Analysis: Deciphering Joker and Gotham City

“Is it just me or everyone out there getting crazier ?” 

    – Arthur Fleck

Arthur is sceptic about his own personality when he expresses this concern to the counsellor of the city social services. His inability to cope up with the busy world around him is pushing him more and more towards depression. Still, he does not seem to blame the world around him and believes that he is the one who is completely at fault. This can be observed when he says that he should have left the youngsters on their own way in spite of being brutally beaten up by them. The counsellor also reminds him that he is already taking seven different medicines when Arthur asks for more. All these facts underlie the desperate(yet futile) attempts of Arthur to become “normal” as seen to the people around him. The main cause of his social incompatibility can be attributed to his condition termed as the pseudobulbar affect (characterised by sudden uncontrollable and inappropriate laughing or crying, in Arthur’s case it is laughter). 

Source

The cause of this neurological disorder is hidden to both Arthur as well as to the viewer before it is revealed towards the end of the film. The character arc of Arthur is finely written with immense detailing (hats off to Todd Philips and Scott Silver!) such that even though the basic character plot does not seem quite novel (good guy turning to a bad guy due to circumstances), the intricate characterisation seeks to explore various social dimensions which were not traversed by similar characters before. A psychopath was not a term that Todd Philips would settle to describe Arthur, rather he sought to explore the causations that led to the ultimate moulding of the archenemy of Batman.

A detailed introspection into these causations takes us towards the social structure of Gotham. Gotham city indeed reminisces us of many historic cities which became the breeding ground for revolutions. For instance, the persisting economic inequality and dominance by the elite class remind us of the French society in the 20th century before the revolution broke out. In fact, the upheaval and chaos shown during the last minutes of the film seem to match a modern-day adaptation of the ‘Storming of Bastille prison’ which proved to be the flashpoint of the French Revolution. 

Another episode in history that one can connect Gotham can be to that of the Bolshevik revolution which ultimately overthrew the Tsars and led to the formation of the Societ Union in the early 20th century. Even though the Russian revolution had its roots in the First World War as its pointless involvement destroyed the economy, the root causes can also be traced towards corruption, inefficiency, and insecurity by the minorities, peasants and industrial workers.

But what needs to be noted is that this resemblance to actual historic episodes is not a mere co-incidence but an impactful celluloid recreation of a vulnerable society devoid of ethics, empathy and human values. Joker ultimately becomes a violent and extremely negative manifestation of this vulnerable society named Gotham, while Batman becomes the symbol of resurrection from this vulnerable state or in simple terms a positive manifestation of Gotham. Hence the rigid dichotomy between Batman and Joker is not between individuals but that of two ideologies that manifested from a common source, Gotham city. Joker is indeed one of those few films in which the backdrop takes the role of a defined character in the film. 

Source

The film, set from the perspective of Arthur, portrays himself as a representative of the marginalised and the downtrodden. But does it mean that he deserves sympathy? Obviously not! The victims weren’t perfect either, but that doesn’t make Arthur’s acts justifiable. The scene in which Arthur spares Gary might be interpreted as the humane element that still persists in Arthur, but it must also be noted that he was only on the evolving stage of becoming the dreaded ‘Joker’. Gary’s life is indeed just a matter of chances if confronted with ‘Joker’ some other day.

Nevertheless, the film is indeed a sharp reminder for the contemporary society which has the potential to become highly intolerable, deadly competitive and devoid of empathy. The aesthetics of the film succeeds to interact with the viewers from a psychological paradigm that ultimately keeps the viewers haunted for at least a couple of days.