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Joker had potential to be a generation defining movie but fell totally flat
Joker had all the makings to be the perfect movie to close out the tumultuous 2010’s. The story of a man stuck in an indifferent world that refuses to give him the help or support he needs. In a world where the ruling class publically speak about how much they care for the problems of the average American, knowing full well they built their fortune on the back of the working class and never truly doing anything to help.
In a world where out stability seems to be hanging by a thread, Joker could have been the perfect movie to define our times. Telling the story of a normal dude, even particularly a white male who should have every privilege imaginable afforded to him, being left behind and broken by society. A story of how the evil in our world is more than simple evil, but a product of a system that does not care for us.
Instead, the movie was a dud. While it had a very clear message, it did not land at all. None of the characters are human beings, and despite the obvious parallels to our own world, the world of the movie is almost comically fake.
An early scene shows Arthur, our protagonist who eventually becomes The Joker, is on the bus. In front of him is a woman and her baby. The baby is looking at Arthur and laughs when Arthur makes a funny face. The mother reacts by turning around and scolding Arthus despite his attempt to make her child happy.
This scene could have been played by having the mother make a sort of annoyed face. Having the woman directly scold Arthur seems unrealistic and shows that the directors are trying too hard to prove how evil the world is. They do not trust the audience to pick up any sort of context and are dumbing down the world to us, almost as if we are reading a comic book instead of watching a movie.
In another scene, Arthur’s state-issued therapist tells him that he no longer can see her due to budget cuts. While the viewer would be able to easily understand that this is just another example of an indifferent world leaving behind a man in need, they decided to slip in more dialogue that overexplains the situation. The therapist mentions that the system does not care about people like Arthur, then continues to drive the nail home by mentioning the system does…
