- Sep 22, 2013
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When I heard celebrity/movie-star Leo DiCaprio might appear in a DC film about the Joker, I considered how various representations of the Joker in films have offered us entertaining ideas about what comprises anarchy and terrorism. After all, DiCaprio is a surprisingly intelligent actor who can lift characters to great levels with sensitive portrayals meant to bring out nuances in characterization/storytelling.
The Joker is a clown-faced maniac who terrorizes Gotham City, which is why the valiant masked urban vigilante Batman pursues him as his greatest enemy. Joker believes crime is fun and even funny, which is why he always laughs while performing his maniacal crimes meant to highlight general anarchy.
The Joker was portrayed by Jack Nicholson very well in Tim Burton's Batman and then again by Heath Ledger in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and then by Jared Leto in David Ayer's Suicide Squad.
Nicholson gave Joker a sinister edge, while Ledger chose to present the Joker as a criminal mastermind. Leto decided to present the Joker as a general agent of offbeat imagination.
Leo DiCaprio has given real-life and fictional characters extra flair in films such as Total Eclipse, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Beach, Catch Me If You Can, and The Aviator. Leo is an actor who can cover a wide range of emotions and mental-states, so you really expect him to bring out the color and story from a film and compel the audience to consider environment/context for the movie-watching 'experience.'
Well, rumors that Leo will portray the irreverent Joker in a new DC film has many comics and Leo fans alike thinking about what it'd mean for this iconic actor to re-present this now famous comic book 'super-villain.'
The Joker is not strong and he does not possess superhuman or magical powers/abilities; however, he is very sharply-dressed, extremely cunning, very mischievous, and he wields very odd weapons with colorful images and tones meant to make him look like an 'evil performance artist.' You get the sense that when the Joker throws a pie with a bomb in it (at a bank maybe) or launches a yo-yo that releases corrosive acid, you're witness to just why our world is simply 'unsafe' from the threats of a criminal who wants to 'highlight' the basic 'frailties' of everyday life.
Comics are fun, since they are like vaudeville and cartoons mixed into one. These days, comics-media abound everywhere, but die-hard fans (such as myself!) remember the days when we used to collect iconic comic book character printed refrigerator magnets or comic book character printed wrist-bands, notebooks, and pens. Now, comics-characters (such as the Joker!) have almost become household-names. We see them just about everywhere, and that's all thanks to marketing.
So a new Joker film starring Leo DiCaprio might offer us a new and intriguing perspective on perhaps why our modern world is so darn...commercially fickle(!).
It just might be a nifty TrumpUSA 'political-cartoon.'
What do you think?
====
"Well, well it's so interesting being here in this great world and in this rich place called Gotham City while the 'hero' Batman chases me around. Ya know, everyone calls me a lunatic and maniac, but I dress up like an artistic clown, whereas Batman (as his crude name implies!) dressed like a flying-rodent (a bat!). He might just be as loony as I am; or as I might be (if my critics are correct!). I'm no hero; I'm only a dollhouse mischief-artist...a prophet perhaps. My only interest is to 'highlight' the general vulnerabilities of Gotham capitalism and the 'overall silliness' of Gotham Bank. After all, isn't capitalism (e.g., TrumpUSA) a thing of...goosebumps?"
"When I was a kid, a simple person named Jack Napier, I used to watch Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz over and over again. I used to keep in mind the splendor of the image of the glowing 'Emerald City of Oz' as the ultimate symbol of capitalism-themed storytelling. Americans love notions/stories about fortune and daydream about fortune, and that great 'Emerald City' was a 'beacon' of American idealism. That's why I found it fascinating! That's why I compare Oz to Gotham --- both are cities which symbolize 'pure inventiveness'."
"I consider Gotham Bank to be like one of the shining emerald spires of Oz; I have to loot it. When Batman walked into Gotham Bank at midnight on Christmas Eve, after I'd already pulled off a successful robbery, he wondered how a criminal mastermind such as myself could pull off such a stunt and why I'd dare do it on Christmas Eve(!). I think he understands though that the rationale I kept in mind was connected to the 'reality' that while everyday investors place money in a bank, they're blithely neglectful of the fact that many less-wealthy individuals daydream about robbing that very-same bank! I merely wanted Batman to realize that an 'imaginative crook' such as myself would perform the creative robbery on Christmas Eve before some crude/blunt individual tried to accomplish the same feat (hehe)."
