Jokerdissect

When the Joker goes to Arkham Hospital they read Penny’s file for him. Penny is diagnosed with delusional psychosis and narcissistic personality disorder. But more than about Penny, this is about Arthur.  Both conditions can be inherited.

Psychotic episodes are associated with hallucinations, delusions confused and disturbed thoughts and of insight. People suffering this illness can’t tell what’s real from what’s imagined. Penny suffers Erotomaniac delusions, but Arthur suffers Grandiose delusions. Delusional disorder can be inherited.

A narcissistic personality disorder is a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships and lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that’s vulnerable to the slightest criticisms. People with narcissistic personality disorder may be generally unhappy and disappointed when they are not given the special favors or admirations, they believe they deserve.

Treatment for both conditions centers around talk therapy (psychotherapy). Every woman he interacts with in the story is black: his social worker, the black mother, Sophie and his psychiatrist. The only real woman he interacts with is his psychiatrist at Arkham. The other women are figments of his imagination. The only woman he interacts with is his psychiatrist during his talk therapy at 11:11. The clock at his social worker is set at the same time as his psychiatrist for a reason. Not only that but these 2 women have a desk in front of them and a window behind them.

The joker is obviously delusional. And we are delusional as well since we see this movie through the lens of Arthur. That is the joke the psychiatrist wouldn’t understand. Because as much as he can tell her, she wouldn’t experience these delusions like he or the audience does. The joker prepared so much to give his jokes that it would be odd for him to shy away from that opportunity.

He has 3 types of experiences: Reality, altered reality and complete delusions. A common theme of most illusions is that he walks alone in some place like an alley or the people around him leave the area like when Sophie just leaves. I would say loneliness is the biggest trigger.
The delusions are explained in the movie with inconsistencies explained by other characters.
1. At the beginning of the movie kids stole his sign. His boss lets us know that this is not true.
2. Arthur is talking to his social worker. We are cut back to his psychiatrist and the time is the same 11:11.
3. Arthur is trying to entertain a kid and he smiles. However, the mother reaction is not what you would expect from the mother of a smiling kid.
4. When goes home he pictures himself in the Murray Show. Not only is he in the public but he is invited on stage where people clap for him and Murray tells him he would give everything for a kid like him.
5. When he goes back to work, Randall asks if he is ok. Randall offers Arthur a gun. This is later proven as false when his boss tells him that Randall told on him. Arthur is quick to blame Randall for snitching, but it was never Randall’s fault that he took a gun to a children hospital.
6. After stalking Sophie she comes to his apartment and asks him if he had stalked her. Rather than being shocked, Sophie is delighted. He invites her to his stand-up comedy, and she agrees.
7. After being fired, Arthur witnesses 3 men bother a woman. His laugh draws attention to him which has the men mock him and eventually come at him singing send in the clowns. Arthur seemingly kills the first 2 in self-defense but the third one is shot in the leg and running away. Arthur shoots 8 rounds from a .38. 5 of them to this particular man. In reality, Arthur brutally murdered 3 men.
8. Arthur goes home and enters Sophie Apartment and kisses her
9.  At the Pogo Arthur is bombing miserably. However, after a rough start it looks like everything is going well. Sophie is smiling in the audience. A video of this is shown later.
10. After the show, Arthur is seen on a date with Sophie. His killing of 3 men has made the front page of every newspaper but rather than being reported in negative light, it sparks a movement. People want to be like him and “kill the rich”. Sophie is glad that 3 crooks were murdered and wishes for a million more. A man passes by in a taxi wearing a mask of a clown.
11. After he comes home from the Pogo his mom is sleeping. The movie has shown us Arthur checks the mail every day and his mom asks for him to do so. This time though she is sleeping. Coincidentally, this is the first time in years that Arthur opens her mother’s letters to Thomas Wayne and learns a very important revelation.
12. After he stalks the Wayne Manor, his mom is sent to the hospital. Apparently, detectives have been trying to ask him some questions, but they couldn’t find him. They ask his mother instead and sent her to the hospital. At the hospital they ask him low ball questions. At no time during this investigation do they ask about his current possession of a gun. They do ask if his laugh is real at which point, he leaves. Obviously, this question is Arthur seeing himself as a victim once again. Even in a criminal investigation, he is being mocked by those around him.
13. Arthur is by his mother’s bedside with Sophie. Sophie leaves and he is left alone to hallucinate that Murray is featuring his failed comedy routine and mocking him.
14. Arthur uses a rally’s confusion to sneak in past and get in the theater where Thomas Wayne is watching a movie screening with his family. He catches Wayne in the latrine. This hallucination is clearly shown when he leans on the sink and a second later, he is leaning against the refrigerator IN THE SAME position.
15. He visits Arkham Asylum where he is read his mother’s medical file. The clerk suddenly remembers he needs signatures to provide this file, however, Arthur steals it. But as all the chases in this movie, Arthur always escapes. The conditions which Arthur read as his mother’s are conditions that afflict him as well.
16.  He imagines he killed his mother for lying to him.
17. Arthur imagines he murdered Randall. As much as Randall seems like a dick in the movie, even in Arthur’s version he gave him a gun. But the fact is that he let Gary go. And as shook as Gary is, he didn’t call the cops on him. Arthur told him exactly where he would go. He would be at the Murray show. At the same time the stain of blood next to Randall looks like a drawing on his journal/joke diary.
18. Arthur goes to the Murray show, confesses the murder of 3 wall street guys. Notice that he didn’t confess murdering his mother, or Randall, or Sophie. He confesses murdering only 3 guys. Not only is he hallucinating, he is having major hallucinations. His confessions don’t prompt the show to cut, Murray inquires more. No one comes to possibly arrest him or stop him until after he murders Murray in live TV. Joker gets to say the final lines to the show. Before finally being apprehended.
19. Joker is now taken into police custody by a single police officer. When they are hit by an ambulance that kills the officer but not Joker. He stands on the hood as the whole town is a chaos created by him. Not only that, but Thomas Wayne, who he hates so much and his wife are brutally murdered in an alley.
20. The final hallucination is the Joker murdering his psychiatrist and escaping from his psychotherapy.

