I have had serious problems with violence in many recent popular offerings.
I had to stop watching Game of Thrones. I quickly turned away from House of Cards. I couldn’t get through Breaking Bad. I found myself sickened by The Boys.
Yet I had no problem with Joker. And I think I know why.
For all of its insanity and violence, Joker takes place in an essentially moral universe. There is a concept of right and wrong, and the Joker himself, even in his highly disturbed state of mind, knows this.
He is, in fact, a vigilante, although a highly warped one. He has a sense of right and wrong, and he only wreaks violence upon people who are “bad” according to his internal moral compass.
Of course that does not make the violence right. In fact, by staying within a moral universe, Joker makes it clear that the Joker and the Dark Knight are two sides of the same coin.
Each believes that by taking justice into his own hands he is fighting against evil, and each understands that there are good people in the world. Of course their respective concepts of justice couldn’t be more different.
Therein lies the tension that drives their deeply dysfunctional relationship. This is what draws us to the mythic struggle between Batman and the Joker.
In contrast, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, Breaking Bad and The Boys take place in essentially amoral universes. Bad things keep happening to good people because — well — shit happens.
I’ve realized that I am just fine with violence in art. For all their horrors, I had no problem at all with Son of Saul or Amour.
In each case the violence was part of a valid struggle, a struggle that acknowledged the possibility of goodness. Those who struggle may end up failing, but the universe itself does not fail.
What I am not ok with is something that purports to be art, yet depicts a universe devoid of any inherent morality. If you watch too much of that stuff, you might be tempted to vote cruel bullies and amoral creeps into elected office.
And then where would we be?
Brilliant! I subscribe completely..
Interesting arguments. While I enjoyed Breaking Bad, I see the appeal of a more moral anti-hero like Joker, opposed to the more greed-filled protagonist like Walter White.
Would you argue that the protagonist alone shapes the morality of a story’s universe? Or would you consider that the external events within their environment shape a story’s moral compass? (ex. the crimes depicted in Joker that Arthur was not involved in)
And to answer your question, my answer would be “the electoral college of 2016.”