The Dark Knight | analysis by therapist (The Joker and Batman explained)

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Something I like, in amongst the many lies characters tell in this film is Two-Face repeatedly stressing how he had to lie to Rachel that "it would all be ok" to reassure her. Where, in reality, it's Rachel that comforts Harvey in the final moments, where he is instead screaming. It doesn't mean much, and he does offer some reassurance earlier on, to be fair, but with the amount he forces Gordon to "lie to your son that it's going to be ok, like I lied" it's just an interesting extra. Patreon link - www.patreon.com/mylittlethoughttree

[@silverstarlightproductions1292]

Actually, that wasn't really a lie because before, Harvey was sure that someone was gonna come for Rachel, and that's what he kept saying to her. It wasn't until Batman came for him that he started freaking out, and then Rachel attempted to comfort him. So, when he says he was forced to lie to her, what he's really saying is: "You were supposed to save her, not me."

[@netherworlde]

Could be that whereas Batman has a low opinion of himself, Harvey has a very high opinion of himself. Yet how he acted in Rachel's final moments differs from how he sees himself. He wasn't calm and reassuring as he "should have" been. So he lies, perhaps partially to convince himself that he was her white knight to the very end.

[@silverstarlightproductions1292]

@@netherworlde That's a good point.

[@THG-3141]

@@netherworlde I really like that take

[@richardmunoz2995]

@@netherworlde He was very calm and reassuring when he believed someone was coming for her. He believed she would be saved and he would die. It wasn't vanity. He lost it when he realized Batman had come for him instead, not realizing the Joker had fooled them all by setting up a situation that would inflict survivors' guilt on both men.

[@jonathanrobertson3406]

Thanks!

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Oh wow! It didn't show to begin with that this was a donation, I didn't even know you could do that! Thankyou, that's incredibly generous!

[@jonathanrobertson3406]

@@mylittlethoughttree It was earned and was also my pleasure. Best regards.

[@tjkong4381]

I always felt the Joker began as a normal guy, but joined the military, probably a post 9/11 patriotic enlistment. Got PTSD, returned from war and his PTSD made him a social outcast. Add in the Glasgow smile pushed him over the edge. The Jokers motivation was to show that people will break, just like he did, given the circumstances, which he is trying to place into them. The ultimate revenge on society.

[@maxstrong4700]

The joker is agent of chaos he just does things and they work out in his favor

[@BJenno]

Nothing’s more dangerous than a psychopath who is extremely calm. That’s why Heath’s Joker is very dangerous. I love all the jokers, but Heath’s, to me, in my honest opinion, is very interesting. When things don’t go to his plan, he just improvises, and that’s who Joker is. Joker is basically Professor Moriarty to Batman’s Sherlock Holmes. They are the Ying and Yang, one can’t live without the other.

[@leerichardson548]

He Wasn't a Psychopath Psychopath's Find it Hard to Tell the Difference Between Right & Wrong He's a Sociopath Sociopath's Understand the Difference Between Right & Wrong But Ðon't Let those Stop them from Acting in their Own Interest

[@Skoopyghost]

High functioning psychopath is dangerous. They are more composed.

[@sunnu777]

Joker HAD to be an ex-agent of military intelligence gone rogue, or a burn-out from at least one of the covert agencies. His tactical skills in planning and execution reeked of a Skunk-works operator...

[@nowhereman6019]

CIA Joker CIA Joker

[@ComicAcolyte]

Also no fingerprints. Some secret agents burn off their finger prints.

[@spider-jonah-man7148]

I think he had somewhat of a similar background to Bruce

[@XpLiZiTcOnTeNt7]

I heard a theory that the Joker had the “clean slate” that Selina Kyle was looking for, which is how he was able to erase everything about him.

[@spider-jonah-man7148]

@@XpLiZiTcOnTeNt7 I was just thinking of that when watching TDKR.

[@timroham]

Here from 2 years later, asking very politely for you to please finish your fantastic analysis of this trilogy. Thanks.

[@rlee1185]

He got his scars by trying to be like his wife. But she saw him as a mirror. How does that explanation reflect the context in which he tells that story? If he is acting like a mirror to society and they can't stand the sight of him... The stories are commentary for the scene that the stories are in. He's saying that the rich people are scarred and ugly and he is just showing their true nature with his own actions.

[@JacobDean88]

He actually made perfect sense.

[@ngerukevin]

the view of harvey dent being the white knight and being the opposite of batman gives the title The dark Knight a whole new meaning.

