It is such an ugly and nihilistic movie. No hint of redemption or goodness. It delves deep into the psyche of a very disturbing and disturbed human being. It realistically portrays a narcisistic, depressed, depraved, self-loathing, suicidal, homcidal, and deeply afflicted personality.
It points a crooked finger to the idea that neglect, cruelty, pain, abuse, and suffering are passed down from one generation to the next; that "monsters," are not born, but made. And really, if you look hard enough, there are no monsters amongst us, just deeply sick & psychically-deformed human beings who do monstrous things.
Not light entertainment. Watching the movie is like watching a very bad car-crash with multiple casualites. What compelled me to watch to the end? Joaquin's performance. Really I blame him. He is one of my favorite actors and he is totally amazing and convincing.
Why do I mention all this? Why didn't I just take a hot shower aftewards and just forget seeing this black-hole of a movie?
I wonder if he recognized himself in Joaquin's portrayal? Or is he just too blind to his own depravity, too self-aborbed, and too clueless? I am thoroughly convinced this movie is actually a great psychological depiction & explanation for Trump. Why is he so popular with a segment of our society? Unfortunately, sadly, the MAGA cult sees their own hatred, and self-loathing, reflected in him. Trumpism isn't politics, it is pathology.
OMG.
Joker & Trump. They both wear make-up and color their hair. Lots of similiar personality traits: self-loathing, narcissitic, very un-funny, deplorable, mentally-deformed, full of hate and revenge, a seething psyche that wants to inflict pain & suffering on anyone better (which they believe deep in their hearts is everyone), than themselves, one who hates anyone not deformed by their own hate too. A totally bloated , blimp-sized, ego, a scared weakling & coward, with a small and totally crushed psyche. You can see the type: racists, bullies, dictators, authoritarians, haters of all stripes.
There are differences.
Joker was a deprived child, Trump was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. One, of course, is fictional, the other one is very, very real. Both characters are big, terrible, brutally-unsympathetic babies. Yikes. Shite.
Yes, some people just want to light the world on fire to watch it burn. Their self hatred, fear & loathing is projected on eveyone else. That is MAGA. It explains Fascism too. A movement of hate-filled creeps wanting to wreak revenge on civilization and those more civilized. The attitude can be summarized as: "I am unhappy, disregarded, under-appreciated, held in contempt by others. I want to destroy everything, bring it all down in a heaping pile of ash. And I will blame those 'others' for all the ills of the world."
Yes. Indeed. This often plays out in our Pop Culture thru books, movies, comics, etc. Rage-induced revenge sagas, and bleak, all-encompassing, apocalyptic dystopias. It's a persistent, ubiquitous genre of trauma & drama. This particular film of horror was a world-wide box-office success. Yikes.
Amazingly, we actually, accidentally, with a little help from Russian diinfo, put one of these very deformed, mortally-sick personalities into the White House once, and FUCK, he wants in again.
At the end of the film Joker is standing on a flaming automobile, surrounded by a mob of deranged clowns. I couldn't help flashing on Trump, the MAGA hordes, and the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. The movie now reads like a premonition, and a prophecy of that very dark day.
WTF. It all points to a sickness in our national psyche too. Dare I say it? We can all do so, so much better. Yikes.