Some of the instances of his narcissistic personality include:
A. He wanted his mom’s attention, but she only had attention to Thomas Wayne. His mom hoped Wayne could save them from poverty. Arthur tried to tell her he can lift them from poverty and his comedy is headed for the big clubs. His mom simply asked him don’t you have to be funny to be a comedian? Talk about a hit to the groin.
B. He wanted Sophie’s love. He invented a whole relationship around it.
C. He desired a father figure which is why Murray said he would give everything to have a kid like him. He even desires Thomas to be his father so that he can be rich and powerful but more importantly, someone his mom can love.
D. He wanted to be on television like his idol. He told Gary about it after he murdered Randall. Something completely out of place to say at that time.
E. He wanted be on0 the Murray show.
F. He imagines he is the icon of a movement to kill the rich.
G. He imagines he can confess the killing of 3 young men on live TV. Murder his TV idol and still come out to inspire a movement to kill the rich.



So, what is real???

1. Arthur is a mentally ill patient and lives with his mother. No friends, no social contact. A loner.
2. He asks Randall for a .38 which he gets him.
3. He drops the gun at a children hospital and gets fired.
4. He brutally kills 3 men in a subway in an anger outburst after being fired.
5. Arthur performs a stand-up comedy at the Pogos which bombed miserably.
6. He visited the Wayne Manor where he met Bruce Wayne and Alfred.
6. He gets hit by a drunk driver and when the police tell his mother she suffers a heart attack and dies.
7. He tries to go to Sophie to console him and becomes aware for the first time that his relationship with her was never real. Sophie calls the cops after he made a gun sign to his head.
8. He tries to commit suicide in the refrigerator.
9. Police sent him to Arkham Asylum where he is receiving psychotherapy and he is being held in the Observation Room. Arthur is a danger to himself and others due to his mental conditions.