"Now, I've recruited a 'sidekick.' Her name is Harley Quinn. She used to be 'Dr. Harleen Quinzel' before turning to a life of crime and criminal-insanity (with me!). Harley is really sharp and nimble, and she used to be a very ambitious criminal-psychologist...until I showed her the 'magic' of anarchy and revolution in Gotham City. Now, she can't get enough of me(!). She's my little doll. Harley, like me, dresses as a vaudevillian clown, and she helps me perform criminal-feats meant to 'highlight' the general loopholes of TrumpUSA (e.g., pedestrian obsession with media) of modern civilization. Without Harley, I wouldn't be as...popular."
TRUMP: I really liked you in Joker's World!
LEO: Thanks, Mr. President! It was really a 'political-cartoon' about capitalism.
TRUMP: I sensed that...are you satisfied with 'TrumpUSA,' Leo (as a voter)?
LEO: I actually voted for Hillary, but I'm learning to appreciate your policies.
TRUMP: Yet, you think there's room for improvement?
LEO: Well, I have energy/environment policy critiques.
TRUMP: I'm impressed with your eco-activism work, Leo!
LEO: Yes, thanks; the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has done much.
TRUMP: It's great to see celebrities get involved in politics.
LEO: Democracy is all about teamwork, right?
TRUMP: Your characterization of the Joker was offbeat and bright.
LEO: It was also dark and sinister; I wanted me and Harley to seem...diabolical.
TRUMP: The Gotham Bank robbery on Christmas Eve was particularly poignant.
LEO: Remember when Batman walked in and saw the aftermath (in awe)?
TRUMP: I imagine that scene was a 'critique' on modern capitalism securities...
LEO: That's right; I wanted my Joker to come off as a 'critic' of traffic/commerce.
TRUMP: Are you a fan of Edward Abbey?
LEO: Yes I am; I liked his brand of 'rogue eco-philosophy.'
TRUMP: Maybe Joker's World will be seen as a 'TrumpUSA poem.'
LEO: Or perhaps as a 'TrumpUSA cartoon'(!).
====
The Joker is a clown-faced maniac who terrorizes Gotham City, which is why the valiant masked urban vigilante Batman pursues him as his greatest enemy. Joker believes crime is fun and even funny, which is why he always laughs while performing his maniacal crimes meant to highlight general anarchy.
The Joker was portrayed by Jack Nicholson very well in Tim Burton's Batman and then again by Heath Ledger in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and then by Jared Leto in David Ayer's Suicide Squad.
Nicholson gave Joker a sinister edge, while Ledger chose to present the Joker as a criminal mastermind. Leto decided to present the Joker as a general agent of offbeat imagination.
Leo DiCaprio has given real-life and fictional characters extra flair in films such as Total Eclipse, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Beach, Catch Me If You Can, and The Aviator. Leo is an actor who can cover a wide range of emotions and mental-states, so you really expect him to bring out the color and story from a film and compel the audience to consider environment/context for the movie-watching 'experience.'
Well, rumors that Leo will portray the irreverent Joker in a new DC film has many comics and Leo fans alike thinking about what it'd mean for this iconic actor to re-present this now famous comic book 'super-villain.'
The Joker is not strong and he does not possess superhuman or magical powers/abilities; however, he is very sharply-dressed, extremely cunning, very mischievous, and he wields very odd weapons with colorful images and tones meant to make him look like an 'evil performance artist.' You get the sense that when the Joker throws a pie with a bomb in it (at a bank maybe) or launches a yo-yo that releases corrosive acid, you're witness to just why our world is simply 'unsafe' from the threats of a criminal who wants to 'highlight' the basic 'frailties' of everyday life.
Comics are fun, since they are like vaudeville and cartoons mixed into one. These days, comics-media abound everywhere, but die-hard fans (such as myself!) remember the days when we used to collect iconic comic book character printed refrigerator magnets or comic book character printed wrist-bands, notebooks, and pens. Now, comics-characters (such as the Joker!) have almost become household-names. We see them just about everywhere, and that's all thanks to marketing.
