The Joker. Philosophy of a New Age?

Here’s a video I found titled: “Philosophy 101 Taught by the Joker”.

From the first time I watched”The Dark Knight” I had this interesting feeling when watching the scenes that included the character of the Joker. I’ve never seen the Joker potrayed in such a dynamic and expressive manner. It was a revolutionary acting job on the part of Heath Ledger in my mind, and will  stay burned in my memory for years to come. But besides all of the great acting, I believe I’m not alone when I say I saw something deeper.

If you check my philosophy section you will find my post, “Grant’s Ultimate Philosophy for Living”. I was so inspired by the character of the Joker in TDK because it seems to match so much of what I outlined and illustrated in that article. The Joker was the happiest character throughout the movie, while everyone else was busy being too serious to enjoy life. The Batman wanted to do something but couldn’t because he couldn’t bring himself to kill. The mob, as lawless as they were, still couldn’t do anything they wanted. They were constrained by their fear of the Batman. The authorites were their usual selves, trying but still failing miserably in the long run. Really the only person having a good time was the Joker. Even when it seemed he might die he was laughing continually.

If you take a look at all the Joker’s monologues throughout the movie, you also see a trend of a deeper philosophy which I seem to have subscribed to.
I’d be interested to hear a[stumbles out of wrecked truck]

Just to quote a few from the movie:

[stumbles out of wrecked truck]
The Joker Speaking to Batman: “Come on, I want you to do it, I want you to do it. Come on, hit me. *Hit me!*”

The Joker: “The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules”

The Joker: “You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength”

The Joker: “Don’t talk like one of them. You’re not! Even if you’d like to be. To them, you’re just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don’t, they’ll cast you out, like a leper! You see, 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. I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they’ll eat each other. See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve….”
“You have all these rules, and you think they’ll save you.”

And the longest monologue, but one of the most interesting parts:

The Joker: “Do I really look like a man with a plan, Harvey? I don’t have a plan. The mob has plans, the cops have plans. you know what I am, Harvey? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught one. I just DO things. I’m a wrench in the gears. I HATE plans. Yours, theirs, everyone’s. Maroni has plans, Gordon has plans. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I am not a schemer. I show schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So when I say that what happened to you and your girlfriend wasn’t personal, you know I’M telling the truth”*Gives Dent Gun*”It’s a schemer who put you where you are. You were a schemer. You had plans. Look where it got you. I just did what I do best-I took your plan and turned it on itself. Look what I have done to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple bullets. Nobody panics when the expected people got killed. Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plans are horrifying. If I tell the press that tomorrow a gangbanger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will get blown up, nobody panics. But when I say one little old mayor will die, everyone loses their minds!! Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I AM AN AGENT OF CHAOS. And you know the thing about chaos, Harvey. It’s fair”

So yes, I’d be interested in anyone else’s thoughts on this.

~ by granthorton on January 2, 2009.