"If you want people to honor the social contract they have to benefit from it at least a little, don't they?" That's a brilliant quote.

The panic and pearl clutching before this movie was really weird to say the least. Honestly, it felt like the media WANTED violence.

some of your videos are criminally slept on

one of my favorite video essays! really fucking good job

Sure seems like the moment Arthur crawls into the fridge (with an old school locking door mind you), is the moment things start turning around and he becomes the Joker. Always wondered if Arthur offed himself and the last half is something akin to the afterlife...

"doesn't excuse but explains" ..pretty universal and that's why I've watched 3 times so far

"If you want people to honor the social contract, they have to benefit from it, at least a little; don't they?" Indeed. In legal circles, this is called 'consideration' and a contract is void and invalid without it.

I like that you used the bathroom dance track...my fave piece of music from the movie....and such a good point about the Oscars elite benefiting from scenes of the gen pop struggle

JOKER WAS ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF 2019!

Yes! The gun is almost its own character! I really loved that. I think most people (especially Americans) have a serious under-appreciation for how destructive a gun can be.

"the worst part about being mentally ill is that everyone expects you to act like you're not" is still the realest shit i ever heard

I think if there’s anything that this movie teaches us is to be kind to those who are different or that are struggling because all it might take is “one bad day”

Thats why the Joker usually has the traits of a violent self entertaining psychopath. You cant cure a psychopath, you cant teach them to feel empathy.

Thank you very well broken down.

It's the complete opposite. It shows that people are vulnerable and going through so much of their own problems and demons. If anything it shows us to be kind to everybody, because a small act of kindness could help them from the edge of a breakdown.

I liked it. I mean, I haven't watched any of the new MCU movies, I think the last superhero film I saw was Dark Knight Rises. I only watched Joker once but I'd happily watch it again. I know I'm babbling but comments are engagement etc.

If you keep talking spicy like this, THEM PEOPLE GONE COME GET YOU. Chill Out 🤣. Your combination of intelligence and self awareness is chef's kiss good sir. Thank you!

Subscribing. Great production values, good essay.

Your videos are great new sub

My dad had a bootleg link lmaooo

Finally someone who actually gave Joker a chance. I have seen so many youtube essayists just outright dismiss it and point blank say "Its about nothing. There is nothing to say about it", or "Its wide as ocean but deep as a puddle". I love both Joker and Parasite and I think they are the 2 best movies of 2019, and I am quite frankly sick how only one is being accepted by the internet as this great message of how capitalism fucks the poor, while the other is thrown in the trashcan as if it ALSO doesnt have the same message. Overall, great video

I really enjoyed this, but got extremely distracted when you referenced 'Charlie Chaplin' singing "smile," when I could swear I am hearing Jimmy Durante singing in the background... I am not sure that I recall Charlie Chaplin being a singer at all, whereas it seems to me that I can recall that "Smile" was a Jimmy Durante classic... I could be wrong. I haven't looked it up to be sure; but I think that may be a mistake.

6:48 people with neurodivergence especially autism often like to be small cramped spaces because it makes them feel like the loud chaotic world around them is blocked out at least for a moment. such people will oftentimes go into closets for a sense of relief

Where did the money go for health? Industrial military complex. Why poor/rich? Because you can only have rich if you have poor. Brilliant and striking analysis. Thank you.

Brilliant, man

Um... That's not the same Doctor.

Its not really fair to compare Joker and Parasites societal impact based on the costumes is it? What specific recognizable costume was in Parasite? Parasite is a one off movie joker is a character that's been popular for 50 years. People also used Squid Game imagery to protest because it is very iconic and immediately recognizable.

I really think you would enjoy some Ikuhara Anime, Utena, Penguindrum, YuriKuma and Sarazanmai all touch on the same themes you seem to like. Just with a different aesthetic then gory realism.

My man! This is some seriously great shit. Your channel deserves so much more attention! Keep up the good work!

