JOKER (ON TV)
Comedy is sub, subjective, isn’t that what they say? All of you, the system that knows so much, you decide what’s right or wrong. What’s real or what’s made up. The same way you decide what’s funny or not.
Within a few lines, the Joker invites us to reflect on who makes the rules in society. Who decides what’s funny? Who creates social norms? Who decides what is criminal?
To answer these unsettling questions, we can turn to good old sociology. Conflict theorists (Chambliss 1976; Quinney 1970) argue that deviance and crime are not objective facts but are socially constructed to benefit the dominant and powerful interests of society, often at the expense of the marginalised. What we define as deviant or criminal, therefore, is inherently ideological.
From this perspective, we can see that some individuals are able to avoid legal scrutiny because of their privilege and power. They can determine the contours of the law, and in some cases, can even become its representatives. In Matt Phillips’ Joker, we see the wealthy Thomas Wayne run for Mayor, despite it being suggested that he is illegally skirting his responsibilities as the father of Arthur Fleck.
THOMAS WAYNE
Look pal, I’m not your father. What’s wrong with you?
ARTHUR
How do you know?
THOMAS WAYNE
Cause you were adopted. And I never slept with your mother. What do you want from me, money?
Thomas’ natural response is to reach into his pockets, lying and offering a bribe to make the problem go away whilst literally washing his hands of it. The law is on his side. Similarly, we see the three wall street guys harass a woman on the subway before brutally beating up Arthur. Arthur later kills them which causes a sensation in the news. Yet the media doesn’t even consider what illicit deeds may have caused their murder. Instead, they focus on their high rank as employees within Wayne Investments. How could such respectable members of society ever commit wrongdoing?
THOMAS WAYNE (ON TV)
All three of them worked at Wayne Investments. They were good, decent, educated.
Meanwhile, we see the law fail the down-trodden Arthur Fleck. At the beginning of the film, he is presented as a troubled, yet upstanding citizen that works hard to support both himself and his mother. Yet, he is powerless to prevent his sign being stolen from work by a gang of thieves that later use it to beat him. Instead of the thieving kids being arrested for assault and forced to pay back the damages, the suspicion falls on Arthur and he alone is expected to fix the problem.
HOYT
Kenny’s Music. The guy said you disappeared. Never even returned his sign.
ARTHUR No. I got jumped. Didn’t you hear?
HOYT
For a sign? Bullshit. It makes no sense, just give him his sign back…Listen, if you don’t return the sign I gotta take it outta your paycheck, you clear?
The law is clearly not on Arthur’s side. Whilst Wayne avoids any suspicion for illegally dodging child support, and the Wall Steet guys avoid any mention of assault, Fleck garners suspicion for a petty crime that he didn’t commit. This inspires his taking matters into his own hands through taking Randall’s gun. If the law cannot protect him, he needs to protect himself.
RANDALL
Take it. You gotta protect yourself out there. Or you’re gonna get fucked.
This brings about a further question. Why is an upstanding citizen such as Arthur Fleck so neglected by society? The film paints a portrait of Arthur’s constant struggle for recognition and love in a world where he is invisible. Even his social worker doesn’t listen to him.
ARTHUR
You don’t listen, do you? I don’t think you ever really hear me. You just ask the same questions every week. “How’s your job?” “Are you having any negative thoughts?” All I have are negative thoughts. But you don’t listen anyway. I said, “for my whole life I didn’t know if I even really existed.”
Arthur goes through his life not being taken seriously by anyone. His passionate dream to become a comedian does not inspire encouragement, but ridicule. Laughter and applause come not when he makes a joke, but when he is used as the butt of a joke.
ARTHUR
It’s funny, when I was a little boy and told people I wanted to be a comedian, everyone laughed at me. Well no one is laughing now.
MURRAY FRANKLIN (ON TV)
You can say that again, pal!
Arthur, with his history mental illness, childhood neglect, and relative poverty is excluded from the conventional means to achieve this goal of becoming a comedian. Instead, he needs to seek out alternative ways to achieve his dream. Initially, these methods are simple and relatively harmless. Arthur uses his imagination. He imagines having a father figure and being loved and supported which gives him the encouragement he needs to pursue stand-up.
ARTHUR
Everyone’s been telling me they think my stand-up is ready for the big clubs. It’s just a matter of time before I get a break.
Of-course no one actually tells him that his stand-up is any good and so it’s only a matter of time before this imaginary illusion begins to crumble. As social services are cut and the reality of his abusive, neglectful childhood becomes clear, he can no longer deceive himself. Arthur begins to pursue more deviant ways of achieving his goals.
JOKER
How about another joke, Murray? What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a system that abandons him and treats him like trash? (pulling the gun) I’ll tell you what you get. You get what you fucking deserve…
This is what Robert Merton describes in his theory of Social Strain. When confronted by a lack of opportunity, some individuals are forced to seek deviant ways to achieve traditional goals. Others may go even further and completely reject conventional pursuits altogether by becoming social outlaws. They deliberately become enemies of conformity, and champions of anarchy. This is eventually where Arthur finds his home, and where he transforms into the Joker.
POLICE OFFICER
…the whole fucking city’s on fire cause of what you did.
JOKER
I know. Isn’t it beautiful?
Of course, the joker is not alone in this. He is joined by a group of anarchists that identify themselves as clowns, directly rebelling against what Thomas Wayne and the elites of society would call a “good life”.
THOMAS WAYNE
…those of us who’ve made a good life for ourselves will always look at those who haven’t as nothing but clowns.
Therefore, the clown mask quickly becomes a symbol for those who rebel against this subjective ideal of the “good life”.
“CLOWN” PROTESTER #2
[Beep] the rich, [beep] the politicians, [beep] the whites, [beep] the blacks, [beep] Thomas Wayne, [beep] the whole system. That’s what this is [beeping] about!
The clown movement reflects the consequences of widespread social strain. Some sociologists theorise that when legitimate opportunities are blocked, disenfranchised members of society will come together to create new opportunity structures. These are often deviant, materialising as subcultures or criminal communities.
Within the anarchist criminal community of clowns, this alternative opportunity structure is seen. Respect, admiration, and — most importantly to the joker — visibility is granted to clowns that commit the boldest acts of anarchy. This is why the joker is so happy and confident at the end of the film. He has founded a new culture that he fits into, one where he can achieve his goals.
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
How are you feeling?
JOKER
Good. Everything’s good now.
Notice how the definition of good has changed since the start of the film. Earlier, we saw Thomas Wayne use the word “good” to describe the life of decent, educated members of society like the Wall Street Guys. Now the Joker associates the word “good” with looting, rioting and murder. He never stood a chance of becoming a good comedian, but he can become a criminal mastermind.
Through the Joker, we see that these dynamics of deviance are not isolated to Gotham City, they are also today’s social world. This is why the film has attracted such controversy; it is simply too close to home. Corruption, alienation, and lack of opportunity are all key sociological forces that lead to crime.
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