Film Notes

We begin the movie with Arthur forcing a smile. He is working spinning a sign to advertise that everything must go. Kids knock his sign and run away with it. He chases after them and they beat him up and break the sign on his face in an alley. They beat him up and he is left in fetal position.

We cut to Joker laughing hysterically in front of his social worker. He says things are getting crazier out there. She asks about his journal. His legs shake. The time is 1111. She opens his journal. He mentions it is a journal and funny thoughts and jokes, but we see he has naked women pictures. She reads “I hope my death makes more cents than my life”.  She asks how he feels about being here. He smokes with his RIGHT HAND. He says he thinks he felt better when he was in the hospital. She asks him if he knows why he was locked up. We are shown Arthur smashing his head against the window in a room with white walls. The time is 1111. Arthur is in the “Observation Room”. He asks for an increase in medication and she mentions he has 7 different medications, but he replies he doesn’t want to feel so bad anymore.

Arthur is now in the bus. A kid looks at him and he tries to play with him. The kid smiles. But the woman asks him to stop bothering her kid. Arthur breaks down into a laughter attack. He shows her a card that says he has a condition that makes him laugh. She looks at him with disdain. Arthur stops at the pharmacy and gets his prescription then he heads home. He climbs upstairs slowly and as the day is getting dark.
He gets to his apartment building and checks the mail. As he enters the apartment his mom asks him if he checked the mail. He serves his mother food. The news mentions super rats. He complains about Thomas Wayne. She says that she worked for the family for years, the least they could do is write back. She mentions how skinny he looks. She mentions everyone on the news talks about Wayne.

They watch Murray Franklin show. He makes a reference to the super rats. The mayor has a solution: super cats! We can hear Arthur laughs coming from the audience. He says I love you Murray. It’s Arthur. Franklin asks the light to be put on Arthur and he interviews him quickly. He mentions his mom always told him to put a happy face.  He was born to spread joy and laughter. Franklin asks him to come down and people clap. Franklin says he would give everything to have a kid like him and they hug. We are back to Arthur with his mother.

A very unhealthy skinny Arthur is shown fixing his clown boots. A few bruises are shown on his back. Randall asks him if he s ok. He heard about the beatdown he took. Arthur says they are just kids. Randall says they are animals. He offers him a gun for self-protection. Arthur says he s not supposed to have a gun. Randall says no one’s got to know. He can pay back later. Gary says the boss wants to talk to Arthur. Randall makes a joke about Gary and mini golf. Joker laughs hysterically and suddenly stops.

The boss got a complaint that he disappeared from and never returned a sign. Arthur tells him he was jumped. The boss asks him to return the sign. If he doesn’t return the sign it will be taken out of his paycheck. The boss voice sounds farther and farther away while Arthur smiles. We see Arthur angrily kicking trash bags in a dumpster. Arthur is seen climbing the stairs on the way home at dusk. He checks the mail and takes the elevator. Sophie and her daughter run to reach the elevator. She complains the building is so awful. Her daughter repeats it and Sophie makes a gun sign to her head. As they walk to their apartments Arthur calls her and makes a gun sign as well. Sophie smiles.
Arthur is bathing his mother. They discuss Wayne again. He questions his mom why she thinks Thomas would help them. She tells him because he is a good man. If he saw how they are living he would be upset. She couldn’t explain it better than that. He tells her that he can get them out of there. He tells her his standups are going for the big clubs. She says Happy, don’t you have to be funny to be a comedian. His mom calls him Happy, not Arthur.

Arthur is now watching TV. Black men are singing. Arthur points his gun at the walls and begins to dance with his weapon. He has a monologue about being a good dancer and shoots a round. His mom screams if he s ok and he claims he s watching a horror movie.

The next day Sophie is dropping her daughter at school. Arthur is stalking her. She gets on the train and he goes after her. She goes to work, and he follows. A taxi makes him slow down and he turns around.

