Historically the normative idea of a “good life” has dominated in most of human political philosophy. The conception of the normative idea has manifested itself either into a demand for a central authority to regulate human activity or a demand for human beings to be given complete liberty over their lives. Modern political theory has therefore seen a conflict between these two divergent schools of thought or between authority and liberty. In fact this conflict has manifested itself in the Batman comics where while the protagonist, the Batman represents authority, the main antagonist, the Joker represents anarchy or in other words complete liberty.
Essentially the authoritarian approach manifested itself into the conception of a State which basically is an institution legitimately authorized to use force to ensure order in society or in other words to ensure safety of human beings. The Batman in the Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore symbolizes the modern State as he fights a battle to ensure order and safety. While the Joker symbolizes the after effects of the repercussions of the State machinery which relies on the use of force. Essentially Batman symbolizes the hierarchical capitalist structure while the Joker challenges it. In the Killing Joke, the major motivation of the Joker is to show that ultimately authority is temporary as men rebel against the State in times of hardship which he symbolizes as “one bad day”. The Joker in the comic book symbolizes the idea of adventure as an attempt to change the existing dysfunctional system into a better one or in other words to go beyond the State and its repressive apparatus. While Batman when attempting to ensure order in Gotham city becomes an instrument of the repressive State machinery which creates the Joker as one of the byproducts of the State’s attempt to ensure safety. Therefore the Joker develops an apathy towards the State and its commitment to safety which is actually an apparatus to control the lives of human beings to further the interests of the powerful in the hierarchical system.
In fact therefore a constant tension exists between safety and adventure which manifests itself through the conflict between the Batman and the Joker. In fact the hierarchical authority as shown in the Killing Joke can be explained through the idea present in Animal Farm where the author, George Orwell writes, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” Essentially through this idea Orwell criticizes the basic structure of any modern State which attempts to ensure order and security through the use of repression and force and justifies it in the name of equality but actually remains inherently inegalitarian and hierarchical whereby power accumulates in the hands of the few who use it to oppress the masses, regardless of the ideology of the State because in Orwell’s eyes in fact the post-revolutionary State is actually more authoritarian and tyrannical than the pre-revolutionary State and therefore a revolution cannot succeed if it only changes one State into another. Therefore adventure according to the Joker is something more radical from the normal idea of a revolution against the State in order to create a better State. It is in fact a revolution against the very existence of a State or any other central authority which can legitimately use force to ensure order and therefore the creation of a state of perfect anarchy where the liberty of the individual is supreme is visualized.
Safety according to the Joker is basically the acceptance of a system that “makes men die” to serve the interests of the few in power whose nature according to Chaplin is,
“men who despise you- enslave you- who regiment your lives- tell you what to do- what to think and what to feel! Who drill you- diet you- treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder.”
Similarly just like the Jewish barber from the Great Dictator the Joker also refuses to conform to the tyranny of the few.
In fact the tension between safety and adventure is also visually showcased beautifully in the deluxe edition of the Killing Joke where Brian Bolland replaces John Higgins as the colourist. He uses more dark colours as opposed to the original light colouring to give a more dark and grim feeling. Essentially the visualization of the Joker as a bleached skin maniac symbolizes his chosen otherness from the human society while the Batman is visualized as a symbol of authority chosen to eradicate the non-conforming. The visual story builds tension through the creation of the Batman and the Joker as compliments of each other as the authority creates its enemies through its own actions. The Joker is visually depicted as the symbol of anarchy who actually through his cruelty wants to show the futility of authority in human life. In fact the visual story communicates this eternal battle between authority and anarchy.
In the final part the Joker cracks a joke which is,
“See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum….
… and one night, one night they decide they don’t like living in an asylum anymore. They decide they are going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moonlight….
Stretching away to freedom. Now the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend daredn’t make the leap. Y’see….
Y’see, he’s afraid of falling. So then the first guy has an idea…
He say ‘Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I’ll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!’ B-but the second guy just shakes his head. He suh-says….
he says ‘Wh-what do you think I am? Crazy? You’d turn it off when I was halfway across!’”
Basically through this joke the Joker conveys the idea that his creation and existence is actually a result of Batman’s own actions or in other words the idea that the sole reason for the creation of the enemies of the State is the State itself and its repressive machinery crusading to ensure safety through the normative idea of a “good life” but actually striving to control the freedoms of human beings. In the climax, the visual images portray the idea that the Batman has killed the Joker by breaking his neck. The end is symbolic in a larger context as it essentially shows that there are no limits of State brutality in order to destroy anarchy and liberty and control the lives of its citizens.
Trough the comic book, Alan Moore uses the idea of the conflict between the Batman and the Joker to chronicle the eternal conflict between safety and adventure and between authority and anarchy as well as showcase the destructive capabilities of the repressive State machinery.
