#joker origin

[gothamscourtjester]

I am a Jack Napier truther.

I love the idea of this pathetic wet cat of a man getting booed and ACTUALLY TOMATOED off stage EVERY NIGHT at a comedy club because he sucks at jokes so bad

And he gets mixed up in some funny business and falls into a vat of chemicals, comes home to his wife, and is all hey honey its me but there is something wrong with him and he’s gay now

They put chemicals in the water that turned Jack Napier gay.

[the-trouser-man]

Wee killing joke inspired comic!

(Wanted to play with the idea he got the red smile from the melting plastic of red hoods helmet)

[tombofligia]

I found another rabbit hole, shocker.

I started looking into the oldest scary clown movie. Admittedly I am either a true horror fan or a masochist as I have a pretty longstanding hatred of the scary clowns trope. So much, that I find some non scary clowns terrifying depending on their stance or face makeup. And yet, I have found myself in many a scenario almost in tears watching something clown related. Both IT interpretations, American Horror Story ( actually don’t know if Dandy or Twisty is worse), the Terrifier (only the first, as it’s name truly served its purpose), Killer Clowns from outer space etc.

My search led to a discussion on the oldest clown movie being somewhere between Lon chaney’s character in Laugh, Clown, Laugh or the Man Who Laughs. I’ve always seen pictures and been interested in the latter anyway, the movie cover chosen is pretty striking and has always made me curious.

So, here I am, watching the Man Who Laughs.

It’s described as a horror and listed as such but right at the beginning there is such an air of tragedy. The way the story allows us to see the layers of cruelty and sadness Gwynplaine experienced feels so ahead of its time. The images of a tortured boy being left behind by a ship to die as an outcast. The image of the boy itself is so hard to see. To be asked to imagine a child who’s survived having his face carved so heinously is in itself only one of the emotional hurdles of the movie. A quick fast forward we see the effects of the world’s beatings on Gwynplaine. He is shy, a seemingly unworthy contender in this human race who’s accepted the crumbs of a life as a freak. His value is even briefly compared to a 5 legged cow and like so many other with physical differences in the past. His only path led to the circus where his face laughs for money but his heart breaks for more than simple change and the fleeting acceptance of a crowd seeking out entertainment and not empathy for the man they see before them.

So many cinema themes are rampant, the most obvious being “Sock and Buskin”. The masks symbolize both the joy and sadness experienced in the theater as well as in life. Gwynplain has no choice but to wear the face of joy and laughter while his life has been a series of unspeakable tragedies. There’s a moving but quick moment where he’s staring at himself in the mirror, he’s hoping to see something different perhaps but as usual, nothing changes. He closes the mirror doors and there on the knobs, sit the two masks in question. Another instance comes later when Ursus claims the show must go on! We have this shot of the words “The Man Who Laughs” on the stage, as the performance is being introduced by a man who can’t help but to sob as he introduces the Dea’s stage appearance to a crowd of eager and unaware onlookers.

The theme of beauty being in the eye of the beholder is also something I think is important to in this movie. Dea is the only blind character and yet is gifted with the most sight and perspective. In her own words, she beautifully tells Gwynplaine that god has made her who she is so that she could be with, and see him for who he truly is. Nonetheless, he loves from afar as he feels anything closer is a union she doesn’t deserve. He doesn’t see the man she sees, just the clown. It’s unfortunate as she doesn’t appear to be the only one that loves him. Ursus clearly loves him the way he would his own son. He allows him to not only live with him but he roots for Gwynplaine and Dea’s happiness, as well as grieves at the loss of him, and the possibility of Gwynplaine’s fulfilling his need as heir in the form of husband for the beautiful but cruel Josiana. Finally, but certainly not least he is loved by Homo. The canine companion and protector of their little family. Homo feels like a commentary on the unconditional love that overflows in animals, and stops short in humans. Despite each members lowly place in this wretched society, Homo’s love for them is ever present. He goes through remarkable hurdles to bring his family back together, his most triumphant being his attack so that Gwynplaine could escape, and finally his swim to the ship so that he could go back to the life he so desperately fought to have back.

A lot of the film has Gwynplaine covering his mouth when it is not needed for performance or when he is around those judging eyes.He uses his hands and a cloth mask to cover his ever present gruesome expression. Despite this we lose no depth of emotion from this character. The weight of the entire performance mouth covered or not is on Conrad’s emotive eyebrows, the wrinkles tattooed on his forehead from years of torment, and his eyes that are always just brimming with sadness and tears. There’s this brief moment when before he finds his courage to address the court where he uses the cloth that normally covers his smile to cover his eyes. Like the way a boy closes his eyes to jump into the deep end. It summarizes in once glance that this although he physically grew up, a scared little boy has always been standing behind a mutilated mask. It’s so quick, but so poetic and only made more grand by the image of him standing there. His face voluntarily uncovered by himself being the only smile in a room full of frowning.