Next scene Arthur is at a comedy club. The stand up is about role play. Arthur laughs before the punchline is delivered. The point is Arthur laughs but never with the audience. He takes notes with his right hand. Arthur is writing notes at home with his RIGHT hand. HE smiles. He writes with his LEFT HAND: The problem of having a mental illness is having to act like you don’t and he draws a smiley face. The bell rings and its s Sophie. She asks him if he followed her which he admits. He invites her to his comedy, and she agrees.

Arthur is performing for children at a hospital. A gun falls off his pants. Everyone gets serious. Scene cuts to Arthur in a phone booth. His boss is angry about the whole incident. Arthur claims it’s a prop for his comedy show. He says Randall told him he tried to buy a .38 from him last week. He calls Arthur a fuckup and A LIAR. He fires him. He smashes his head against the booth and cracks the glass.

Arthur is now taking the subway home. 3 guys offer a woman French fries. She refuses. They throw fries at her. Arthur starts to laugh uncontrollably and draws attention to himself. He seems like he is suffering. They sing bring in the clowns. The woman leaves. They come for Arthur. He sounds terrified despite being laughing. He tries to explain his condition, but they grab him and punch him. They call him a freak and beat him. His mouth is bleeding. Arthur shoots with his LEFT hand: 1 round to one of the guys then 2 to another killing them. He shoots a third man in the leg who runs away. Arthur grabs his things and chases a screaming third man. He shoots the remaining rounds on him. They get off the train. HE shoots the man once and he falls to the ground. Then he shoots him 3 times. Total of 8 rounds shot with his .38. No one witnesses what happens.  Arthur runs away. He locks himself in a bathroom and he dances very slowly. Arthur returns home. He knocks on Sophie s door and as she opens, he kisses her.

The next day at work his coworkers are discussing the murders. Gary regrets he was fired. The rest ask him what the fuck was he thinking bringing a gun to a children hospital. He says why don’t you ask Randall. It was HIS gun. He leaves and comes back. He punches the punch clock (RIGHT HAND) and says he forgot to punch out. He laughs his way out. He sprays out with his right hand the sign that says Don’t forget to smile into don’t smile.

He goes home. His mom tells about Wayne. He sounds disinterested. Thomas claims they were decent although he didn’t know him personally. He announces he will run for mayor. The reporter asks him what he thinks about the suspect having a clown mask. Arthur smokes with his right hand. Thomas says what kind of coward would do something like that. Someone who is ENVIOUS of those more fortunate than themselves. Arthurs legs shake. Thomas says that until things change the more fortunate will look at those less fortunate as nothing but clowns. Arthur laughs while his legs shake. His mom asks what s so funny.

Arthur smokes with his right hand. He is with his social worker again. He mentions a guy that used his clown name at work. He says no one ever saw him and he didn’t know if he existed. He says she never listens. He says all he has is negative thoughts. He said people are beginning to notice he exists. She tells him they are cutting funding. Social services will close. She tells him they don’t give a shit about people like him or her. He wonders how he is going to get his medication.

Arthur is at the Pogo now. He is presented as someone who’s purpose in life is to bring laughter and joy in this cold dark world. He suffers a nervous breakdown and starts laughing uncontrollably.  Sophie is shown smiling. His jokebooks shows naked women pictures. “You know I was just thinking the other day…” The joke is muted when we cue the Smile. He is seen with Sophie. He sees a clown poster with fangs, and he open his mouth into a forced wide smile. She thinks he is a hero and she said 3 less crooks in Gotham city. Only a million more to go. A taxi passes by with a guy wearing a clown mask. He smiles at him.


Arthur comes home. His mom is sleeping while Murray Franklin is about to end on TV. He dances with his mom. She smells cologne. This is the first time Penny doesn’t ask about the mail. Coincidentally, Arthur finds a letter from her mom to Thomas Wayne in which she reveals she is about to die, and Arthur is his son. He confronts her. She locks herself in her room. She says you are going to kill me you are going to give me a HEART ATTACK!!! She says he is a good man but its s best if they are not together. She didn’t tell anyone because she “signed some papers.” Imagine what people would say about her and Arthur.

