Like Anton Chigurh, the case could be made that The Joker is more of a nihilist than an existentialist. It is undeniably true that The Joker is, "... an agent of chaos," as he puts it, and derives extreme pleasure from watching the world burn, but the key to understanding The Joker's philosophical outlook is to analyze the motivations behind his actions. If The Joker were truly only a nihilist, then all of his plans would have no greater purpose than to bring the world to its actual state of nothingness. From his interactions with the film's other characters though, it's clear that Joker's real purpose is not so much to bring about a world of oblivion, but rather to challenge the assumption of the masses that the world contains within itself some ultimate essence. Because these values are so deep-seeded and ingrained into the psyches and collective subconscious of Modern Man, The Joker feels it is necessary to employ radical, even terroristic, methods to shake the foundation on which these beliefs rest on, but even the most extreme tactics taken by The Joker appear to be an attempt to root out Bad Faith. Admittedly, the differentiation is a fine one, but the distinction is nonetheless an important one. The Joker is a provocateur, bent upon exposing to people the levels of self-deception that is inherent in their understanding of themselves and the self-imposed rules they live by. As he says to Batman in the film's terrific interrogation scene, "The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules."
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