[@tcrijwanachoudhury]

Youre the only person who gets it. hes not chaotic, random or "insane" but is driven by a deeply cynical philosophy about humanity he uses to justify his reign of terror _just_ like a terrorist. I saw this other theory that he mightve been a veteran which is what i personally thought when i first watched the film, i think at the very least its possible he felt betrayed by the society hes terrorizes which is why he cant be bribed or reasoned with because he doesnt want it's money. And i think the reason why hes sad during the ship scene is bc he would rather believe people are terrible monsters than see the truth about himself, that hes a broken man. Anyway loved this video, not a psychology student but i look forward to learning more form your channel! ❤

[@spxdel8520]

I think when he said he didn't have a plan he meant he doesn't have an end game he plans out battles as they come but he doesn't have an objective he just wants to disrupt things

[@swordandsheild1]

Lmao "WHERE'S WALLY?" xD Huh?? that got me hahaha

[@erik_not4prophet_morano172]

Maybe protecting Harvey's turn to the darkside was a little about protecting his image as the incorruptible white knight, but it was more about not allowing all the men Harvey had prosecuted a get out of jail free card. Their lawyers would have appealed all their sentences due to having a corrupt prosecuter who was "obviously" not shy about bending or breaking the law. I even think this was spoken about in DK.

[@fightsports66]

I never felt that saying “I’m not wearing hockey pads” meant that I am rich and your not. Batman mean and I think pretty clearly he is not an untrained person just running out into the street on raw emotion. He has spent years studying as seen in the first film and has used the money and expertise of Morgan Freeman’s character to build weapons and equipment the guy in hockey pads doesn’t have.

[@morten1]

Nature is pretty chaotic. We makes rules etc. But we are part of nature

[@UncensoredScion]

If I'm perfectly honest, Nolan did as Nolan does in nearly all his projects, when you think of Nolan's Batman, you shouldn't think of three movies but three acts of a story, beginning middle and end. And he fumbles at the end. Though Gotham Knights is screwing it up something terrible, the smarter option to pick for this would be the Court of Owls, hell have it be a wink tie-in with the comic that comes out same year. We've got everything set up, a 'peaceful and controlled society' that's a lie and Batman is shunned by the public and law, reinforce that with the people pushing it being the Court and have all major players that have gone through hell since tDK suffering because of their support to Batman. Then include the remnants of the League of Shadows in Bane to have the chaos agents wanting to stop the people who Thomas Wayne was part of return to have Bruce at his lowest, broken and defeated, his entire life seeming to be a lie and then making himself the better man who forges on and defeats both while sacrificing himself at the end. would've been better than a redo of the first movie

[@jasonnewsham7724]

Ahh he didn’t kill Ras al gul. He just didn’t have to save him.

[@invisible2925]

I’ve already seen essays on this but I still can’t stop seeking them out.This movie is a masterpiece.

[@dustinpaulson1123]

It really is. For as successful as Marvel has been in cinema, none of their offerings comes close to this DC masterpiece.

[@dustinpaulson1123]

@@DanLyndon yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[@invisible2925]

@@DanLyndon Yeah,what do we know.

[@Lleanlleawrg]

@@DanLyndon "People who don't understand anything about art" Or maybe it's subjective? Hmmm.

[@773superprguy]

Really agree as great as this movie is written the acting is incredible

[@nyomiberriman4331]

I would watch an edit cut of this film with just The Joker scenes. Heath Ledger just captivates. Every time I watch this movie it's purely for him.

[@PsychSoldier756]

Already done ;) m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnjGl3WIoK-GjbM

[@Cheddar_Wizard]

@@PsychSoldier756 Wow, an actually good link. Thanks bro

[@nicholashodges201]

I always wonder how much of that is him and how much is his untimely death. His performance IS something else, but it seems like someone's last performance is always treated like this, even when their best performance was years earlier...

[@therisenchampion2023]

@@nicholashodges201 I don't know that this was Heath Ledger's best performance, but I will say that he is, to me, the definitive Joker. Others have carried the role, and carried it well, even greatly... but I feel like his portrayal touches on the heart of who and what the Joker is best.

[@nicholashodges201]

@@therisenchampion2023 honestly, for me, it's actually Caesar Romero. Yeah the tv show was campy AF, but there was just something plain creepy about that Joker, and it's like the sillier he acted, the creepier he became. Like in the next episode, you could find out he actually had an orphanage gassed while he was distracting batman with a dance of and it wouldn't be too much of a surprise.