The next day Arthur takes the train and reads a news clip about Thomas Wayne. He cuts the picture. He sneaks to the Wayne manor with a clown nose. It’s early morning. He begins to follow Bruce Wayne. He makes a few magic tricks that keep Bruce entertained. He kneels and asks him his name. He presents himself as Arthur. He puts his fingers in Bruce s mouth and forces him to smile. As Bruce smiles the sun rises. Alfred confronts Arthur. Arthur tells Alfred he is Penny Fleck’s son. He whispers he knows about their affair. Alfred tells him she was delusional. Arthur claims Thomas Wayne is his father. Alfred chuckles and Arthur chokes him in front of Bruce before running away.

Arthur comes home and police are in his apartment complex. It is night time. He hops in the back of the ambulance. He smokes with his RIGHT hand. 2 Police officers approach him. Detective Garrity and Burke. They had questions for him, but he wasn’t home, so they spoke to his mother. Arthur asks what did you SAY TO HER. DID YOU DO THIS?? They asked her a few questions and she was hysterical. Hyperventilating. Arthur tells them the doctor says she had a stroke. They have questions about the subway killings. They spoke with his boss. He told them he fired him over a gun at the children hospital. He says it’s a prop. They ask why he was fired. They said he wasn’t funny enough. The last question they ask is about his card. They ask if his condition is real or a clown thing as part of his act. He dismisses them saying what do you think?? He flicks a cigarette and leaves. He tries to enter the hospital through the exit and slams his face against the door.

Arthur is now with Sophie at his mother s bed. She is in critical condition. She gets a coffee and leaves. Arthur watches the TV. Murray is on. He laughs. Murray shows a video of Arthur at Pogos. Initially he laughs. But Murray mocks him. He looks intently.

Next scene Arthur is on his bed. A newspaper reads Kill the rich. Gun by the drawer. Protests are calling for a massive rally at Wayne home tomorrow. Joker smiles. Wayne is now offering an apology for calling the less privileged clowns. He says there is something wrong with those people and he is here to lift them out of poverty. He claims to be their only hope.

At a rally Arthur uses the confusion to sneak into a movie theater where the Wayne’s are at a screening of modern times. He dresses as an attendant and stands to watch Charlie Chaplin skate by the edge. He notices Thomas as he takes a break and goes to the bathroom. He takes off his red suit. A man in the bathroom leaves. Arthur presents himself as Penny Fleck’s son. Wayne recognizes him as the man that came to the house yesterday. Thomas tells him he is not his father. He tells Arthur he was adopted. And he didn’t sleep with his mother. He tells him all she wants is money. He reveals she was arrested while she worked for him and sent to Arkham State Hospital when he was a little boy. He tells him that his mother is crazy. Arthur laughs uncontrollably. Thomas asks him if he thinks that s funny. Bruce punches his nose and threatens him about touching his son. Arthur leans into the sink. We go back to his room where Arthur is leaning against the refrigerator IN THE SAME POSITION in his house. He is shirtless and blue pants. The phone rings and its s detective Garrity. They have more questions and dropped by, but he wasn’t home. Arthur empties the refrigerator and gets inside.

The next morning the phone rings again. It’s the Murray Franklin show. Arthur is wearing a red shirt. He grabs the phone with his right hand. HE smokes with his left. They set a date for next Thursday. HE rides the back of the bus and goes to Arkham State Hospital Arthur takes the elevator next to a man in a stretcher screaming next to a policeman and a nurse. The walls are orange/yellow. How does someone wind up in here? Are they all people who made crimes? Yeah somehow. Some are crazy. Pose danger to themselves and others. Some don’t know where else to go. Don’t know what to do. Arthur says sometimes he doesn’t know what to do. Last night I ended taking out at some people. I have done some bad shit. The man tells him all he does is paperwork and he doesn’t know what to tell him. He tells him to see social services. Arthur tells that they cut all those. Dr Benjamin Stoner diagnosed penny with delusional psychosis and narcissistic personality disorder. Guilty of endangering the welfare of her own child. The clerk realizes he is talking to her son and refuses to release the information without his mother signature. Joker rips it from his hands and runs. He goes downstairs 2 floors and reads the document.

