Batman and Joker - A Study in Existentialism
When the Joker trailer popped up in my YouTube recommendations it was hard to resist. Three minutes later my lips exhibited smiling scars for multiple reasons. Apart from appreciating the glimpses offered by Joaquin Phoneix, the trailer flashed archival memories of tongue-flapping Joker seen in the movie 'Dark Knight' cemented by the late Heath Ledger. I was happy that after a long time, a superhero movie will not follow textbook codes for success and that there will be peppered elements of artistry. Nevertheless, it mostly brought back the only person who has the power to withstand the savagery of the Joker - The Dark Knight himself.
When the two characters were sketched by Artists for the very first time it is quite doubtful whether they knew that these characters will become an epitome for one of the most unsolvable philosophical questions - the meaning and purpose to life. The different shades of the grey cast over Batman and the Joker is an interesting study in existentialism.
The tussle between Batman and the Joker is pitched in the city of Gotham. Though there were multiple adaptations and reinvented pasts for both characters in the Comics, 'The Killing Joke' is the closest which establishes that both the hero and the villain sprout from the same seed.
Bruce Wayne loses both his parents when he is eight years old. They succumb to the bullets of a robber when they return home after a movie. An unnamed chemical engineer loses his wife during childbirth. To add pain, in the same night he falls into a tank which processes deadly chemicals when aiding a robbery.
The boy who has lost his parents struggles hard to cope up with that trauma in spite of being one of the wealthiest persons in the world. The angst against crime fuels his rage to train harder and fight crime in his city as a Vigilante becoming Batman. Though he injures criminals he does not kill them. The 'No Kill' rule is the foundation for Batman's actions.
The chemical engineer faces harsh effects on both his body and mind after falling into the processing plant. When he wakes up from the sewage the burns drive him mad. Having lost his wife he divorces reason and chooses to believe that life's beauty lies in chaos. The man descends into a pit and discovers that to believe that reason and logic drive the world is a big practical joke. The joke puts an everlasting smile creating the Joker.
Both the characters are born out of trauma. They become completely different personalities based on their choices. Batman's father struggled hard to emancipate the poor living in the city. Having lost his parents Bruce Wayne attempts to complete what his father started but albeit in a different way. He becomes highly trained in both mind and body and fights criminals. Batman's life clings on his belief that the City could be reformed. Man finds purpose in what lies ahead of him. He finds reason in the people and the humanity which surrounds him. He derives meaning from being the city's Knight.
Joker conceives the world like no other. Logic and reason are imposed by an illusioned human mind in a chaotic world. The factors which govern a human life stem from seeds scattered like stars in the night sky - it does not make any sense either in its count or pattern. With human life being random and reason non-existent, factors like money, power, faith, and ethics dissolve in waves of laughter. The Joker sees the Gotham city as the origin of chaos and induces it further in every possible way. With life and death having no meaning, the Joker swims in psychotic waters and revels in killing people in cold blood.
When the scholarly Batman is pitted against the insane (or should I say saintly) Joker, art has no bounds. The beauty lies in the thin line which separates both perspectives. A city is an artificial entity. To ping hopes on saving a city and finding meaning from the activity sounds absurd enough. But a city dwarfs a human being in both time and space. Though it sounds absurd it does provide meaning and purpose to a man's life. It cannot be denied that 'Batman' is found in every human being where we find meaning and purpose in some perishable entity - finding meaning in absurdity.
Recognizing chaos in life is a saintly act. Though most of us see it in our lives we tend to ignore it as it shatters our core beliefs in the 'System'. The 'reason' is the foundation for being part of the system. Joker has to courage to appreciate it and enjoys in spreading the message. His acts of randomness to destabilize law and order is a product of his insane sanity. Though Joker sees the truth that there is no meaning and purpose it kills people and disrupts life - true meaning making life absurd.
When the two characters were sketched by Artists for the very first time it is quite doubtful whether they knew that these characters will become an epitome for one of the most unsolvable philosophical questions - the meaning and purpose to life. The different shades of the grey cast over Batman and the Joker is an interesting study in existentialism.
The tussle between Batman and the Joker is pitched in the city of Gotham. Though there were multiple adaptations and reinvented pasts for both characters in the Comics, 'The Killing Joke' is the closest which establishes that both the hero and the villain sprout from the same seed.
Bruce Wayne loses both his parents when he is eight years old. They succumb to the bullets of a robber when they return home after a movie. An unnamed chemical engineer loses his wife during childbirth. To add pain, in the same night he falls into a tank which processes deadly chemicals when aiding a robbery.
The boy who has lost his parents struggles hard to cope up with that trauma in spite of being one of the wealthiest persons in the world. The angst against crime fuels his rage to train harder and fight crime in his city as a Vigilante becoming Batman. Though he injures criminals he does not kill them. The 'No Kill' rule is the foundation for Batman's actions.
The chemical engineer faces harsh effects on both his body and mind after falling into the processing plant. When he wakes up from the sewage the burns drive him mad. Having lost his wife he divorces reason and chooses to believe that life's beauty lies in chaos. The man descends into a pit and discovers that to believe that reason and logic drive the world is a big practical joke. The joke puts an everlasting smile creating the Joker.
Both the characters are born out of trauma. They become completely different personalities based on their choices. Batman's father struggled hard to emancipate the poor living in the city. Having lost his parents Bruce Wayne attempts to complete what his father started but albeit in a different way. He becomes highly trained in both mind and body and fights criminals. Batman's life clings on his belief that the City could be reformed. Man finds purpose in what lies ahead of him. He finds reason in the people and the humanity which surrounds him. He derives meaning from being the city's Knight.
Joker conceives the world like no other. Logic and reason are imposed by an illusioned human mind in a chaotic world. The factors which govern a human life stem from seeds scattered like stars in the night sky - it does not make any sense either in its count or pattern. With human life being random and reason non-existent, factors like money, power, faith, and ethics dissolve in waves of laughter. The Joker sees the Gotham city as the origin of chaos and induces it further in every possible way. With life and death having no meaning, the Joker swims in psychotic waters and revels in killing people in cold blood.
When the scholarly Batman is pitted against the insane (or should I say saintly) Joker, art has no bounds. The beauty lies in the thin line which separates both perspectives. A city is an artificial entity. To ping hopes on saving a city and finding meaning from the activity sounds absurd enough. But a city dwarfs a human being in both time and space. Though it sounds absurd it does provide meaning and purpose to a man's life. It cannot be denied that 'Batman' is found in every human being where we find meaning and purpose in some perishable entity - finding meaning in absurdity.
Recognizing chaos in life is a saintly act. Though most of us see it in our lives we tend to ignore it as it shatters our core beliefs in the 'System'. The 'reason' is the foundation for being part of the system. Joker has to courage to appreciate it and enjoys in spreading the message. His acts of randomness to destabilize law and order is a product of his insane sanity. Though Joker sees the truth that there is no meaning and purpose it kills people and disrupts life - true meaning making life absurd.
In the movie 'Unbreakable', the antagonist makes a statement that the hero and the villain are made from the same material. Batman and Joker are born of the same womb but live worlds apart. They are two sides of the same coin and one is meaningless without the other.
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