[@themalcontent100]

3:14 chaos always wins over order, because chaos is more organised. Terry prachete

[@hankbarcelona7314]

Re the idea of the Joker's scars being self-inflicted, consider what he says to Batman after the ferry passengers don't blow each other up. (I'm quoting from memory.) "You can't get good help these days. You have to do everything yourself. I always have. That reminds me... do you know how I got these scars?" I always took that as a very strong hint that he gave himself the scars.

[@jasonophardt9521]

Could certainly be psychosis of trying to fit in but being abused like many institutions do for someone else's gain and becoming this rogue mercenary vigilante chaos agent pushing Society as an evolutionary catalyst. Scars are metaphorical to his ability to adapt, overcome and transform just like that of the butterfly and mutilation transformation of cowboy bill in silence of the lamb.

[@crush41gb]

I always suspected each detonator would blow up their own boat. You're act of fear and inconsideration of the others , resulting in them or me, would ultimately be their own undoing. Not having faith would be a self-fulfilling prophesy.

[@HiThere-we6xh]

He didn’t poison the whiskey. He poisoned the glass.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

That makes more sense, cheers!

[@jordijimenez2634]

Underrated channel

[@ZurditaDinamita]

I think Joker use the "I'm an agent of Chaos" with Dent because Two-Face is the real agent of chaos (and Joker somehow is able to know Dent to that level). Two-Face doesn't kill some guys (that Ramirez girl, for example) he really detest if his coin save them, but he it's ok killing an innocent chofer because, again, fortune says so. Yes, he has a revenge plan at some point, but he's pretty erratic on the path (which makes sense: a real agent of chaos can't make their own plans work, because the knows chaos/chance is a superior force).

[@therealomegatron8629]

When Batman says 'im not wearing hockey pants' he is saying, I'm not pretending to be batman; I am Batman.

[@jeffsmith1344]

Rachel tells Bruce "this is your mask," Bruce Wayne is the persona he projects to function within society. He is masking. "Don't talk like one of them, you're not. Even if you'd like to be." Nolan's version of Batman and Joker both have Asperger's.

[@echelon2k8]

16:36 "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you".

[@jackiedan2450]

If you re-listen to Alfred's monologue, it's revealed that Alfred and his buddies were the villians in that story.

[@ComicAcolyte]

???

[@yurigaviria6794]

@@ComicAcolyte because they were in Burma I guess ?? This dude knows nothing

[@shadow1395100]

@@yurigaviria6794 Alfred explains that he and his friends LITERALLY burned down the forest in Burma to find a jewel thief therefore Alfred was the real villain in Burma. He destroyed an ecosystem an possibly killed people and villages in the process

[@yurigaviria6794]

@@shadow1395100 ohhhhh lowkey that’s super smart

[@darthbigred22]

@@shadow1395100 yeah because trees don't grow back...stop getting your morals from crazy elites who ski all day and think that they're connecting with nature somehow in that process. Also pretty sure they wouldn't be allowed to mindlessly kill the civilians merely to catch a jewel thief in MI6.

[@BeautifulBrittany18]

Disclaimer: I didn’t watch the Dark Knight trilogy, I am not super familiar with the Batman universe, and I have only just gotten to part five of the video. I also did not read the comments to see if someone else undoubtedly said this already. But there is something that I want to mention that tickled my brain when MLTT was discussing Joker’s motivations. Something that he has yet to talk about and likely won’t is that throughout this movie (according to what I saw in this video and glimpsed in other videos), there is an underlying current to the Joker’s motives. He sounds like someone who wants to feel connected to the world and to people but feels rejected by them. I feel like the motivation that multiple characters hint at is that the Joker wants to change society to fit in with him since he can’t fit in with society. It explains why he wants people to be pushed over the edge, because he thinks that is how he came to be who he is. He is trying to change the world into one where the freaks are normal and normal people are the freaks. Just my own little two cents I wanted to add. I don’t think MLTT is wrong though I disagree with some of his interpretations. I think he mostly pegged the Joker, but I feel like the addition of what I said paints a much clearer picture of who the Joker is and why he does what he does. Just wanted to add that bit while it was still fresh in my mind.

[@seanharris3126]

Great video

[@MotorcycleCheetah]

To quote Dorkly. “Do you hear yourself? You have a contingency plan for everything! It’s so intricate, the only thing I don’t really get is WHY!!!”

[@EatTheMarxists]

They weren’t afraid that Dent’s turn would break the people of Gotham as much as Dent murdering people would almost certainly overturn all of the convictions of the hundreds of high-ranking mobsters that they arrested earlier in the film.

