“Joker”- Follow or Hate ?

Nishant Kumar
Nov 1 · 5 min read

The release of the new WB movie "Joker" a few weeks back, has once again raised the year old question of right and wrong? Arguments on both side are quite heavy, on one side it is being considered as a symbol of revolution, a symbol for the oppressed to fight back and on the other hand the Joker is being considered as a psychopathic criminal. If you personally ask me I would say neither of the two views is totally correct or totally incorrect. Ofcourse, if you ask people of Chile, they would definitely deny the latter argument and say that they consider Joker as a symbol of renaissance, an idea, a thought that inspired thousands of people to gather courage and fight against their oppressive government. What started as a students' protest against a fare rise on metros, grew bigger and took the shape of one of the most widespread protests against the unusually high cost of living, medical expenses, poor education etc. The anger and struggle against poor living style and lack of education was becoming into something like a chaotic bomb and the movie, the symbol, the Joker, just lighted a spark and the bomb exploded. Another story comes from Lebanon, where again the Joker is being used as a symbol to protest against the "Whatsapp tax" levied by the government, mind you, whatsapp is a primary and popular way of communication in Lebanon where usual phone and sms services are expensive. Here is a link for more information: https://wired.me/culture/lebanon-protests-beirut-joker/. A similar story comes from Hong Kong where people were already protesting using symbols like the "Pete the frog" but the protest has gained momentum once "Joker" was seen as an instrument for mass support and unity against the Chinese government.

Is it the brilliant depiction of frustration getting hold of someone struggling, made fun of, being bullied, laughed on because of a medical condition and growth of that someone into a symbol of fight against the rich, the big masters, the industrialists etc. in the movie that has added kerosene to the fire of revolution or mere timing of the movie? Is it the rise of extreme right wing politics in almost every part of world, that certain groups of societies are identifying themselves as someone like "Joker"? Or, is it just a common way to not show the faces while protesting against powerful government organisations? Whatever it is, the sense of mass protest and unity against oppression has certainly made "Joker" way more famous than its counterparts like the "Guy Fawkes mask" in "V for Vendetta"or the "Black fist"of the communists movement.

This is just half of the story, the hatred and criticism of the movie by media is also a very important point to look at. In an era where movies and songs play a vital role in influencing people showing the act of crime as justification for struggles and frustration is also not completely right. Some say that Joker can also influence psychologically unfit people who would see crime as an excuse to the bullying and rejection they face on an everyday basis. The media claims that it will be a symbol of major disastrous riots and revolutions that will bring down nations, it's a symbol of blood and revenge. I agree and understand this point but my question to people who speak of this idea would be, understanding and reacting on something is an individual's perspective, isn't it? We did not see people attacking ministers or high government organisations, we did not see businessmen and highly corrupt corporate employees being killed. We did not see any kind of extreme violent activities, done by the common people protesting against the oppressed government. I understand that people can get influenced and opt to harm people who make fun of them, who bully them just as Arthur did in the movie, but Arthur took that step because the public forced him to, because some random dudes were troubling him because of his medical condition of laughing when he got frustrated. So, even if some person goes on to the extremes of killing someone, it would be because we as individuals have not made our world a place where everybody can feel safe and secured. Its upon us, because we have become so selfish that out of our fun we forget what the other person might be thinking, what he might be feeling.

I ask to the people who consider "Joker" to be a movie that would raise the hatred and crime across the world, aren't we the culprits if something like that happens. Would the Joker become a symbol of revolution if certain governments would not have done what they have been doing in the past? Would a movie that was just supposed to show the psychology of a poor lonely adult become a symbol of so much importance that major government agencies are fearing it, if the agencies did everything in their might to support and protect their citizens. Wouldn't we be discussing the patterns, reasons and few snaps that related the "Joker" to the "Dark Knight", if everything in this world would be good enough. It may seem as a dream of an ideal world, but can't the world be good enough so that people care for other people, nations care for other nations, can't the world become great again?. "Great" in my previous sentence, of course, does not mean the "greatness" President Trump talks about, but the real meaning of the word.

But, the reality is that good and bad are two important pillars of modern society but the definition of what is good and what is bad is debatable. For example, a person who does not speak to people at a party can be considered as a rude and arrogant but at the same time he might have difficulties in talking to other people, he may be uncomfortable with strangers. So, according to me everything depends on perspective. You want to take "Joker" as someone who tolerated everything, to a point when he snapped and committed a heinous crime, or someone who would protest against these bullies and oppressors so that another Arthur does not repeats, or someone who would opt to kill to end his\her struggle. In the end everything boils down to what it means for an individual, it could encourage women to speak against harassment, poor company workers to speak against their managers, farmers to protest against high agricultural taxes and low profit margins, minorities to fight for their rights, and at the same time encourage people to gain courage and end all their struggle through the path of killing someone. It is on us whether we want the world to become something like Gotham, where many Arthurs would change into criminals or a good enough place where we would take a movie as a movie…….

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