The Joker has a Positive Message

The movie Joker showed up on Sling. At first I only watched the first half, and despite the depressing music and little action, I still found it interesting. I kept thinking and wondering about it. On Saturday morning, I was glad to find it still on Sling, so I watched the last half. That's when it really took off while that base cello droned on. 

Spoiler Alert: 

Just for those who don't know. Arthur Fleck (Joker) lives with his mother in a run down apartment building in the decaying city of Gotham. He's also her caregiver. Fleck has a job as a clown and struggles to be a comedian. He is continually abused because he is small and people see him as weird. Fleck also has a laughing disorder and it attracts bullies. People pick on him and bully him all the time. His mother allowed him to be abused by her boyfriend. She also told him that Thomas Wayne is his real father, which turns out to be a lie. She also never told him he was adopted. Then he finds out that his mother let the abuse happen. Because of all this, I couldn't help thinking of him as a sympathetic character. Usually, one doesn't get to know the villain so well. 

I wasn't against it when he finally killed some rich bullies that were going to either kill him or put him in the hospital. He finally had done something to stand up for himself. Then I enjoyed him fully becoming the Joker, and killing people who had hurt him. I liked the rioting that he caused. He also became more clever the way he evaded the police. I liked his transformation. Perhaps others did too? 

Joker turns out to be an oddly relatable character. He represents anyone who has felt like a social outcast . Anyone who has been bulled or abused. Perhaps he even represents anyone who is struggling to get by or even the mentally ill person who can't get help. A lot of people could relate to him. 

After some reading, it seems this movie caused some concern because it showed a killer as being sympathetic. They feared it would inspire riots and killings. I can see why there is a concern. There are some people who take movies too seriously and the line blurs between fiction and reality. However, this movie does have a positive. It shows why we need to be kind to people no matter how different they may seem. We need to include others who struggle socially because sadly, mass shootings are still happening in real life.