Joker = Opening Sequence Flashcards
1
Q
Cinematography =
A
- Begins with a lingering dolly zoom getting closer to Arthur
- The close up shot of Arthur forcing his smile while a tear rolls down his face covered in clown makeup
- The angle of Arthur getting beaten up is at a high slanted angle to appear as if out of a graphic novel
2
Q
Mise en Scene =
A
- He is isolated from the other clowns in the room sat alone in the corner, trying to force a fake smile
- The city which looks to be colourless and deprived
- The set design of the alley is covered in garbage which signifies the turmoil of a society that he lives in
3
Q
Editing =
A
- Title written over the screen in a bold and large yellow covering as he lays helplessly on the floor
4
Q
Performance =
A
- Arthur spinning the sign suggests he is in an working class job
- Spectator feel uncomfortable when watching this painfully forced smile
- Arthur lying on the ground depicts his loneliness but represents him as a true joker, he presses his flower while laying helplessly on the ground to represent him as a joker
5
Q
Sound =
A
- Diegetic sound of the radio talking about how the city is turning to turmoil, emphasizing the divide of working class and upper class when saying even the nicest areas are turning to slums
- Contrasted to upbeat music of the city which looks to be colorless and deprived
- Hildur Guonadottir melancholy score as Joker lays beaten up
- Diegetic sound of beeping and shouting
6
Q
Ideology =
A
- There is multiple references to them suggesting how the rubbish affects everyone suggesting that previously the upper class are protected in their areas, this suggests that Arthur only acts as a catalyst to what would occur
7
Q
Critical Approach =
A
- Boys then steal Arthur’s sign which relates to the false class consciousness, instead of rebelling to the people who are at fault, they turn on each other (Marxism)
- Gotham is dirty and filled with garbage and unemployment, this symbolises how broken the system is
- Arthur is a low paid clown who is abused by the punlic and dismissed by the systems meant to support him. Arthur expierences the violence of poverty and neglect
- A post colonial lens can be applied to explore how Arthur is excluded from society and how dominant groups justify the otherness to justify oppression. Arthur is mentally ill, poor and emotionally vulnerable
- Elite people are able to maintain control and its injabitants are forgotten about
- Arthur is dismissed by therapists and mocked by society so his journey to becoming Joker can be seen as reclaiming agency in a violent way
8
Q
Spectatorship =
A
- We as the spectator we are watching him in his vulnerable moment as a fragile and isolated man. Arthur performs in front of the mirror trying to create the image people expect of him but the tear breaks this illusion
- His suffering then becomes a public performance where society watch and ignore his suffering
