FILM ANALYSIS Submitted by: Christian Lawrence C. Paguio

The 2019 American movie Joker is a psychological thriller film and was directed by Todd Phillips. A famous and awardwinning actor, Joaquin Phoenix starred as the main character Joker in the movie followed by Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, etc. Additionally, the movie was based on the DC Comics character of Joker. The movie focuses on the life of Joker and how he became the vicious villain in DC Comics. Some beginning parts of the movie already showcase the life of Arthur Fleck, an aspiring stand-up comedian that lives in Gotham City with his mother, Penny who is ill. Arthur Fleck has a special kind of disorder where he experiences episodes of uncontrollable laughter and crying. According to oprahdaily, his sickness is very close to Pseudobulbar affect or PBA which functions as the inability to control emotions, specifically laughing and crying. That is why this became a huge hindrance to his goal of becoming a successful comedian. But despite the conditions, Arthur Fleck still tries to thrive and blend with the society he lives in. But not everyone is nice to him. Arthur Fleck lives an unfair and wicked life.

In his first interaction with society, he was already being mistreated by them. He cosplayed as a clown in the middle of the streets carrying a kind of signage and his intent was to promote that signage to people by performing dances but in the middle of his performance, a group of teenagers took his signage which caused him to chase them. He ran until he went to a secluded place where the teenager surprisingly smashed him with the signage he had earlier. He was beaten up. Another was during his trip on the train, a group of civilized men also beat him up because of the intent of defending an alone woman. But this time he fought back, he killed the three men with a pistol. And in this part of the movie, he felt a kind of relief and peace. This is the turning factor in his life of becoming the most violent and fiercest villain. As the movie advances, Arthur Fleck starts to change from being a person of nihilism to a person of optimism. He finds a sense of gratitude and strength as he tries to defend himself against the cruel society.

But among all the predicaments he faced, the truth about his mom is the worst. According to the story of the movie, Arthur’s mom had histories of mental illnesses and he, later on, knew about his disturbing experiences with his mom’s boyfriend when he was young. He was continuously abused and even electrocuted in a chair because of his lunatic mom. These abuses led to his disorder and afterward altered him into a different person.

Psychologically wise, the movie portrays the essence of psychology and how psychology affects and contributes to the well-being of a person. And to further elaborate, the movie can relate and has contributing factors with the three major psychological concepts namely, (1) The Humanistic Theory of Carl Rogers, (2) the Multilayered Self od Sigmund Freud, and (3) The Ego Identity of Erik Erikson.

The movie emphasizes the Humanistic Theory in the part of Arthur Fleck's image of himself. He believes that he is weak because of his physical extremities as well as his disorder. And he also depicts himself as a person that everyone would hate and belittle. In this idea, all three components of self-concept are presented, these are self-worth, self-image, and the ideal self. Because of his life experiences as well as the thoughts of other people toward him, he formed a picture of a nihilistic self. Second is the Multilayered self of Sigmund Freud and in the movie, this concept was observed in the part where Arthur Fleck had a plan of visiting the Wayne house to talk to Thomas Wayne and confront him about himself as a lost child of him. In that part, his id was satisfied because he was able to come and confront Thomas Wayne. His superego on the other hand was satisfied when Thomas answered Arthur’s questions about him and his mom, he felt a sense of conscience because he thinks that Thomas Wayne is wrong. And last is his ego where he now starts to ask himself and to decide whether Thomas Wayne is right or wrong.

The movie emphasizes the Humanistic Theory in the part of Arthur Fleck's image of himself. He believes that he is weak because of his physical extremities as well as his disorder. And he also depicts himself as a person that everyone would hate and belittle. In this idea, all three components of self-concept are presented, these are self-worth, self-image, and the ideal self. Because of his life experiences as well as the thoughts of other people toward him, he formed a picture of a nihilistic self. Second is the Multilayered self of Sigmund Freud and in the movie, this concept was observed in the part where Arthur Fleck had a plan of visiting the Wayne house to talk to Thomas Wayne and confront him about himself as a lost child of him. In that part, his id was satisfied because he was able to come and confront Thomas Wayne. His superego on the other hand was satisfied when Thomas answered Arthur’s questions about him and his mom, he felt a sense of conscience because he thinks that Thomas Wayne is wrong. And last is his ego where he now starts to ask himself and to decide whether Thomas Wayne is right or wrong

And the last major concept Ego Identity of Erik Erikson was also showcased and is in fact the most dominant in the movie. Because in the movie, it focuses on the life of Arthur Fleck and his life experiences as well as the people that surrounded him throughout his life which

became the reasons and building factors of why he changed into someone and something else. Because of the unfair treatment and abuse, as well as living amiss in society towards him, caused him to change. With regards to the challenges to the psychological self, the movie sets off more in the ideology of Erik Erikson, the Identity Crisis because the movie displays the evolution of an individual based on personal experiences.

Arthur Fleck knew the truth that his mother was lying about Thomas Wayne being his father and instead, she brainwashed him and even caused him to suffer from the disorder he has. To be more specific, Identity crises can be seen in the part where he took the files of his mother in the hospital and read it. From there he realized and knew about the truth thus, it made him contemplate and understand why he is that kind of person. In this kind of scenario, there is a clear image of identity crises because there are reasons as to how and why a person evolves. And this continuous process of development is carried with contemplations and doubts that enable the person to question his own identity.

This is why in the development of an individual, it is essential to understand and identify the causes or reasons for how a person becomes who he or she is in the present. And also, we all must understand that life experiences are what builds self-identity which is why it is important to be wise and give significance to the small details in life. In that way, we would have a better grip and better image of ourselves, and to be more precise, we would possess better well-being.