Joker and Film Theory

This year I used Joker as an example of introducing film theory and wanted to share.

A few things to note:

Theory is hard. It requires you to read and re-read. It is not ready-made. But don't be overwhelmed. It takes time to learn the terminology. But it is a rewarding process.

Theory is not "good" or "bad" criticism. That's for movie reviewers, or what is known as evaluative criticism. I LOVE Siskel and Ebert, but no thumbs-up or thumbs-down when writing theoretically about film. You want to write critically which involves theory...

What insights does Joker offer for film theory?

Auteur Theory: Todd Phillips is probably not someone we think of as an auteur (evaluative). The Hangover movies or Old School did not garner Academy Award nominations.

 

But good and bad taste is not relevant here. As long as the director has a body of work, you can conduct an auteur analysis. 

 

You can also write about unconscious themes of a director's work - that is, themes the director did not know were showing up throughout their films. 

 

But this also raises an important point about writing theory. Rhetoric. Can you persuade me that Phillips is an auteur?

 

Genre: We all know genres. Joker not only challenges our expectations of the superhero genre, but even those who have played the Joker. 

 

 

Why does Joker challenge our expectations?

 

For one, the film is a slow burn, moving toward Arthur Fleck's transformation. Fleck is also an unreliable narrator, something we often don't see in superhero movies.

 

Could Joker impact future movies the way Pulp Fiction did in 1994? 

 

 

 

Genre theory often investigates how genres develop over time. Rick Altman's semantic/syntactic approach is key to explaining this. 

 

 

Altman's analysis moves away from bad and good judgement, and points us toward the evolution of genres, looking at how a film articulates the traits of a given genre and the deeper meanings it can convey. The two are interconnected.

As time passes, we may look back at Joker and other superhero films and try to understand why they were so popular with audiences.

Art Cinema and Narrative Theory: Joker shares many traits of art house cinema, such as ambiguity, loose narrative cause and effect, and digressions. 

 

To understand art house cinema traits, we have to weigh them against classical narrative, which often entails strict cause and effect, little or no ambiguity, and closure. See David Bordwell's article "The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice.

 

Joker is not a strict cause and effect narrative, as the entire film is told through Fleck's perspective. It has digressions, such as the bathroom dance sequence and Fleck dancing down the steps. 

 

 

Joker has ambiguity. Early in the film we think Arthur is dating Sophie. But this is not true, because there is little indication we are inside of Arthur’s mind. It is not surprising that Joker has been compared to Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver.

 

 

Semiotics: The study of signs. A key component of semiotics is inventorying signs—looking for patterns in a movie. A key theorist is Roland Barthes. His work draws our attention to a film's literal and figurative meanings.

 

Consider Arthur's dance down the stairs. There are multiple meanings. It is not only literally him going up and down, but a sign of his transformation.

 

 

At the start of the film he lumbers up the stairs after he is fired as a clown. On his way to Murray's talk show, toward the end of the film, he dances down the stairs, going into full Joker mode.

 

Realism and Formalism: One of the central questions early film theory took up was whether cinema has an essence. That is, is there something inherently significant about movies.

 

Andre Bazin argues it is cinematic space (mise-en-scene) that is significant to cinema. He loved movies that allow you to look within the frame, movies that try to mimic the structures of reality. Long takes and deep focus photography are techniques he championed in cinema.

 

Joker shares certain aspects of Bazanian realism, particularly its emphasis on the grittiness of the city. In many ways, the grittiness of the film captures Arthur's uncertain state of mind.

 

 

These are just some examples of how Joker can be a good way to begin film theory. I also recommend Kevin McDonald's excellent book.

 

 

The Seventh Seal and Ingmar Bergman

When I first taught world cinema, I knew I wanted to assign Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957). But when the time came to put my lecture together, I was surprised by how difficult this film was to teach. After finding some very good articles (see below), I found teaching this classic film by one of my favorite directors to be very rewarding.

 

Strangely, this past winter I taught The Seventh Seal right before Covid-19. It was also around the same time Max Von Sydow passed away - one of the stars of the film. Even before Covid, I would offer guiding questions to consider current films or television shows involving a plague or dystopia setting. Before I get to that, here are some points I addressed in the film. This lecture was structured from Birgitta Steene's and Marilyn Johns Blackwell's writings on the film.

Interior Landscape 

Bergman’s films often focus on an interior landscape, a reflection of a state of mind. Here we can see the impact of German Expressionism. Think of the expressive settings of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and how they embody the dark psyche of Cesare and Dr. Caligari.

