SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for JOKER.
“The mirror is my best friend because when I cry it never laughs.”
-Charlie Chaplin
Mirrors become an essential element in the visual storytelling of JOKER. Working as a clown for hire, Arthur (Joaquin Phoenix) repeatedly stares at himself while applying the makeup for the job. Yet, as the opening scene shows, each time he returns to the mirror, a sad and lonely face stares back. Even before the title character fully becomes the famous Batman villain, Arthur is presented as a man searching for help from others but is ultimately left alone to face his own fate. A tired and gaunt face stares back at Arthur, who struggles with his own identity and the dark thoughts that fill his head. It’s not until he assumes a new identity that he’s comfortable in his own battered and bruised skin. Batman lore has always explored the idea that the Dark Knight wouldn’t exist in a world without the Joker, and vice versa. Yet, writer and director Todd Phillips explores their connection in fascinating ways by taking a new approach to the source material and not just saying that they need each other to survive, but that their stories share several dark parallels.
The Internal Darkness Projected Outward
How JOKER physically manifests mental illness is the most grueling element of the film. Despite talk of its violence, it’s Joaquin Phoenix’s physical performance that causes audiences to squirm in their seats. His gaunt frame becomes a pallet for bruises as the world around him lashes out because of their misunderstanding of his illness. What’s even more excruciating is how the character’s internal madness escapes forth in uncontrollable pain as he tries to stifle his manic laughter. Laughter becomes a coping mechanism when he’s in situations that make him uncomfortable, but it also rears its head at random moments. It becomes Arthur’s worst fear because it’s the one element of his psychosis that he can’t hide from or subdue – he has to face it and learn to accept it.
In the comics, Bruce Wayne eventually turns his greatest fear into his biggest strength. Bruce dons the symbol of the bat because it represents what he was most afraid of as a child. His internal darkness and fear of being alone in a cave are brought forth in his black bat costume. This external release for both characters in order to feel alive is at the center of this version of their origin story. Arthur’s transformation into Joker mirrors the transformation in the comics of Bruce Wayne wearing the cape and cowl. He embraces the laughter by dressing as the one character that consistently causes himself pain and gets him beat up on the street. You have two men, each with multiple personalities that change based on whether they embrace and wear their fear on their sleeve. By accepting what they once saw as their one true weakness, they both head confidently into the night, unafraid of Gotham’s judgment.
We’re Born Alone, We Live Alone, We Die Alone
“For my whole life, I didn’t know I really existed. But I do, and people are starting to notice.” Many have been quick to call out JOKER for speaking to the “angry boy” culture that grew up posting anonymously online and is fueled by Mountain Dew and self-loathing. But lines like the one above aren’t meant to incite fervor in these incels looking to lash out at society who rejected them – it’s meant to mirror the duality of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Bruce Wayne is the billionaire who hides himself away in his large mansion, whose only real friend is the childhood butler who raised him. Even as an adult running Wayne Enterprises, he has always felt alone and never understood by anyone but his childhood guardian. Arthur and the Joker are presented in a similar light in this new origin story. Living and taking care of his mother occupy Arthur’s time when not performing as a clown for hire. Like Alfred, she is the only person he can confide in, even though their relationship often brings out feelings of resentment and mistrust.
Bruce and Arthur are, essentially, both figures of isolation. Despite the fact that one might have more resources than the other, they both seem destined to die alone. They’ve accepted this, and in turn, learn to reject any notion of love. The irony, of course, is that when they go out into the world as their alter-ego that they attract the attention of the media and legions of fans. Adults and kids watch on TV and read in the papers of these figures and become fascinated by them. While both characters have followers and people that look up to them, these fans are essentially both idolizing a masked vigilante operating outside of the establishment. Yet, as is tradition with the male archetype, these legions of fans can not match the acceptance of that between a father and a son. You can have all the praise in the world, but hearing it from your father will mean more. A central plot point in JOKER is Arthur’s search for his father’s identity. It’s this denial of a father-figure in both Bruce Wayne’s and Arthur’s life that is another new parallel in this version of the story.
A Mirror Reflects What You See, and a Black Mirror Shows the Dark Side of It
In a pivotal scene in the middle of the film, Arthur comes face to face with a young Bruce Wayne. He captures the attention of young Bruce through a circus act that involves a red nose and a magic trick. And while the two might be separated by the iron gate of Wayne Manor, they see each other. In fact, Arthur reaches out and touches Bruce’s face and makes him smile. He uses his fingers to create the same forced smile that Arthur did to himself as he looked in the mirror with tears in his eyes at the start of the film. It’s the first time that the hero and the villain of this universe see each other, and in turn, see where they came from and what they will soon become.
This isn’t a gate separating them – it represents the mirror that connects these two lives. In this universe, Batman and Joker aren’t divided into separate sides of the same coin. They are shown to be one, connected by the same fate. This connection is further emphasized if you take into consideration that the Joker’s actions by the end of the film lead to the death of Bruce’s parents. In JOKER, Arthur may have chosen to become the title character – much like Bruce Wayne will eventually choose to become Batman – but despite their personal choices, they will always be linked by a dark parallel destiny and will forever see their nemesis when they look in the mirror.
