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The Political Relevance of Joker
Prior to its release, Joker was slammed by film critics for its edgy subject matter, and many journalists
warned audiences of the potential mass-violence that the film could incite. Of course, no actual violence occurred
as a result of Joker. Despite all of its pre-release anxiety, the standalone DC film had unprecedented box office
success, breaking the record for highest-grossing rated-R film of all time in just its fourth week. The remarkable
popularity of this film suggests that audiences aren’t just interested in watching the typical action blockbuster, and
are willing — even eager — to watch films that challenge their assumptions.
Although it wasn’t without flaws, Joker was an emotional rollercoaster with scenes ranging from
exhilarating to unnerving to heart-breaking. Its technical sophistication was applauded throughout the award
season with the film being nominated for 11 Oscars (including Best Picture), and winning two. Joaquin Phoenix
gives an impressive performance as protagonist Arthur Fleck that unsurprisingly won him the award for Best
Actor. But most impressively, Joker is unique in the ways it diverges from typical movies of its genre. In most
superhero movies, the ending is extremely important; you watch to see who wins the war and who dies along the
way, but, in Joker, if you're at all familiar with the character, you already know the ending. You’re watching to
figure out the why; what factors made that outcome inevitable? Director Todd Phillips and his co-screenwriter
Scott Silver had the daunting task of trying to work backward from a widely known character, creating a
convincing backstory as well as providing an explanation for the monster he became. But this film didn’t just show
one character’s development, it made audiences look at the role that societal norms, politics, and economic
conditions play in the creation of real-life villains.
Many critics labeled the film “problematic” for encouraging audiences to have sympathy for a “bad guy” in
a time of ever-growing mass violence. But the suggestion that most of society’s “villains” are products of the very
society they terrorize isn’t a defense of their actions; rather, an explanation. It helps us understand them. These
people, though they’ve done terrible things, deserve our sympathy not just for their sake but for ours. By refusing
to understand why they are the way they are, we allow more people to fall victim to that self-destruction. No one’s
born a villain, they become one, and if we did more to prevent that, we wouldn’t have a mass-violence problem.
Though Joker is blatantly political, it’s by no means a right-wing film, which is made clear by its not-so-
subtle criticism of society's treatment of those with mental illness and the lack of government services available for
those groups. Even still, the film’s political relevance goes deeper than individual issues or red vs blue politics:
through its chaos, it captures the zeitgeist of 2019 America. Joker illustrates the collective frustration felt by the
working class at the disconnectedness of wealthy, corrupt politicians; the same type of frustration that (ironically)
led to Donald Trump’s election and the growth of populism worldwide. Many Gotham City residents saw Joker’s
anti-elite violence as a heroic action and idolized him because they believed someone was finally standing up for
them. These are the same people that gravitated towards Trump’s “drain the swamp” rhetoric in 2016. This film
doesn’t defend Trump or the alt-right or populism (which is, more often than not, detrimental to democratic
institutions), it instead presents his election as a culmination of frustrations from a particular group that felt
ignored by the previous administration. In this respect, the movie acts as a mirror to the state of our own country,
and forces us to look into our own reflection to determine where we’ve gone wrong.
It’s not often that a Hollywood film even attempts to portray rising class-consciousness in a world
oppressed by Neoliberal Capitalism, but Joker does exactly that. Rather than pointing a finger at either of the
main political parties and saying “you’re the problem,” it argues that the system that both sides accept is stacked
against the working class. Instead of submitting to this system and accepting their place in society, Joker and his
followers realize that they don’t have to tolerate the people in power. Their revolt against the status quo is the
same one that many on the American political extremes have been demanding for decades; the same one that
protesters all over the world have started in an effort to enact systemic change.
Phillips’ interpretation of Joker's origin story diverges wildly from the original — so much so that it’s
essentially a different character — which begs the question, why? The answer comes when the credits roll and the
audience realizes that this movie is about much more than Joker. Phillips had an important message to share and
an ingenious way to do it: draw audiences in with a big name; leave them with a new perspective. The film’s
success suggests that this goal was successful on both fronts. Franchise films and Disney reboots tend to dominate
the box office, and while there’s nothing wrong with entertainment, these aren't the types of movies that have a
lasting impact. Just by its ability to dominate public discourse for as long as it did, Joker has proven that it is that
kind of movie.
By Alana Campbell

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The Political Relevance of Joker

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