Maybe my own perceptions of government have leeched into this last thought but here we go. I think my favorite concept in this movie is the image of a clown. What is it? A person in hair and makeup, entertaining the masses? Is that then not the role of monarchs and their peanut gallery courts? Are they not painted, powdered and wigged figures that put on a show for the people around them? A show of power to those that fear them, and a show of their divine right to those that wish to be like them. Not only do they put on things like these carnivals and freak shows in the first place to keep the poor complacent and distracted; but on a more contrived note, is the pomp and circumstance of monarch’s and not just all show anyway? The stale image of a stuffy gallery full of people with nothing better to do than to sit in yards of frill and lace draped across their historically unhygienic bodies while a bored quartet plays as their background theme. I haven’t even begun to describe the performances of the women.

Or is a clown a strategic use of body language and facial expressions to earn a positive reaction out of people? One could argue that Duchess Josiana is then one of the best. I love seeing liberality in women, especially in something so far back as a German expressionist film. However the brazen display of her feminine wiles is very “put on” in front of men. She performs when they enter her space albeit clown, courtesan, or the peasants and drunkards at the fair. She darkens her light features with eye paint and lines her painfully sharp cupids bow with red lip paint to complete her character as a classless calibre of woman. A performance the queen has seen more than once and refuses to applaud. She couldn’t be more delighted to cage her restless bird in a marriage she would deem a punishment. Jokes on her, you’d be hard pressed to find a man for a husband like Gwynplaine.

A round of applause for Olga Baclanova whose deliberate take on malicious femme fatales never cease to make me loathe her. I’m always floored by the likeness between her and Madonna in her heyday. In you need to see more of her you’ll find an equally impressive and loathsome performance of hers in the movie Freaks, another movie ahead of its years.

This movie feels like a gateway to joker origin stories, call backs to the displays of love of the Hunchback of Notredame, Cicero, and maybe even Pinocchio. I was left with commentary on casting stones at glass houses dripping in cleverly disguised writing. I’m always surprised by how German expressionism or I guess just a good movie in general whips me into a verbal frenzy. Despite a beautiful display of acting on each actors part, the obvious star was always Conrad Veidt. His portrayal of an innocent man tortured by his permanent grin draws out the real clowns of society. Making Gwynplaine a clown that can’t be feared, but a man that is deserving of all the love in the world.

[awkughrd]

Done with the nice protagonist role,

Entering my Villain Era🖤😈

*sets 1 (one) boundary*

[madluv]

I love this one man

[jimforce]

NEW MOVIE CRAP

Featuring me talking about the Bojack season 4 trailer, Joker’s 2 Movies, Zootopia 2, and an Obi-Wan Spinoff

[anna-omens13]

Joker Origin: Who’s It Gonna Be??

I found out about the new Joker Origins movie in production last week and started doing some reading up on it, even watching a few  YouTube vids about what’s going on so far.

I am both excited and terrified about it! Heath Ledger was the greatest live action Joker of the modern age and after the, in my opinion (nobody has to follow me on this), crap performance by Jared Leto in Suicide Squad, it’s hard not to be worried about who’s going to be the next Clown Prince of Crime. I’ve heard rumors that Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio is the top pick so far; I know he’s one of the greatest actors of all time, even though I can honestly say that I’ve never seen any of his movies but still, his reputation says it all. I am fairly interested in seeing the possibilities if he really does end up playing Mr. J. He can bring all the aspects to the character that he’s infamous for; Jared Leto’s version was basically just weird and creepy, but seriously, we all know that Joker is so much more than just nuts: He’s charming, charismatic, intelligent, artistic, funny in the darkest AND lightest ways, invulnerable AND vulnerable, and just down right unpredictable! The greatest villain in the DC Universe and the greatest enemy to the Dark Knight and Gotham City as a whole; not just anyone can play him!!!

Here’s an idea that I’d be ecstatic to hear come true or even if it doesn’t, it’s just a though I wanted to share, I’m just crazy about it: Give the role to Cameron Monaghan!! Even if Jerome doesn’t turn out to be Gotham’s young Joker, which by the way would be a tragedy and completely stupid on the show’s part, the actor has brought so many qualities to the character that we all know and love, note the list I gave in the previous paragraph! It would be an amazing opportunity for him AND we’d get to see him be that genuine green haired, white skinned, purple suited, and red smiled Joker we all love so damn much!!

Only time will tell; let’s hope it’s a great future for our Clown Prince of Crime!! <3

[madluv]

seriously oh my goooood!!!!!! Like I am so excited for this movie !!! I just think joaquin phoenix is the perfect choice for this role. In all other things I've seen him in he plays unbalanced, quirky, weird, odd, sadist and unsavoury characters with such a depth and understanding that I might be looking at my FAVOURITE LIVE ACTION JOKER EVER we just don't know it yet !!!!!! and just the character designs -- the TONE -- the music, the scenes, all the little details we've seen so far as just proving to show how eager they are to create a captivating story with a character that is so often simplified. that they wanna CHARACTER STUDY, something compelling , something CLEARLY in the vein of the killing joke. that they want to be truthful to the character. finally do the character some JUSTICE in storytelling

omg don't mind me I'm just losing my mind about this I'm in LOVE let that be known RIGHT NOW