[@BarryHWhite]

There's a thing I call The Columbo Effect. It's a thing I do when I want someone to under estimate me, for whatever reason. Joker has that kinda thinking

[@Zappy1210]

Christian Bale's Batman was very good, his Bruce Wayne was perfection but Heath Ledgers Joker will forever be the best Joker we will have ever seen.

[@combatdoc]

More of this

[@pablomansini6449]

Masterpiece

[@elloowu6293]

I subscribe to the theory that he was in the military, had a wife that was wounded by the mob and had an abusive father. When he's talking about his scars he's not talking about his face, he's talking about "what made him" his emotional scars that took away his humanity and set him on the path to bring it all down. The mob, the establishment and the abusive system that drives people to do terrible things.

[@spiderlime]

an important part of batman lore is municipal corruption and police incompetence, i.e. the official authorities. justice is left in private hands and powerful individuals can make their own laws, for better or for worse. in a moral reality such as this, you can say with some reason that the "good guys"wouldn't really want to solve gotham's core problems because without them, there's little justification for their role as saviors...

[@joelthejedi1]

Brilliant

[@primarchlogarius]

One thing I really like about your videos is you don’t hyper-cut your speech like so many people on KZbin try to do. There is the right amount of pause and conversation that makes listening to this as a natural lecture. Really love this.

[@corrina8125]

This was such a good video

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Thanks!

[@trndst]

Do the Dark Knight Rises!!

[@tetrisking8054]

on your point about the joker being a man with a plan, an incredible detail that most people miss is that when he gives Harvey the gun in the hospital, he keeps his finger over the hammer the entire time it is pointed at him. Hes in control of the situation the entire time, with his speech about chaos merely being a tool to turn Harvey.

[@moneypacman1348]

Oh didnt realize that until now

[@Sercil00]

In defense of Batman taking the fall at the end of the movie to protect Harvey's image, there was more at stake here. Harvey had widely cleared the streets of criminals using the Dent act. If the truth had come out, then a ton of criminals would have been released because the Dent act would have been called into question.

[@CNTconnoisseur]

I always thought they should have brought Harvey back for the 3rd movie. He survived the fall and Gordon was hiding him away in Arkham.

[@anunez3450]

The most dangerous people are those with nothing to lose.

[@ironreed2654]

Being as "Civilized as the world will allow..." is not a short coming, its just normal. We are certainly capable of savagery and some people will do anything to survive but that's just evolution.

[@charlesjmouse]

Would it be fair to suggest Bruce believes in what Harvey represents more than he necessarily believes in the man himself? 'Batman' is a means to an end as much as a mask and a crutch for Bruce - let's rid Gotham of it's filth. But of course the 'thinking vigilante', if such a thing could exist, will be aware that there is no future in such action, no plan for an end game. 'Harvey' represents a future everyone could aspire to, a future that might possibly last as it contains a plan in the shape of the rule of law. Bruce is aware of all this, and seems to care about what that means and his place in it. The Joker quite rightly sees them both as being much the same; agents of destruction, or as he puts it chaos. However the joker is either unaware of what that really means or doesn't care. To paraphrase "Evil is the manifestation of a lack of empathy." Batman has empathy, The Joker doesn't, and that's why one is a hero and the other a villain. Indeed it's sobering to consider that when any of us is unable to find empathy for another we ourselves become the embodiment of evil to that person. ...just babbling.

[@shanonangermeyer-norman5280]

You should be a psychiatrist. This is a very good, in depth analysis and it made me feel so much more for Bruce Wayne, who I tend to forget when I think about Batman. I see no flaws in your analysis. Thank you for showing me Bruce Wayne, someone I forget, when the other characters (Batman, TwoFace, Joker) are so much more grandiose to the eye and mind, than the real good guy.

[@karlab95]

I loved this essay. Loved that you pointed out at the general frustration the joker feels at being called a freak. It's such a great bit for this representation of the character. Also your analysis of Bruce was very interesting.

[@lemmonsinmyeyes]

Never noticed the dog symbolisim before, regardless of how direct it is. Also: I'm glad you picked up on the whole 'I dont make plans' thing, when he very clearly does. Everyone seems to think hes just chaotic incarnate but that isnt true. He understands people very well and knows just how to break them. He dosent see people, he sees play things to break and destory. He puts on the face paint and theatrics because, thats how the public will resonate with his 'chaos'. 'the joker' is just a mask, a tool. Its not something he's all that speficically invested in emotionally and whatnot. Edit: also, the whole 'cant let the public know about harvey' is because if he, being district DA, who put all those people in jail, if he we're to be found incompetant to stand office (insane) all his actions as DA would immediatly be overruled. And as established earlier, no-one was going to stand up to the criminals. Especially not if they got the one guy who wouldn't break. So they perpetuated the lie to keep the gangs and such in prison. It was peace through lies. A 'the ends justifiy the means' question.

