Joker (2019): 8 Major Problems No One Wants To Admit
3. Joker's Manifesto Makes No Sense
Warner Bros.
Joker's appearance on the Murray Franklin show is simultaneously one of the film's best and yet also worst moments; best, because it's stunningly shot and the tension is palpable, and worst, because Joker lays down his manifesto in truly bizarre fashion.
In a brief moment of lucidity, Arthur confesses his crimes live on air and lays down his own rationale clearly and succinctly for all to see. He talks about the subjectivity of comedy, and when provoked by DeNiro's character, launches into a full blown tirade that reads less like a spontaneous reaction, and more like a considered response.
Arthur attains a level of clarity in this sequence that contradicts his entire being up until this point, and while the comments he makes on comedy could be seen like a part of his 'performance' live on air, the angry prelude to his shooting of Murray emerges pretty much out of nothing.
It's also seemingly at odds with his comments on politics when he arrives on set. Arthur maintains that he isn't a political figure - an inherently Joker-y thing to say, it must be said - but clearly goes on to reiterate the frustrations conveyed by Gotham's clown movement thereafter.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