So a new Joker film starring Leo DiCaprio might offer us a new and intriguing perspective on perhaps why our modern world is so darn...commercially fickle(!).
It just might be a nifty TrumpUSA 'political-cartoon.'
What do you think?
====
"Well, well it's so interesting being here in this great world and in this rich place called Gotham City while the 'hero' Batman chases me around. Ya know, everyone calls me a lunatic and maniac, but I dress up like an artistic clown, whereas Batman (as his crude name implies!) dressed like a flying-rodent (a bat!). He might just be as loony as I am; or as I might be (if my critics are correct!). I'm no hero; I'm only a dollhouse mischief-artist...a prophet perhaps. My only interest is to 'highlight' the general vulnerabilities of Gotham capitalism and the 'overall silliness' of Gotham Bank. After all, isn't capitalism (e.g., TrumpUSA) a thing of...goosebumps?"
"When I was a kid, a simple person named Jack Napier, I used to watch Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz over and over again. I used to keep in mind the splendor of the image of the glowing 'Emerald City of Oz' as the ultimate symbol of capitalism-themed storytelling. Americans love notions/stories about fortune and daydream about fortune, and that great 'Emerald City' was a 'beacon' of American idealism. That's why I found it fascinating! That's why I compare Oz to Gotham --- both are cities which symbolize 'pure inventiveness'."
"I consider Gotham Bank to be like one of the shining emerald spires of Oz; I have to loot it. When Batman walked into Gotham Bank at midnight on Christmas Eve, after I'd already pulled off a successful robbery, he wondered how a criminal mastermind such as myself could pull off such a stunt and why I'd dare do it on Christmas Eve(!). I think he understands though that the rationale I kept in mind was connected to the 'reality' that while everyday investors place money in a bank, they're blithely neglectful of the fact that many less-wealthy individuals daydream about robbing that very-same bank! I merely wanted Batman to realize that an 'imaginative crook' such as myself would perform the creative robbery on Christmas Eve before some crude/blunt individual tried to accomplish the same feat (hehe)."
"Now, I've recruited a 'sidekick.' Her name is Harley Quinn. She used to be 'Dr. Harleen Quinzel' before turning to a life of crime and criminal-insanity (with me!). Harley is really sharp and nimble, and she used to be a very ambitious criminal-psychologist...until I showed her the 'magic' of anarchy and revolution in Gotham City. Now, she can't get enough of me(!). She's my little doll. Harley, like me, dresses as a vaudevillian clown, and she helps me perform criminal-feats meant to 'highlight' the general loopholes of TrumpUSA (e.g., pedestrian obsession with media) of modern civilization. Without Harley, I wouldn't be as...popular."
TRUMP: I really liked you in Joker's World!
LEO: Thanks, Mr. President! It was really a 'political-cartoon' about capitalism.
TRUMP: I sensed that...are you satisfied with 'TrumpUSA,' Leo (as a voter)?
LEO: I actually voted for Hillary, but I'm learning to appreciate your policies.
TRUMP: Yet, you think there's room for improvement?
LEO: Well, I have energy/environment policy critiques.
TRUMP: I'm impressed with your eco-activism work, Leo!
LEO: Yes, thanks; the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has done much.
TRUMP: It's great to see celebrities get involved in politics.
LEO: Democracy is all about teamwork, right?
TRUMP: Your characterization of the Joker was offbeat and bright.
LEO: It was also dark and sinister; I wanted me and Harley to seem...diabolical.
TRUMP: The Gotham Bank robbery on Christmas Eve was particularly poignant.
LEO: Remember when Batman walked in and saw the aftermath (in awe)?
TRUMP: I imagine that scene was a 'critique' on modern capitalism securities...
LEO: That's right; I wanted my Joker to come off as a 'critic' of traffic/commerce.
TRUMP: Are you a fan of Edward Abbey?
LEO: Yes I am; I liked his brand of 'rogue eco-philosophy.'
TRUMP: Maybe Joker's World will be seen as a 'TrumpUSA poem.'
LEO: Or perhaps as a 'TrumpUSA cartoon'(!).
====
