The Killing Joke
What is your reaction to the text?
This dark manifestation of the Batman and Joker dynamic was one of the best superhero stories I've ever read. It was not afraid to get violent, but seemed to value psychological terror over gore. This is best emphasized in the creepy train ride commissioner Gordon was forced to take. The maniacal depictions of the Joker coupled with his nihilistic musings are a combination to fear. I've never see a Joker origin story before, so I reacted strongly to it. He mentions he "remembers it one way, sometimes another," so I think this is one of many possible origins and we shouldn't take it as absolute canon. I do believe he was a relatively normal person once, and something so terrible happened he had a psychotic break and decided to love his new self.
What connections did you make with this story?
Thematically this work was very familiar to me. I connected it with the tropes of the male hero, crazy villain, moral compass, and damsel in distress. I was able to get a lot out of this work and enjoyed it very much, but I can't say I related to any of these characters on a personal level. The two female characters were minor plot points whose deaths or violations served to add pain and complexity to the struggles of the male character. A pregnant wife dies tragically, and a sweet daughter is shot and sexually violated. We don't know them or their struggles at all, and only see their pain in how it effects the men. So I couldn't connect with these characters too much. It was hard to connect to the male characters besides in an abstract way. Their struggles were on such a an epic scale. Good vs. Evil, Nihilism vs. Morals. We've all allowed ourselves to think about the world as pointless and wonder over if are actions mean anything or help anyone. So the Joker staring at you manically and yelling that at you does connect. But then you see all the evil he's done and know he's wrong.
What changes would you make to adapt this into another medium? What medium would you choose?
I've never seen this in it's animated film form, so I think I can write about it in an unbiased way. I think the comic is pretty cinematic as it is and I would definitely keep some of the shots. I love the black pools of rain that open and close the film. The puddle with a reflection comes up several times in the comic as well. I would emphasize this as a motif, and have the person who's in a position of power in the story at that moment show up in the reflection. The jokers face would be even more distorted in the reflection as he laughed.
A scene I keep thinking about is the train ride from hell. The comic did a great job of emphasizing the chaos and bending of reality Joker and Gordon were feeling but I think you could do even more in film. Epileptic warning worthy light flashes and and Pink Elephants like hallucination sequence shows the Joker laughing and horrible things Gordon imagines happening to Barb. Also just a lot of trippy imagery.
This dark manifestation of the Batman and Joker dynamic was one of the best superhero stories I've ever read. It was not afraid to get violent, but seemed to value psychological terror over gore. This is best emphasized in the creepy train ride commissioner Gordon was forced to take. The maniacal depictions of the Joker coupled with his nihilistic musings are a combination to fear. I've never see a Joker origin story before, so I reacted strongly to it. He mentions he "remembers it one way, sometimes another," so I think this is one of many possible origins and we shouldn't take it as absolute canon. I do believe he was a relatively normal person once, and something so terrible happened he had a psychotic break and decided to love his new self.
What connections did you make with this story?
Thematically this work was very familiar to me. I connected it with the tropes of the male hero, crazy villain, moral compass, and damsel in distress. I was able to get a lot out of this work and enjoyed it very much, but I can't say I related to any of these characters on a personal level. The two female characters were minor plot points whose deaths or violations served to add pain and complexity to the struggles of the male character. A pregnant wife dies tragically, and a sweet daughter is shot and sexually violated. We don't know them or their struggles at all, and only see their pain in how it effects the men. So I couldn't connect with these characters too much. It was hard to connect to the male characters besides in an abstract way. Their struggles were on such a an epic scale. Good vs. Evil, Nihilism vs. Morals. We've all allowed ourselves to think about the world as pointless and wonder over if are actions mean anything or help anyone. So the Joker staring at you manically and yelling that at you does connect. But then you see all the evil he's done and know he's wrong.
What changes would you make to adapt this into another medium? What medium would you choose?
I've never seen this in it's animated film form, so I think I can write about it in an unbiased way. I think the comic is pretty cinematic as it is and I would definitely keep some of the shots. I love the black pools of rain that open and close the film. The puddle with a reflection comes up several times in the comic as well. I would emphasize this as a motif, and have the person who's in a position of power in the story at that moment show up in the reflection. The jokers face would be even more distorted in the reflection as he laughed.
A scene I keep thinking about is the train ride from hell. The comic did a great job of emphasizing the chaos and bending of reality Joker and Gordon were feeling but I think you could do even more in film. Epileptic warning worthy light flashes and and Pink Elephants like hallucination sequence shows the Joker laughing and horrible things Gordon imagines happening to Barb. Also just a lot of trippy imagery.
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