[@nathanhall9345]

Yes! Everybody either takes him at his word about not having plans, or they assume he had the ONE plan that just HAPPENED to work. NO. He had plans inside plans, contingencies for contingencies. You think getting caught and breaking Lao out of prison personally was his plan A? I don't.

[@fatbitch7168]

that bit about Harvey also makes me think about how many people he put away, yet he ended up committing numerous crimes himself

[@Banana-fh9dc]

Reminds me of Petyr Baelish, he thrives in chaos while scheming and planing. From the book, never the TV serie.

[@NortheastSurvival911]

Pure chaos doesn't ever follow a plan. There's no way that this particular version of the joker didn't plan for well over half of this. Granted some of it could have been not necessarily completely planned out. There are always unseen variables. But chaos doesn't follow patterns chaos doesn't follow a plan and chaos is ultimately unpredictable in the end.

[@NortheastSurvival911]

Going a little deeper with the whole dog aspect of things.. every domesticated dog has relatives that originated with wolves. A wolf is an apex predator. The wolf does not need to run in a pack like a coyote. What in nature hunts wolves??? Not a damn thing that's what.

[@DrthStarkiller2]

I’d also argue the Joker was present during the Narrows incident, being gassed and becoming crazier

[@jockleyfedora8018]

You should try do one on stand by me

[@mylittlethoughttree]

My girlfriend showed me the film for the first time a few months ago, I was blown away by it. Very much intend to make video(s) on it once my breakfast club series is over

[@Zero-gu3te]

2:55 not sure you noticed that the joker held the hammer down on the revolver when he gave the gun to Dent. That tells you he was always in control even when he was tempting Harvey Dent to kill him.

[@overtonwindex9490]

The Joker is an evil Diogenes

[@captgeesh5163]

Anyone ever wonder if there was a cut scene where Harvey blackmails the judge?

[@AlexSmith-tp7xu]

They couldnt explain harveys downfall because it would reveal that even "gothams white knight" and "the best of us" could be broken. In the eyes of gotham anyone could be broken...even batman, whos already an outlaw (we know he cant be broken but they dont)

[@theofficialguy]

Gotham allowed Harvey Dent to prosecute known mafia associates without warrants (or something like that), and if the truth of Dent came out all the mafia members would be released. So the stakes were a lot more that simply 'letting down Gothamites'

[@alexhaddon330]

I’ve seen Batman begins easily over 15 times (it’s my comfort movie) and probably the Dark Knight at least 10 times… but I’ve never made the connection of Bruce’s connection and adoration of Harvey dent being connected to his adoration of his father and the symbol he projected in Bruce’s eyes, yet… it makes so much sense upon realizing it and actually kinda addresses a few of the things I didn’t love about the Dark Knight. So thank you for this insight, it actually has changed how I view this movies upon another rewatch.

[@codyreed8100]

I agree with the theory that this version of the joker was actually the hero of the movie. Alfred's story about bribing Burmese tribal leaders on behalf of Brittan and the thief robbed their caravans and threw away the jewels is the main evidence. Alfred said some men just want to watch the world burn but it was Alfred himself that burned the forest down. The thief was trying to protect his people when the chiefs and colonizers wouldn't. By the end of the movie the joker singlehandedly took out the mob, corrupt police and politicians and the lawless totalitarian vigilante that was willing to spy on an entire city to impose his twisted version justice and 6 years of peace followed.

[@Sinleqeunnini]

Yes, please do Dark Knight Rises...

[@katiek2608]

I had never heard the connection between Thomas Wayne and Harvey Dent before. Do you suppose that one of the reasons that they were connected for Bruce was because Dent successfully disarmed the courtroom assailant?

[@renegadewolfhound8786]

This Joker is so complex!

[@MoisesAguirre-uv4oy]

30:46 I think Rachel is the stereotype of a love interest in this film but that's not a bad thing. She is a character that you're invested in IF YOU SAW THE FIRST FILM but if you didn't that's still okay because her stereotype adds to the comic book come to life feel of the movie

[@nicoletorcolini5316]

What are you thinking? Batman did not intentionally kill Dent. He had very few options for saving Jimmy.