 

Likewise, expressionism informs The Seventh Seal when the Knight is tormented by his own doubts. Bergman captures the Knight's interior through the harsh, rigid, and Gothic landscape that opens the film when he encounters Death.

Compare the film's opening to Jof, the traveling performer, who has a vision of The Virgin Mary. Here the angelic and serene landscape is much different from the dark and ominous opening of Death's arrival on the beach. Both scenes demonstrate Bergman's expressive use of mise-en-scene in capturing an interior landscape.

 

Art Cinema

The Seventh Seal is a classic example of European art house cinema, demonstrated by its loosely structured narrative and bleak ending. It is a film that intellectually challenges us. The film is not a strictly goal orientated film. Rather it is structured by the reprieve Death offers the Knight. The looseness of the story allows Bergman to digress the narrative into some interesting moments, particularly the flagellation scene.

 

At the same time, Bergman’s journey narrative has a purpose. This is certainly the case for the Knight. There are random events, but they do lead to his self-confrontation in the form of death at the end of the film. See David Bordwell's article on art house cinema.

(Notice how the geometric patterns entrap the Knight, suggesting he cannot escape death.)

 

Philosophy

Existentialism is often discussed in the context of The Seventh Seal. As Steene writes, "The Seventh Seal is an allegory with a theme that is quite simple: man, his eternal search for God, with death as his only certainty" (62). And Blackwell notes, "A major impetus behind the international fascination with The Seventh Seal lay in the political climate of the mid-1950s (576)."

The Seventh Seal engages with the existential view that a human life is decided in the choice of action.  Relevant here is French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre’s notion that “existence precedes essence.” In other words, essence is not predetermined but manifested through our choices and actions. Here, Blackwell makes reference to social concerns of the late 1950s, particularly the threat of nuclear Armageddon. And we can see how the dark themes of Bergman’s film could grab hold of the viewer’s imagination during that time.

I build upon this point by having students think about what current shows and movies invoke dark or dystopia themes. Answers I often get are The Walking Dead  and The Handmaid's Tale. I often cite post 9/11 films such as Children of Men or Cloverfield.

 

 

The famous final image of The Seventh Seal is the dance of death, which is taking from a painting.

 

 

The painter in this scene is based on Albertus Pictor who was a famous medieval Swedish painter. His dance of death church wall painting of Death playing chess directly informs the opening and ending of the film.

 

 

The Seventh Seal is a complex film on many levels. It is expressionistic, it demonstrates the art cinema mode of filmmaking, it engages with philosophy and also speaks to its current moment in the late 1950s. 

 

 

Perhaps more importantly, The Seventh Seal is a personal film for Bergman who was working through his own demons. As Peter Cowie puts it: “Bergman is exorcising his own demons, his own dread of the eternal darkness, and to his surprise and delight this process has appealed to audiences in practically every corner of the world” (cited from the Criterion disc).

 

Here are some other books and movies to discuss in relation to The Seventh Seal:

The Stand by Stephen King. King talks about the energy crisis at the time he wrote the novel.

PD James's Children of Men. For the movie, I often bring up social concerns post 9/11. For the book, which was published in 1990, I think it is more relevant to AIDS.

 

Sources:

The Seventh Seal” from Ingmar Bergman by Birgitta Steene, pp.61–69

The Seventh Seal: Cinematic Form and Cultural Criticism” in Film Analysis (Second edition) by Marilyn Johns Blackwell, pp.574–592­

 

Top Ten Stephen King Books

For the past year, I've been reading a lot of Stephen King books. I've been a fan of King over the years. But I guess I recently got the King bug, especially after reading 'Salem's Lot last summer. To this day, I've read almost half of King's novels. There's still so much more to explore, given the amount of books, novellas, and short stories he has published over the years. But I thought it would be fun to list my ten favorite books thus far - no particular ranking.

Growing up as a GenX-er, the commercial for the uncut version of this book aired all the time on TV. This was the first book of his I read way back in 1996, and was taken by how much heart and melodrama it had, or what I describe as "horror with heart." It might also be the longest book I have ever read! But never a dull moment. Some of my favorite characters are Trashcan Man, Larry Underwood, and Nick Andros. I also loved Harold Emery Lauder, as tragic as he was.

Next to The Stand, I think 'Salem's Lot is one of King's best novels. There's so much to say about it. For one, the story takes some of the narrative structure from Bram Stoker's masterpiece. Of course, there is a number of scary and suspenseful moments. But what took me by surprise is the small town that King creates for the reader. Early in the book, King describes an entire day and doings of 'Salem's Lot. Knowing that something supernatural is about to take over this town made this section of the book so frightening. In certain ways, 'Salem's Lot is an invasion narrative.

