Understanding Joker

    "Wanna know how I got these scars? My father was…a drinker. And a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn’t like that. Not one bit. So—me watching—he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it! Turns to me, and he says, “Why so serious, son?” Comes at me with the knife...“Why so serious?” He sticks the blade in my mouth…“Let’s put a smile on that face!”

All of us enjoyed and adored the 2008 Christopher Nolan's masterpiece- The Dark Knight. Though the protagonist and hero of the movie was Batman, the character that caught our eyes was the psychopathic clown, i.e., the Joker. Joker is one of those villains we know we should hate but instead seem to sympathize with him. But why? Because even though his actions are criminal and heinous, his purpose is logical, well-defined, and consistent with reality.  

So, let's dive in and understand this Nolan's fictional legend aka the JOKER. 

Joker's Philosophy 

Hatred for the system 

Right from the start until the very end, Joker makes it evident how much he hates the system of law and order in Gotham's society. He believes that this system, with its rules and regulations, is extremely fragile. He then goes on to prove how he can demolish the entire seemingly indestructible system with a few barrels of oil and gun powder. 

He believes that the various regulatory systems create only an illusion of safety in people and are actually corrupt and weak. He isn't completely wrong here because he was able to convince people inside the system to be a part of and help carry out his chaotic actions. Moreover, he succeeded in convincing Harvey Dent, or Gotham's "White Knight," into sharing his disbelief in the system. This shows how even the strongest of the system may not be that strong after all. 

Notice how Gotham's society is so similar to ours. It has identical political problems. It has similar social dilemmas. In both societies, the rich usually exploit the poor. And both societies try to put on a positive and strong image on the front. This is where the line between fiction and reality blurs. This is what good fiction is about, making a world that is strikingly similar to the real world with just a few tweaks like having a Batman. Hence, Joker makes us rethink our realities as well. And that's where Joker plays his magic on us. 

Fragility of morality 

Joker also believes that people are inherently animalistic. And when the order-maintaining system breaks down, people will no longer act rationally. They will do what is best for their survival. Joker has emphasized this idea in the following dialogue: 

    "Their morals, their code; it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good    as the world allows them to be. You'll see- I'll show you. When the chips are down, these, uh, civilized people? They'll eat each other. See I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve."

 Considering Evolution and Darwin's theory of natural selection, Joker's deduction seems to be logical. But that's where humans differ from other animal species. This is where our huge brains and cognitive ability come into the picture. While animals don't think about their actions and function on their instincts, we humans can think about the implications of our actions. This ability helps us make better decisions. While those decisions may not always be moral, rational, or ethical, it at least helps make a conscious choice, considering both short-term and long-term benefits. So, even though we have those animalistic instincts ( stemming from the Freudian 'Id'), we can control them and ultimately do what we feel will yield the best outcome ( stemming from the Freudian' Ego'). 

This fallacy in Joker's philosophy is what ultimately led to his death in the movie. Consider the scene with the two ships for instance. Logic and ethics both sided with the decision of bombing the other ship and saving themselves. But people chose the morally right option, i.e., to not bomb the other ship, which ultimately saved all of their lives and avoided a disaster.  Initially, Joker seemed right when the civilians were about to act on their instincts and bomb the ship with the prisoners. But the societal idea of morality is what helped them arrive at a better decision. 

In an ideal world, rationality and morality make the best strategy to prosper in life. But that often doesn't work in the real world because one necessary condition for morality to work is that everyone in the room should choose the morally good choice. Otherwise, the entire strategy doesn't work and instead makes you vulnerable to exploitation. 

It all ended well in the movie because both the civilians and the prisoners chose the morally correct choice. If even one of them had decided to bomb the other ship (that's what seemed to be the best strategy for survival), then the entire idea of morality would break down.  

As per the religious texts ( one of the main origins of morality), if you do good to others, others will do the same to you. But in situations like the one we are discussing wherein you don't know what the other person might do, your goodness might not be reciprocated. You may die even though you chose what was morally right. So, Joker rightly pointed out the fragility in the system of morality. 

But it's important to note that morality serves as the best group survival strategy in an interdependent world like ours, wherein we depend on each other for various things. It helps build trust amongst the group's members and allows them to collaborate. That is why morality is highly promoted in all the religious texts and scriptures. 

Joker's psychology 

Now, let's get a bit into the psychological side of Joker. His evil actions and sadistic intentions necessarily prove that he was no ordinary criminal. An average criminal has a normal conscience, due to which there is a limit to how far he will go in his crimes. But that's not true when it comes to Joker. 

When seeing from the surface, Joker sure does seem to be a psychopath. But diving deeper, we realize that he is more of a patient of ASPD (Anti-Social Personality Disorder) than psychopathy. Here's why. 

Among the symptoms of clinical psychopathy are no empathy or remorse for one's actions, exploitive and manipulative attitude towards others, and having a selfish nature. While Joker's character can be associated with the first two symptoms, it is the third symptom of egocentricity where Joker fails the psychopathy test. The selfless nature of Joker has been depicted in various scenes of the movie. For example, in the scene where he burns a pile of money along with Lao. Or the one where Joker and Batman meet face-to-face on the dark Gotham streets when Joker's plan to kidnap Harvey Dent fails (the scene where Joker doesn't move a muscle when Batman comes storming at him with his bike). These scenes show that Joker doesn't care about money, fame, or even death. 

People with ASPD are usually found to be brilliant and can easily manipulate people to help their cause. Joker, too displays this trait through his well-thought-out plans and his innate ability to say just the right things to manipulate people, even someone as strong-willed as Harvey Dent or even Batman for a while.  

Additionally, Joker and Batman both seem to have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). While Batman's PTSD may stem from his rough childhood, the source for Joker's PTSD is unclear. A popular fan theory suggests Joker had served in the military before he became a chaotic criminal. This theory explains the source of his PTSD and explains his excellent combat and artillery skills. The recent movie on the Joker explains his origin of PTSD somewhat differently, making him a victim of a fake, corrupt, and ruthless society. While both seem plausible explanations, we can't be definite of the origins of Joker's psychological issues. 

What to make of Joker? 

We saw how Joker's beliefs weren't wholly wrong. It is surprising how we agree with the rationale of the 'evil.' This is what makes good stories, wherein we aren't sure who's right and who's wrong.  

While Joker accurately points out the flaws in our social and moral systems, it is evident that his actions are not the solution to the problem. We are a species that is evolving at a fast pace. Just about 100 years ago, most of us were living under monarchies, were facing frequent famines due to wars, and were being oppressed by the rich and powerful. But see where we are now. We came up with concepts like democracy and equal rights to do away with most of those previous problems. This suggests that though we still have a long way to go, we will eventually develop better solutions to the existing issues. 

So, YES, believe in Joker's observations but don't follow his conclusions and solutions. As a society, I am sure that we can collectively work and come up with a much better solution. Till then, bear with the current system and keep exploring better solutions. 

Written and Edited by: Yash Jayesh Doshi