02/12: The Clown Prince of Crime and The Nazis
Category: Rants
Posted by: daveexiter
Ok, so we’ve got some new promo pics for Dark Knight.
I think I figured it out. I think I figured out why I don’t like the direction the Joker is going. Follow me here for a minute, ok?
In college, I took a class on the Holocaust, and toward the end of the semester we had a holocaust survivor come in and speak to us. (This is going somewhere, I promise) When we were able to ask questions, I was the first to raise my hand and I asked what Nazis were REALLY like, because all I have is the completely over the top EVIL incarnations I see in movies and TV. He said they were “clean”. He said that was what was the scariest thing about them. That they were “clean”. He said that it boggled the mind that they could commit such atrocities and still care about a pressed suit. It made sense, because how do you carry out something so terrible unless you are organized, unless you command attention with your care and delicacy?
And it hit me that I have the same opinion of the Joker. Sure, he’s bat shit crazy (pun completely intended), but part of the terror is the fact that he looks like he combed his hair for an hour and shined his shoes (sorry Daf, the dusty shoes don't jump out at me anymore) before he decided to go out and kill. It’s never spoken about, I don’t think. Joker doesn’t dwell on the niceties, but they are there. My favorite Joker has posture, poise, comfort, and is almost stoic. That way he has a place to GO when he wants to flip out.
Right now Heath Ledger looks like a celebrity mug shot. His hair, his makeup... it’s just chaotic. Not a fan. If all these shots reflect what he's going to look like after getting a fistfull of Batman at the end of the movie, fine, but if my introduction to Joker is THIS, I'm going to probably have a furrowed brow for most the film.
I think I figured it out. I think I figured out why I don’t like the direction the Joker is going. Follow me here for a minute, ok?
In college, I took a class on the Holocaust, and toward the end of the semester we had a holocaust survivor come in and speak to us. (This is going somewhere, I promise) When we were able to ask questions, I was the first to raise my hand and I asked what Nazis were REALLY like, because all I have is the completely over the top EVIL incarnations I see in movies and TV. He said they were “clean”. He said that was what was the scariest thing about them. That they were “clean”. He said that it boggled the mind that they could commit such atrocities and still care about a pressed suit. It made sense, because how do you carry out something so terrible unless you are organized, unless you command attention with your care and delicacy?
And it hit me that I have the same opinion of the Joker. Sure, he’s bat shit crazy (pun completely intended), but part of the terror is the fact that he looks like he combed his hair for an hour and shined his shoes (sorry Daf, the dusty shoes don't jump out at me anymore) before he decided to go out and kill. It’s never spoken about, I don’t think. Joker doesn’t dwell on the niceties, but they are there. My favorite Joker has posture, poise, comfort, and is almost stoic. That way he has a place to GO when he wants to flip out.
Right now Heath Ledger looks like a celebrity mug shot. His hair, his makeup... it’s just chaotic. Not a fan. If all these shots reflect what he's going to look like after getting a fistfull of Batman at the end of the movie, fine, but if my introduction to Joker is THIS, I'm going to probably have a furrowed brow for most the film.
