Joker Societal context Flashcards
Intro
“The Joker” was released in 2019 and directed by Todd Philips. The film focuses on controversial topics like mental health crisis, modern comedy and cancel culture. These societal factors have influenced the creation of “Joker”. One societal factor which is apparent throughout the film is the reflection of mental health issues that are apparent in Americas society.
Mental health scene 1 (A)
There is a large issue in society (especially during and after covid) that many people suffer from mental health issues and aren’t getting the help they need since society doesn’t recognize mental health as something worth talking about. Arthur fleck (Joker) struggles with many mental issues, one being a condition which makes him uncontrollably laugh when he’s overwhelmed. One scene which emphasizes this is the bus scene. Arthur is on the bus sitting behind a child and his mum. When Arthur sees the kid looking at him, he pulls funny faces at him to make him laugh. When the mum catches on to Arthur doing this, she tells him to stop looking at him. This makes Arthur anxious which triggers his laughing condition, the mum sees this and assumes that Arthur is laughing at her. This reflects how society is unsympathetic when dealing with those with mental issues. When Athur hands her a card explaining his mental illness, the mother pulls her son closer to her in a protective manner rather than ask if has okay. This shows how society results in judging those with mental health issues rather than helping them.
Mental health scene 2 (A)
Another scene where this conclusion can be drawn is at the beginning of the film when Arthur is in therapy and told that there have been funding cuts made by the government and he will no longer be seen in therapy and says, “They don’t give a fuck about people like us.” This has influenced the film as it emphasizes how it’s mainly the higher-class group that don’t see mental health as a large issue and are oblivious to the negative effects that it can have on the citizens. However, Arthur then explains to his therapist that she never listens to him. This opens the idea that it’s not only the higher class who are insensitive toward those dealing with mental illnesses and its all-Americas society who this reflects off.
Modern comedy intro
Another societal factor which has influenced “Joker” is modern comedy. Director of this film, Todd Phillips, has made many comments on how he thinks that people have become more sensitive over the years, especially when it comes to comedians making jokes which could be viewed as offensive. This idea could’ve influenced the idea that Arthurs main aspiration in life is to become a stand-up comedian
Modern comedy scene 1 (A)
One scene where we see this dream of his become true is when he is on the Murray Franklin show, and Murray asks to hear some of his jokes. Arthur gets his notepad out and starts telling some insensitive jokes covering harsh topics such as death, which were not perceived well by the audience watching. This has influenced the film as it’s an over exaggerated reflection on how society nowadays is “too sensitive” when it comes to jokes which cover controversial topics and often “cancel” these comedians after making insensitive jokes. Although it also shows how comedians can take it too far sometimes with jokes that aren’t funny at all and have a disillusioned view of what is funny and what is offensive.
Modern comedy scene 2 (A)
Another scene where this comparison can be made is when Arthur is doing his own standup comedy gig. He goes to tell his jokes, but he is so nervous that it triggers his laughing condition, and the audience sits in silence and watches this unfold. However, Arthur has a vision that everyone is laughing at his jokes and loves his show. Not only does this demonstrate Arthur’s erratic, unusual behavior, it also emphasizes the idea that comedians don’t realize that their jokes are insensitive when writing them and believe that everyone will find them funny rather than offensive. This again shows how comedians often cross the thin line between what is funny and what is found offensive.
Mental health language feature 1
Many language aspects of the film further push the ideas of the mental health crisis one being costume. Director of the film Todd Philips explained in an interview that the reasoning behind the joker mask is a reflection on how people in society often wear a mask to hide who they really are. However, Jokers character uses his mask to show who he truly is. This is a spin on how people in society (especially those dealing with mental health issues) use a “mask” to cover up who they truly are. This has influenced the film as it’s a spin on how people in society use a “mask” to cover up who they truly are but seeing a character like the Joker use a mask to embrace his personality could be inspiring for many fans
Mental health language feature 2
Another cultural code which shows how the richer people in society treat those with mental issues is the bathroom scene. During this scene Arthur falsely accuses Wayne of being his biological father, once Wayne denies this Arthur gets confused and anxious which triggers his laughing condition. Wayne miscommunicates this and thinks that Arthur is laughing at him and punches him in the face. This scene uses costume to emphasize the fact that Wayne is in a higher class than Arthur, further suggesting that it’s mainly the higher class which aren’t understanding of mental health issues. Todd Phillips explained that throughout the film they wanted Arthur to look plain and boring unless he was dressed up as “The Joker” This is especially seen in this scene as Arthur is dressed in a brown jacket, shirt and bottoms with his hair down and messy. This is a drastic contrast to Waynes’s character who has his hair slicked back with a black fancy suit on. This emphasizes the higher status of Wayne and stereotypes him as the ignorant rich man who doesn’t care for the lower class.
Modern comedy language feature
Many language aspects of the film further push the ideas of modern comedy. Director of the film Todd Philips, whose usual film genre is comedy films. Since directing “Hangover” (a notorious comedy film) he’s made several comments on his view on modern comedy and how he believes that people have become more sensitive toward jokes. One camera angle which is effective in getting the audience to think about modern comedy and “cancel culture” is during Arthurs stand up show. The camera throughout this scene is a POV from an audience member watching Arthur’s show. This makes the viewer feel like they’re watching this unfold and makes them think about how they would feel if they were watching this. It also suggests that comedy is subjective, everyone has different views on what they find funny and unfunny. This is an interesting camera angle to add in this scene as it creates the idea that although comedy is subjective, everyone has a similar idea of what is offensive. This has influenced the film as it uses the current issue in society in that comedy is being censored and hated and applying it to this film. This provokes opinions from the audience (whether positive or negative) on Arthur’s character and makes them think about whether they think that comedy has become unfunny, or they believe that comedians should be more sensitive when making jokes. Costume has also played a big role in enforcing this idea during the Murray show scene. When Arthur is telling inconsiderate jokes he wears his infamous red suit with his hair dyed green and face painted like a clown. This has influenced the film as it uses the cliche of clowns being funny but cringe and applies it to comedians nowadays. It suggests that comedians in modern day have become unfunny and their jokes have become stale because their apprehensive they might be cancelled if they say anything out of line.
Conclusion
Overall, it’s proven that societal contexts have had an influence on this film’s content. It uses modern issues such as cancel culture and mental health crisis to add conflict and tension between character and audience relationships.