First and foremost, the movie version is one my favorite films. The Shining was what made me go to film school. And like everyone else who loves the film, we all know that King was not a fan of Kubrick's version. I read the book way later in my life, mainly because I was curious about what Kubrick left out from the novel, and why King was not happy about the film version. I think both the film and novel are extraordinary. I have found myself equally scared by both.

This book took me by surprise. It was the first book I read of his during his later years of writing. I felt his writing style was leaner and direct, rather than what Matt Thorne in The Guardian called the "baroque" category of King. I think Rose The Hat is one of King's top villains. And I thought Rebecca Ferguson was amazing in the film. But what struck me about Doctor Sleep was its exploration of alcoholism. This book is not only a sequel to The Shining, it is also a story about recovery. And having read about King's own battles with addiction made this book even more poignant.

I found myself recently reading a lot of 1990s King. Next to Gerald's Game (in terms of graphic horror), it is one of the more gory novels of his. Desperation also demonstrates King's interest in putting a bunch of characters who don't know each other in one setting over a long stretch of time (e.g. Maximum Overdrive). This was a topic I explored in my book Cinema of Confinement. The novel also involves King playing with language, such as Tak! Very cool book.

I am unsure what novel I enjoyed the most out of the series. Perhaps Wolves of the Calla or  The Waste Lands? I was not such a fan of The Drawing of the Three and had stopped reading the series. But after my father died in 2017, I went back to The Dark Tower story. I was in the Hudson Valley and wanted to read something that would take me out of the funk of my father's sudden death. I purchased The Waste Lands and it was everything I expected and more. I think The Dark Tower series is one of King's greatest achievements. I guess that's all I'll say. But I was very much touched by Roland's journey. So glad I stuck with it. I encourage you to read it if you haven't.

I read that King came up with this story when he accidentally slipped and fell down a hill behind a gas station. I was surprised by the tone of the book, where Pennsylvania State Troopers tell their stories of the Buick 8 that they impounded. The Buick 8 is a supernatural vehicle that appears to be a gateway into another world. Again, I loved how the narrative focuses primarily on the barracks and garage were the Buick is kept. I felt that King allows you to ponder the mystery of the car, without explaining too much. It's a strange book that I often think about.

I loved this book and believe it to be in the same vein as Salem's Lot and Needful Things - all about a large cast of characters in a small town dealing with some strange unexplained / supernatural event. The book is very engaging and never slow. It is also a great tale about how leaders can turn into authoritarians. Under the Dome is well worth your time.

I had seen the films The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Apt Pupil before reading Different Seasons. This is a great collection of novellas. My favorite might be Apt Pupil. I was surprised by how dark and disturbing the story was, much different than the movie, which I was not such a fan of.

King mentioned that this book was him trying too hard. I think this is an amazing fantasy book about elderly people. I thought the length and pacing of the book reflected the characters - not to be rude about getting old. Maybe more importantly is the book's connection to The Dark Tower and why I enjoyed the book so much. Unlike King's approach to sci-fi, I think he takes his approach to fantasy quite seriously, exploring very intriguing aspects of out of body experiences as well as playing with time and space, which can be traced back to The Dark Tower story, or even Lisey's Story. Insomnia is a slow burn, but I think it is worth checking out.

I would also like to mention King's book On Writing. This book had such a tremendous impact on me as a writer. It inspired me to write with the door closed, and not be afraid to write even when you don't know the entire structure of your story, or even know where your story is heading. Everybody has their own approaches to writing. But for me, I like to discover things about the characters and their situations as I write.

For academic analysis, check out Tony Magistrale's books on King.

Suburban Tales and The Mansion

Coming soon! Suburban Tales Last year, I wrote a bunch of short stories that focus on the supernatural, fantasy and horror. I picked three stories and thought it would be fun to independently publish them as a book series. The stories are entitled, "The Rock Star," The Piano," and "The Decorator." All three stories focus on Eden Gardens, a fictional neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.

I was surprised to see a number of well-known authors like Joe Hill and Paul Tremblay were publishing short reads and short stories under the Kindle Short Reads category. I wonder how this has impacted print journals that publish short stories. As always with digital technology, there are pluses and minuses.

I also wrote the third book in my Hudson Valley trilogy called The Mansion. I hope to have it ready later in the year. The other two books in the trilogy are The Postcard and The Bells - both available through Amazon.

My academic books, Capturing Digital Media (Bloomsbury Academic) and Cinema of Confinement (Northwestern University Press), are also available for purchase.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Ivyscobie

www.tomconnellyfiction.com