That's the joke...

el kali iuga

24:28 bruh that’s a different therapist, low key racist

What did the bill burr slide say? I couldn’t get a frame

There is also the aspect of people mapping their own political beliefs onto random acts of violence When Arthur kills the Wall Street guys he has no motivation other than they’ve hurt him, but remember he was only given the gun after he was attacked by a group of poor black teenagers. Imagine for a moment that those two assaults happened in reverse so he had the gun when the black teenagers attacked him. Arthur is riding a wave to ‘fame, Fortune, and power’ he’s willing to be seen as the voice of the downtrodden proletariat but in the alternate universe where he had the gun when the black teens assaulted him he would be just as willing to be the symbol of some racist ultra-right wing ‘taking it back from degeneracy’ movement. The ideology is trivial to him as long as he gets to be on top which to me seems more like fascism than anyone else in the story

Scorsese was right

@1:28 The fact that you felt you had to put a disclaimer in for your “Salami” comment kinda proves the existence of the “Woke Movement”.

I definitely did not identify with this film for all the wrong reasons and definitely did Not DID NOT....completely ignore the context and even the parts where he said he had nothing to do with anti capitalism or pro worker sentiments and just completely personalized this whole thing

wow you crush. thanks

JOKER WAS GOOD!!!!!!!!!

Really like the videos and analysis. Agree with your analysis but still didn't like the movie that much. Feel like the movie spelled out its message to the audience specially in the part where he was telling the last joke on the show. Like the movie spends its entirety showing us "What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society who abandons him and treats him like trash?" and then for the joker to say it out loud, feels cheap, like we wouldn't get the message otherwise.

I loved this movie. Joker was my hero when I left the theater

This is why I respect Batman as a character and is my favorite DC hero. The man had the worst thing happen to him as a kid, and depending on what universe he is in or what writer is handling him, he could easily become the Batman who laughs at any turn with all the madness around him, yet he stays true to his promise of never killing criminals and does legit try to help them. Sadly though, Batman is in a horrible cycle of never ending violence in Gotham and can’t save it no matter how hard he tries, but he never gives up. He keeps on fighting though, and keeps at it.

The left and right align more than you might think

Representative equality in works of fantasy is a fools errand. The burden lies with the objectifier not the work. But I liked your video.

I love this video. That said, I think the movie was completely horrible because it was unreal and unconvincing by choice of bad acting by almost every side character (including deniro) and the scenes themselves (regardless of their tasteful and almost asmr like quality) felt like a push or shove delibrately in a direction that I couldn't relate to or even appreciate from a character perspective because his character is a human being I would completely disregard. As someone with several mental and physical illness, I don't feel his character represents actual mental illness for its scope whatsoever. I felt like the movie itself did exactly what you said his character in the fridge scene represents: a shallow use of a mentally ill character to drive a point. And to use Joker to do that was also deliberate. They could have made 2 separate movies by choice of integrity that would have been more effective in my opinion: an original movie cutting all the pointless ties to Batman and replacing all of that with believable mental illness and acting, and an actual movie about the batman character and how mental illness, etc can be used to make his origin story more interesting (rather than being a mock social-commentary on a handful of shallowly observed behaviors). I made a meme video reviewing this on a new series I'm calling Last Critic Standing (it's not series like this whatsoever). I'm also doing a top 9 series. I'd be really interested in maybe working with you on one of those on the off chance we can agree on a movie we love or hate. However the critic one is strictly humorous, so maybe you'll find a breath of fresh air there from what you're used to writing for these videos. Regardless, love the videos.

THE WOKE MOVEMENT

You seem a little indifferent to violent revolution. Perhaps even supportive?

It all sounds good, and I respect your work, but you liberals always and forever leave out the most important reason behind criminals. Choice. We have choices. Im not coming from a sheltered place. Im black, my mom was abusive, my dad was a crackhead. I had EVERY reason to fail. I CHOSE not to. Aurther Fleck's story is sad, for sure. But his experience did not touch his eternal possession, choice. The environment did NOT make Aurthur Fleck. Aurthur Fleck made Aurthur Fleck, through choice. He chose to become the Joker. Stop acting like criminals are the victim.

Wow you made fun of trump how original