[@CJM8112]

This joker had to be ex military/ex CIA

[@primarchlogarius]

Oh need that dark knight rises now

[@Xehanort10]

2:05 Harvey also says "The Joker's just a mad dog. I want whoever let him off the leash" to Maroni before he kills him and his driver.

[@claymccoy]

Suggestion: Maybe do an analysis on the film What About Bob?

[@shreknet]

This film was the epitome of "It ain't gonna get done unless you do it yourself." This trilogy of Batman wasn't the honed warrior psychopath the many versions of the comic character was. It was a guilt ridden man who did everything to alleviate himself of the guilt and was desperate for a successor. This version of Batman doesn't have Robins and Batwomen. He is constantly alone. Won't train students and wants the system to take over his legacy. He inevitably fails heavily but scrapes a win in the end. The Nolan Trilogy was special and a noble effort and definitely a spectacle but even Christian Bale himself said that after seeing Heath Ledger's performance he wish he did better. The Joker in this film is a hypocrite. He isn't insane or a chaotic entity, he is a calculating sociopath who received heavy trauma and seeks power through action. He is a troll who sees Batman as a profile to ruin and "Wreck". I respect this version of the Joker because of his intent and creativity but he is 100% sane. But the fact that this Batman couldn't interrogate or trace any gang member into finding the Joker's locale was odd but beneficial to the narative.

[@rafikz77]

14:26 it’s not ambiguous at all. He went to save the kid, Dent accidentally died

[@ThePrince1835]

Should make a video on Blake and Jim in dark knight rises. Would be awesome to complete the analysis trilogy. 👀

[@Sketch_0123]

I appreciate your thoughts how Batman and Joker are the two sides of the same coin, and stuck in between is Harvey Dent. I like to think Dent represents those that are stuck btwn a dilemma of wanting to do good, but may succumb to the dark side.

[@thelastgreaser7596]

One menacing aspect of Heath's Joker that always struck me was his tendency to disregard and invade people's personal space. He's constantly grabbing/ squeezing people's faces in a demeaning way. Hilarious, but seriously antisocial behavior...

[@MAHAManiac1]

I thought this was a very logical and intelligent breakdown for the most part… but then he said he prefers Batman Begins and I realized these were just the rantings of a mad man.

[@noone.3532]

As with the "I'm not wearing hockey pads" crack when the joker says "you're not one of them". There's a divergence where Batman and the Joker believe they're both right and engage in behaviour where they judge and intervene in the lives of others. Both believe the system has massive flaws that essentially then frees both to do as they please to those around them. In this way the Joker was more self aware than Batman. I think if you call him afreak you've walked into his trap, proved him correct about you so he can attack you. Batman believes he's allowed make viligante attacks but not other. The Joker starts out robbing the mafia, he actually dismantled at least one gang making them fight to the death. It's similar to viligante violence and lying to the population to preserve the image of Harvey Dent. They're doing what they want to cause society to behave how they want it to based on different goals, one to uphold the rules of a broken system by breaking the rules if that system and the other to show the population the system is broken by breaking the rules of that system.

[@fatbitch7168]

One targets criminals, the other targets innocents

[@noone.3532]

@@fatbitch7168 One can delude himself he's not breaking the rules of the broken because he makes a moral judgement on those he targets. They're using the brokeness and corruption inherent in the courts and police to make money which the billionaire finds morally unacceptable. Joker directly targets the cops and mobsters at head of the broken system.

[@blinkyy1088]

Fantastic comment

[@ayjay6289]

Really interesting and it gave me new insights. Thx for that

[@rifles_up2263]

That prisoner throwing that detonator out of the window is about as fake of a plot trope as a billionaire dressed as a fucking bat

[@rashethejoker1562]

If he told the truth it might've given some people an excuse to do bad things, you know the Joker's one bad day theory. Which he has proven to batman in many instances and is the real thing that batman is fighting. You're not good if you have a good life and do nothing wrong, it's choosing good even when everything fall apart. That's where hope comes from, and that's the idea batman really fights for. Batman and the joker are the eternal struggle of good and evil and the explanation of it

[@mpix2000]

ur thoughts to the third film. Please.

[@frag0mat1c]

the "im not wearing hockeypads" is in reference to him wearing armor, not padding I dont think it referrs to money at all.

