Joker: 5 Theories That Actually Improve It
How do you improve something so... imperfectly perfect?
Joker was a smash hit. Despite the controversy surrounding its release, the Scorsese inspired comic book movie broke box office records for October releases, despite a raft of controversy around it.
While both Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have both been dismissive of a sequel in the past, the success of the movie among critics and the box office has led to the inevitable chatter in the industry. Phillips and Phoenix have stopped short of confirming another movie, but they have both expressed an interest in continuing the Joker's story if a compelling plot can be found.
That being said, it should not be too difficult to find a compelling plot considering the number of questions this movie raises. These questions have also led to a slew of fan theories about this villain's place in the DC Extended Universe, a future appearance of Batman, or even if Arthur Fleck was *the* Joker at all! This article will introduce some of the more interesting theories about the movie, some of which will open doors for future sequels.
*Spoilers for Joker ahead*
5. Joker is the Symbol of Gotham
In the Dark Knight Trilogy, one of the main themes is the idea of transcending into the territory of a 'symbol'. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne was clear that Batman could be anyone, that a man can be destroyed or killed, but a symbol is 'incorruptible'. In 2019's Joker, we can see a disturbed mirror of this notion. Rather than the stoic and heroic iconography of the bat as Gotham's symbol, we have the chaotic clown.
In both the Dark Knight Trilogy and Joker, Gotham is a corrupt city with a high crime rate and no hope. The problem is the same in both TDKT and Joker, yet their solutions are different.
In TDKT, the people side with Batman to bring about order and reduce crime. Whereas, the final act of Joker involves a clown riot throughout the city, sparked by the murder of three Wall Street boys by a man in clown make up (Arthur Fleck). In other words, TDKT had the people choose order, whereas Joker had the people choose anarchy.
Rather than the symbol of the bat drawing people into believing that their city can be better and that they can be better, the Joker's iconography shows the city has descended into chaos. This may be setting up the introduction of a Batman character who will have to arrive and save Gotham from its own self inflicted madness.