Moving Pictures constantly compare filmmaking with language. Each shot in a film is a single letter. A scene made of multiple shots, a scene is a sentence. An act is a paraphrase, A movie is an essay. “Just as linguistic meaning is built up from a set sequence of words, phrases, and sentences, cinematic meaning is built up from a sequence of shots and scenes.” (Sharman 165). One of Joker’s most famous scenes is essentially a single shot, Joker shooting Murray. Murray having Arthur Fleck on his show is a single set-piece, And a single shot could have been satisfactory for that scene. Joker is broken up into three chunks, Set up, Descent, and Madness. The setup is showing the whole Arthur lives in, the Descent is the world further beating down on Arthur, and Madness is Arthur turning in the Joker, white face paint, green hair, and red suit.
A good story usually follows a very simple recipe “1 protagonist. 1 goal. A whole bunch of obstacles.” (Sharman 100). But what Joker does is unconventional, Arthur Fleck never reaches that goal. The goal is being accepted by society, which is represented by Arthur struggling to climb a large set of stairs, constantly shown throughout the film. But Arthur Fleck never reaches the top of those stairs. After Arthur Fleck becomes the Joker, He is shown at the top of the stairs dancing all the way down, a metaphor for his descent into madness and chaos. The bunch of obstacles that Arthur Fleck faces is the society and environment around him. People beat him up for no reason, his mother doesn’t love him, his mental health care loses support, and his idle Franklin Murray public makes fun of him. All Arthur Fleck wanted to do in life is make people laugh, and all everyone did was laugh at him, not with him, at him
“Narrative structure may be a critical component of cinematic language, but ultimately, the structure is another word for the plot, and we don’t go to the movies to root for plots, we root for people.” (Sharman 106). The difference between a plot and a story is that a plot is what is currently happening in the media. A plot is a movie, the story is the timeline. If event “2” in the timeline happens first in the film, that’s because of how the film was plotted. When a film goes in chronological order, the plot and story are nearly the same. Joker is in chronological order so the distinction between plot and story is slim to none. The movie does not hold back its information, it directly shows you the kind of hell that Arthur Fleck has both been through and currently lives in. When critics talk about Joker’s story it is usually about how it mirror’s our own society’s look at mental health.
This film is a story, a story of a man and his descent into madness that the society around him cultivated. This story is also kind of a poem, a cautionary tale poem about the effects that the lack of support people facing mental health can lead to. The scene with Arthur Fleck climbing the stairs, only for Joker to strut down the stairs around the end of the film is just the kind of metaphor that poems have. The colors of the film are quite dark and mudded, almost lacking expression. But this doesn’t follow Arthur Fleck and Joker. His face paint is white, his hair is bright green, and his suit a strong red. It contrasts with the moody colors of the world around Arthur.
Hi, Beck. I personally love Joker 2019 a lot. One of the best movies that DC has made in these years. I looked into your post and found a lot details that I did not find before. Your post has a significant amount of explanation on the plots to tell your audience what was going on with the movie. Which is perfect I think. I think maybe add a little more on the personal view. How can you connect the movie with oneself or the society we are living in. For instance, public care to the disabled people or minority group. In conclusion, fantastic post. I have a lot to learn
Hi, Beck. I personally love Joker 2019 a lot. One of the best movies that DC has made in these years. I looked into your post and found a lot details that I did not find before. Your post has a significant amount of explanation on the plots to tell your audience what was going on with the movie. Which is perfect I think. I think maybe add a little more on the personal view. How can you connect the movie with oneself or the society we are living in. For instance, public care to the disabled people or minority group.
Hello beck, Joker is a fantastic film that exposes the truth of society. First off I notice quotes to the book but not a proper citation at the bottom. I would include a citation as it is considered plagiarism. I would have more thorough essay with transitional sentences from paragraph to paragraph. Great explanation of the scene that sticks out most to you of Joker shooting Murray. It has a huge impact on the viewer as it is shocking and shows the self-destruction of the Joker. In the last paragraph, “descent into madness that the society around him cultivated” should show how the dark scenes of the film show the darkness and sadness of mental illness on an individual such as the joker.