Todd Phillips's “Joker: Folie à Deux " was released to theaters Friday, Oct. 4. There has been an outpouring of hate for this film, which currently sits at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. For the most part, it seems misdirected.
What was most bothersome was when the first “Joker” film was released, people spent hours analyzing it in search of its deeper meaning. Then this film came out. People heard “musical” and threw it all out the window. Most people didn’t even bother to see the movie in the first place because it’s a musical and if they did, they often went in with a closed mind.
The only analysis I’ve seen online for this movie is a theory that the film is just a meta-film with commentary on how people misread the first film and how Phillips hates the fans. This seems silly. The story clearly shows what happens when the legacy outgrows the man.
The first time this theme is present is with Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga, who is referred to as Lee in the film. She perfectly represents the relationship between celebrities and fans. Many people call this film a love story; however, it is instead a story of obsession. Lee is obsessed with the idea of the Joker that the media had created, not Arthur Fleck, his true self.
Throughout the film, Lee tells Arthur a series of lies to make him like her, mostly about how they had a similar upbringing. Then she says she is pregnant with Arthur's child. Lee's pregnancy is never confirmed or denied, to be accurate, but it seemed like a trick to make sure he would come back to her when he escaped.
In reality, she is just an obsessed fan who went to grad school for psychology. At one point, Arthur tries to kiss Lee, but she stops him and tells him she wants to see the real him. Then, Arthur proceeds to put on his iconic makeup. To Lee, the Joker is the real thing and Arthur is a character to please the lawyer and psychiatrists.
Later in court, Arthur, dressed as the Joker and breaks down, turns to the jury, and tells them that he is not the Joker. He’s just a man who murdered six people and wishes he wouldn’t have done it. Lee realizes she was wrong about Arthur: he’s not the larger-than-life Joker. The Joker was the character.
Disappointed, Lee storms out of the courtroom. This could be a commentary on how fans often become obsessed with how celebrities act in interviews and entertainment but then are disappointed to find out that they are just ordinary people.
Arthur proceeds to escape the court and is chased down the street by a fan dressed as the Joker. This seems to be a metaphor for the legacy of the Joker chasing after Arthur. This leads Arthur to his iconic staircase.
Here, he meets an upset Lee, who tells Arthur she doesn’t want to be with him, and that they only ever had a fantasy. Arthur asks about their unborn son, and Lee replies with a song lyric and walks off. We then see a flashback to an earlier dream sequence, where Lee shoots Arthur in the gut, and is used throughout the film. This leaves Arthur heartbroken, who thought he had finally found genuine love.
Arthur’s legacy is again shown to have outgrown him in the ending, where a fellow inmate tells Arthur a joke about a psychopath who sees a sad clown in a bar. The punchline is, "You get what you deserve," quoting the iconic line from the first film. The inmate proceeds to stab Arthur in the gut numerous times. The inmate then cuts a smile into his face.
This is an homage to the great Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” which won him an Oscar. Then, it is back to the dream where Lee shoots Joker in the gut. He recites the lyric: “What a fine young son to take my place.” from the song “Gonna Build a Mountain” by Sammy Davis Jr.
Arthur Fleck’s Legacy outgrew him, leading to his demise. No matter what Arthur did, he would never live up to expectations. He would never become the “Joker” the public desperately wanted him to become, no matter what he did or said. He was just a man who was tortured by the people who raised him, only to be tortured again by the image he would create.
Though he could never become the agent of chaos the people wanted, he started the movement that would create “a fine young son to take his place,” a.k.a. inspire a future Joker who will go on to fight Batman.
Daniel Gorbett is a sophomore at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Daniel know by emailing him at dg371822@ohio.edu.