[@TheBorilla92]

I really hope you do an episode on the dark knight returns

[@SilverDemon456]

This was a great and refreshing analysis. I love how you point out that there's something off about Harvey Dent from the very beginning and how Bruce sees too much of his father in him to the point where he's blind sighted by his fall, and the Joker's desire to externalize the chaos that's constantly present in his own head. It's been a while since I've heard some fresh takes on this movie, which I can't get enough of.

[@fatbitch7168]

it kinda makes you wonder why would they call him Two-Face in the office besides from his coin game... could it be due to anything else? He might have been hiding darkness and aggression behind his intentions of doing what's right

[@nikkinewbie6014]

Yes. I think Dent is a fallen hero story structure wise and they always have to be already somewhat corrupted before they fall all the way. This fits Harvey to a tee. He is the top symbol of the Justice system in Gotham. He’s supposed to follow the rules. But instead he does whatever he feels is necessary to get the job done. Do what is necessary said Ra’s AlGuhl. The ends justify the means. He asks Batman to follow Lau to China and kidnap him because he cannot legally extradite him. He lies and says he’s Batman at the press conference. Even the little things count like using his position of authority to secure a reservation at Bruce’s hotel / restaurant despite a three week long waiting list. The same one Bruce ceremoniously wrote a check to buy in Batman Begins, I’m guessing. So yeah, there was something off about Harvey. He wasn’t as white a knight as he was credited to be. Meanwhile Bruce is the real White Knight. Tidbit - Nolan gave an interview in which he said the title of the movie refers to BOTH Batman and Harvey - since Harvey falls…i.e. no longer the white knight by the end of the story. Harvey put himself above the law he was supposed to be serving - and vengeance overtook him when he suffered a loss. Bruce suffered the same loss of Rachel and yet saves the man that killed her (Joker) from falling to his death to deliver true Justice as Rachel had preached to him in Begins. Stark contrast. I love this whole trilogy. I’m pretty sure the overall theme, the common thread between the movies is the idea that how we choose to deal with death and grief is at least as important as how we choose to live our lives. People who saw Star Trek The Wrath of Khan will recognize that line. Also, the best way to honor the lives of those taken from us is to live our own lives to the fullest in the present reaching forward to the future and not dwelling in the past or the loss. That is the theme from Gravity and other movies as well. Clearly Bruce completes a character arc in learning to cope with his grief and guilt which allows him to move away from Gotham and pursue happiness and love. Nolan / Bale’s Batman is the only iteration of the character to do so on the big screen. This is why Nolan is determined there won’t be a fourth. It would destroy Bruce’s arc. But if anybody could figure out how to bring Bruce back to Gotham Nolan could - if he wanted to. Just bring Bruce back to mentor Blake or whoever else donned the cape in the canon. He can stay healthy minded and still serve his family’s legacy from “the chair in the Batcave”. Okay that’s it. I could go on for days but …😂😂😂.

[@ComicAcolyte]

Please do the video on The Dark Knight Rises.

[@thesurvivorssanctuary6561]

24:17 This video, more then anything else, has convinced Mme that The Joker absolutely was being honest with Harvey about who he really is. When The Joker says: "Do I really look like a guy with a plan?"; he's actually saying: "Do I really look like I believe there's deeper meaning in life?" It's a statement that asserts the totality of his nihilistic and cynical worldview. When The Joker refers to city leadership as "schemers" he redefines the word by their desperate attempt to assert and maintain *control.* He's essentially calling this drive they have to be in power: _"a meaningless attempt at purpose"._ What The Joker is saying in the scene that births Two-Face, is that he has forsaken *purpose(a grand plan),* and seizing power to build an empire; His plans are essentially meaningless whims that he doesn't even care about the fulfillment of. The Joker: "just does things." There's no real purpose to his deeds. We judge his words by pedantic semantics, instead of understanding the meaning he gives the words through the _context_ he says them in. He never actually stated that he: "acts purely on impulse without making a single plan". That's nonsense, and underestimates the greater philosophical debate being waged. This also makes Mme wonder, could Thomas Hobbes have been correct, if humanity lacked a moral compass as well? Without law, _AND_ morality, what is there to stop us from destroying each other and ourselves?

[@timmcgough7714]

He does seem to have a greater plan though. To show humanity it's lack of morals. He also does directly say "he acts purely on impulse". He likens himself to a dog chasing a car. To add what if humanity lacked laws AND morals destroys the whole debate. The point joker makes is that people are only good because they have to be due to law. Joker is literally arguing they don't have morals. So yes of course without morals and laws we'd be awful to each other.