Essentially the authoritarian approach manifested itself into the conception of a State which basically is an institution legitimately authorized to use force to ensure order in society or in other words to ensure safety of human beings. The Batman in the Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore symbolizes the modern State as he fights a battle to ensure order and safety. While the Joker symbolizes the after effects of the repercussions of the State machinery which relies on the use of force. Essentially Batman symbolizes the hierarchical capitalist structure while the Joker challenges it. In the Killing Joke, the major motivation of the Joker is to show that ultimately authority is temporary as men rebel against the State in times of hardship which he symbolizes as “one bad day”. The Joker in the comic book symbolizes the idea of adventure as an attempt to change the existing dysfunctional system into a better one or in other words to go beyond the State and its repressive apparatus. While Batman when attempting to ensure order in Gotham city becomes an instrument of the repressive State machinery which creates the Joker as one of the byproducts of the State’s attempt to ensure safety. Therefore the Joker develops an apathy towards the State and its commitment to safety which is actually an apparatus to control the lives of human beings to further the interests of the powerful in the hierarchical system.
In fact therefore a constant tension exists between safety and adventure which manifests itself through the conflict between the Batman and the Joker. In fact the hierarchical authority as shown in the Killing Joke can be explained through the idea present in Animal Farm where the author, George Orwell writes, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” Essentially through this idea Orwell criticizes the basic structure of any modern State which attempts to ensure order and security through the use of repression and force and justifies it in the name of equality but actually remains inherently inegalitarian and hierarchical whereby power accumulates in the hands of the few who use it to oppress the masses, regardless of the ideology of the State because in Orwell’s eyes in fact the post-revolutionary State is actually more authoritarian and tyrannical than the pre-revolutionary State and therefore a revolution cannot succeed if it only changes one State into another. Therefore adventure according to the Joker is something more radical from the normal idea of a revolution against the State in order to create a better State. It is in fact a revolution against the very existence of a State or any other central authority which can legitimately use force to ensure order and therefore the creation of a state of perfect anarchy where the liberty of the individual is supreme is visualized.
Safety according to the Joker is basically the acceptance of a system that “makes men die” to serve the interests of the few in power whose nature according to Chaplin is,
“men who despise you- enslave you- who regiment your lives- tell you what to do- what to think and what to feel! Who drill you- diet you- treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder.”
Similarly just like the Jewish barber from the Great Dictator the Joker also refuses to conform to the tyranny of the few.
(Source: Wikipedia)
In fact the tension between safety and adventure is also visually showcased beautifully in the deluxe edition of the Killing Joke where Brian Bolland replaces John Higgins as the colourist. He uses more dark colours as opposed to the original light colouring to give a more dark and grim feeling. Essentially the visualization of the Joker as a bleached skin maniac symbolizes his chosen otherness from the human society while the Batman is visualized as a symbol of authority chosen to eradicate the non-conforming. The visual story builds tension through the creation of the Batman and the Joker as compliments of each other as the authority creates its enemies through its own actions. The Joker is visually depicted as the symbol of anarchy who actually through his cruelty wants to show the futility of authority in human life. In fact the visual story communicates this eternal battle between authority and anarchy.
In the final part the Joker cracks a joke which is,
“See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum….
… and one night, one night they decide they don’t like living in an asylum anymore. They decide they are going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moonlight….
Stretching away to freedom. Now the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend daredn’t make the leap. Y’see….
Y’see, he’s afraid of falling. So then the first guy has an idea…
He say ‘Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I’ll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!’ B-but the second guy just shakes his head. He suh-says….
he says ‘Wh-what do you think I am? Crazy? You’d turn it off when I was halfway across!’”
Basically through this joke the Joker conveys the idea that his creation and existence is actually a result of Batman’s own actions or in other words the idea that the sole reason for the creation of the enemies of the State is the State itself and its repressive machinery crusading to ensure safety through the normative idea of a “good life” but actually striving to control the freedoms of human beings. In the climax, the visual images portray the idea that the Batman has killed the Joker by breaking his neck. The end is symbolic in a larger context as it essentially shows that there are no limits of State brutality in order to destroy anarchy and liberty and control the lives of its citizens.
Trough the comic book, Alan Moore uses the idea of the conflict between the Batman and the Joker to chronicle the eternal conflict between safety and adventure and between authority and anarchy as well as showcase the destructive capabilities of the repressive State machinery.
[1]
Alan Moore, BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE,
THE DELUXE EDITION, DC Comics: New York, NY.
[2]
George Orwell, Animal Farm, Rupa
Publications: New Delhi, 2010: 109.
[3]
Charles Spencer Chaplin, The Great
Dictator (1940; Los Angeles, CA: The Criterion Collection, 2011), DVD.
[4]Ibid.
[5]
Moore, BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE.
About the author - Dhritiman Banerjee is an undergraduate student pursuing a major in Political Science at Jadavpur University. His interest areas are many, ranging from Security Studies to comic books!
2 Comments
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