THE JOKER: AN ALLEGORY

This is indeed a first-class film which has only been released a few weeks.A cinematic tour de force presenting a mix of fact and fiction often confusing the viewer.But of course the storyline is based upon one of Gotham City’s characters.

In the film, Gotham becomes New York City, but not the NYC of today – that tourist magnet and home to 19.49 million people, a metropolis which was once a byword for murder, but now the 8th safest city in the USA. (1)Anyway, director Todd Phillips – best known for the satirical comedy films Borat and also The Hangover Trilogy uses the literary and screenplay device of an allegory to explore what happens in a society where cruelty and moral bankruptcy reign supreme.

Briefly, Joker is like any movie: conflict is the basis of drama and with the Mayor of Gotham – Thomas Wayne, a filthy rich immoral bully – who, we learn, is father to Joaquín Phoenix’s Arthur.Arthur is the opposite to Wayne. Someone who in British vernacular we would call a ‘saddo’, a guy unable to hold down a job, but with intense mental problems largely caused by Arthur’s adoption and his inability to come to terms with this.
The story unfolds amidst a roller coaster ride of beatings, subway shootings and visits to mental institutions, but at this point it’s probably more relevant to focus on the excellently depicted backdrop of 1981 NYC.For at this time, NYC was caught up in probably the worst period of its long history. A massive budget deficit sparked off social security cuts and a garbage collection strike; on a grisly note there were 573 murders in 1981 for an overall rate of 40.5 per 100,00 (2); during the three-day Christmas weekend more than a score of murders in robberies, street fights, bar brawls, plus other mysterious circumstances were recorded.
In case you were wondering, by the way, London’s murder rate in 2018 was 1.2 per 100,000 people – it doesn’t come close, does it? (3)

Indeed, The Joker’s NYC is a dark place and although not mentioned is the December 1980 slaying of John Lennon by one Mark Chapman for no apparent reason. As an aside, Chapman’s lawyers mounted an insanity defence but which ultimately failed; but what is under scrutiny is just what is mental illness – surely an unprovoked attack on a defenceless  person such as Lennon  is no way the the work of a sane person.Neither of course would sane people in the Borough of Queens attack and kill three innocent black men whose car had broken down in a white neighbourhood circa that period.

Which brings us to the Arthur who is anti-hero of the film. Arthur has deep-seated mental problems; he takes medication; he has a uncontrollable bouts of strange laughter which all cause discomfort amongst the ‘normal’ people he meets day to day. Sad to say, mental illness and violence remain intertwined with people in general ignoring the fact that most violence in society is caused by people without mental illness.Arthur, however, without giving too much of the plot away, is driven to bloody homicide due to his oppression by the aforementioned people in general.But his problems are also compounded by the city’s cut in social services which means Arthur cannot access his prescription drugs. Of today it has already been mentioned that Gotham’s NYC was a desperate place in 1981, but by 1990 there was a terrifying record of 2,245 – this latter figure mainly contributed to by the crack cocaine epidemic.

At both these periods I was in New York on a ship on the Lower East Side so was witness to the breakdown in the city. From Houston Street close to where our vessel was berthed we were warned constantly to watch out for muggers especially during the dark winter nights. The snow was thick on the ground with little CCTV anywhere and the subway was patrolled both by NY Transit Police as well as by a vigilante group known as the Guardian Angels, concerned local citizens who, although unarmed, possessed excellent martial arts skills.During a later voyage we docked near Jackson Heights in Queens, an area particularly blighted by drugs.The New York Times described in 1978 an article titled ‘Gunfights in the Cocaine Corral’:
Over the past three years in this nice, quiet neighbourhood, 27 people have been killed and dozens injured…. The violence spreads to surround neighbourhoods as cops and prosecutors fight a losing battle. Double and triple homicides go unsolved.To us aboard ship the whole city seemed a seething, fighting cauldron of humanity. Both cops and US Customs officials warned us about going ashore alone and it all seemed so puzzling after leaving the tranquil waters of the Caribbean just a few days previously.

Anyway, having stated that Joker’s use of NYC as topicality comes over well, this deeply moral film above all scrutinises right and wrong, especially in society’s attitude to mental illness. Crime, unemployment, domestic abuse, divorce and homelessness are both symptoms and causes of mental illness, and one can argue that Arthur is the ignored citizenry just trying to live a decent life, but at the same time oppressed by the ignorance and greed of corporate America aka the Mayor of Gotham.Subjective as it is, some critics go further stating that Arthur is the voice of the Democratic electorate, fighting for fairness and decency, whilst the pompous Mayor of Gotham is no less than Donald Trump.
But whether you watch the film to deconstruct its hidden meaning or if you just go for entertainment, don’t miss it – it’s very thought-provoking.

1) NYtimes.com1981/12/28/my region/scoreofweekendmurders (accessed 03.11.19)
2)  safehome.org/safest cities/ny (accessed 02.11.19)
3)  Intentional Homicides http so://data.worldbank.org>indicator (accessed 03.11.19)