[@Agaporis12]

I think the Joker must have been betrayed several times and in many ways. And he abandoned trying to fit in because nobody ever really does. He sees the groups and fitting in and structure of society as something imposed, a disguise they wear for convenience or out of fear. He sees himself as brave and visionary, the only sane man in a world of slaves and idiots and he just wants to set them free. Deep down though he does want to belong and that’s why he likes Batman so much and why it saddens him to be reminded how alone and strange he is. Probably he was a very intelligent child forced to live among very ordinary ones. It’s sort of the goth thing. The nerds want to put in make up and look scary. Only he couldn’t fit into the goths either. He became the clown instead. Sort of an upside down goth. He wanted to be someone no one else would be because he felt that’s what ge already was and who everyone really is. He hates being described really, being told what he is. He doesn’t want anyone saying who or what he is. He tells them who they are. He stands at the top level and looks down and judges and classifies and he is deeply offended that these animals would dare to think they can understand him. Only Batman he thinks understands. Batman gets it. Batman treats people like the animals they are. He rules through fear and violence. I think the joker saw that and said, “Well yeah, of course, that’s exactly what you’d need to do to get any kind of order in the world. Finally someone who’s willing to admit it!”

[@oosakasan]

It's so great to see someone talk about this book ! From a therapists' perspective at that. Thank you for doing this, and I'd love to watch other videos about the stories in the book. One I find particularly affirming is the one about the mother who was neglected as a child & neglected her own child in turn and how both learned to love "as a second language" as it were. I also found it interesting IIRC how the titular boy who was raised as a dog is actually one of the least traumatic stories in the book. And not just because of how horrifyingly traumatic the others are (although many are; but if anyone is worried the one in this video is one of the worst) but also because the child did get some emotional needs met by the dogs.

[@noahwardak886]

Dark knight rises!!

[@jakejensen9108]

The Joker started out as kid in an abusive household, joined the military to do something good, as well as get away from his abusive father. He was so good at his job, he was recruited for Black Ops, The government erased his identity in order to cover themselves in case he and/or his squadron got caught. He ended up getting captured, tortured, and saw all his friends die, who where the only people who ever cared about him. It was a mission that was set up to fail, but out of good faith he did it anyway to serve his country. At the end, they didn’t even come to save him or his buddies. They didn’t even try. After he escaped, scarred and suffering from severe PTSD from seeing everyone he ever cared for butchered,, he wanted payback.after everything he sacrificed for them, they just left him to the wolves. He was a guy who had nothing to lose. His motivation was strictly payback. That’s my theory…..

[@michaelcarey1849]

“Serve his country” yeah right.

[@JesusGarcia-mz7qs]

That's a very good theory:)

[@thebob-eexperience1762]

He didn't kill Ra's Al Ghul, he just chose not to save his life again.

[@adonian]

I don't always pick a perfect actor for a part, but Heath IS the Joker.

[@ComicAcolyte]

Mate please do a video on The Dark Knight Rises it's long overdue

[@nicoletorcolini5316]

Uh, yeah. Rachel is not herself because she is not played by Katie.

[@lambrosk3790]

Heath Ledger made this movie. It’s kinda funny how Carl Jung influences the characters identities. Except BatMan was supposed to represent the shadow, hence, the dark side of man. All physical, all powerful, violent and unrestrained. So who does the Joker represent in us if Batman is supposed to be our subconscious dark side?

[@ihavetubes]

Joker is a soldier, probably went insane during his tour, probably saw a lot of his friends die and he went crazy. Would had made a hell of a origin story.

[@luziferj2789]

I know that theory. That's why he mentioned the truckload of soldiers while talking to Harvey, and also could be the reason of his scars. Would be one of the best origin stories.

[@ceijnakhan2502]

I like the idea of not knowing where he comes from. Just an embodiment of chaos. But I’m my head, him being a former soldier of some kind makes the most sense

[@thesecondYouTube]

He not only mentioned truck load of soldiers but gangbangers as well.

[@silverbird425]

I think it would be more likely he's a former soldier but did things that caused him to be discharged - so he doesn't want to talk about it as he can't be seen as a loser. He can't be trusted to work with a group.

[@puakagrinder2766]

Nope...Joker is the Devil disguised as a human

[@Transformers_nerd_stop_motions]

heath was amazing at improvising, he had the same vision for the character as Nolan

[@morgangallowglass8668]

Yes, PLEASE, a vid on the 3rd film!

[@timkramar9729]

Hobbes: life is nasty, brutish, and short.