Extremely bizarre behavior
Physical abuse
He finds adoption papers. Baby name is unknown. He was abandoned. Penny is told she adopted him. She refuses that and says that Thomas and her had him in secret. She is told also that she stood by as one of her boyfriends repeatedly abused her adopted son and battered her. Arthur laughs. He is shown in the room as the doctor tells Penny her son was tied to a radiator malnourished multiple bruises and severe trauma to his head. She said she never heard him cry. Joker laughs “he was always such a happy boy. “

Next scene it’s raining at night. Arthur goes to his housing complex. He sees Sophie making a gun to head sign. He enters her apartment and sits down. Sophie puts her daughter to bed. When she sees Arthur, she freaks out. She tells him he is in the wrong apartment. He lives down the hall. She needs to leave. Her girl is sleeping. He says he had a bad day. She tells him to call someone is your mother home. He makes a gun sign with his right hand to his head. We see flashbacks of all Arthur saw with her. His whole relationship with Sophie was imagined. He walks down the hallway into his apartment. Now he is laughing. He smokes a cigarette with his LEFT hand. Police and ambulance can be heard coming to the building.

Next scene he is at the hospital during the day. He calls his mother you are Penny, Penny Fleck. I always hated that name. He confronts her about his mental condition. He tells her that what makes him laugh is that he used to think his life was a tragedy, but he realizes it was a comedy. He smothers his mother and looks through the window.

We see Arthur back home watching clips of Franklin Murray. He is smoking using his RIGHT hand. He practices his entrance for the show. He practices saying a knock knock joke. He pulls his gun. He aims his gun left hand. He acts like he shot his head off.

That s life plays. He s dancing on his underwear as he dyes his hair green. He puts on makeup LEFT handed while smoking RIGHT handed. A clown mask hangs on his mirror. He grabs a picture of his mother while smoking LEFT handed. Doorbell rings.

Randall and Gary come to visit. He s smoking LEFT handed. They mention the rally and ask if he s going. He says no. Randall asks about the makeup and he says his mom died. They brought him some drinks to cheer him up. He says he feels good since he s not taking his medication. Randall tells him that the cops have been asking the guys at work about the murders. Gary says he wasn’t told anything. Randall tells him the suspect is a regular size person. Arthur laughs. Randall wants to make sure their stories about the gun line up. Arthur stabs him in the eye with his RIGHT hand. Arthur sits by the blood mess. It looks very much like the back of one the pages in his notebook. He lets Gary go with a kiss on his head.

Arthur walks in his Joker outfit. He dances downstairs. The detectives tell him they need to talk. He runs. He is hit by a taxi, but he gets up and runs to the subway. The subway is full of clowns going to the manifestations against the rich. Chaos ensues and Arthur keeps running away. The detectives shoot a man and the people just beat them up. Arthur laughs. He dances mocking the police and leaves. He smokes RIGHT handed as he leaves the station.

At Murray set he s smoking right handed while he sees reports of the news. Murray comes and visit him. His producer is worried about the political consequences of letting him come dressed as a clown with all the unrest going on with clowns. Arthur smokes left handed as he waits to get on stage. Murray shows the clips of Arthur. Arthur starts dancing slowly before his introduction.

He stops for a second and Murray asks if he s ok. He says this is exactly how I IMAGINED. Murray makes fun of him and says that makes one of us. He makes fun of joker again and he laughs. He makes a knock knock joke. It’s the police ma’am. Your son has been hit by a drunk driver. He is dead.

It’s been a rough few weeks since he killed those 3 wall St. guys. The producer asks to cut. He says nothing can hurt him anymore. His life is nothing but a comedy. Murray confronts him about what s happening. Joker laughs. He says another joke. Shoots Murray. Then faces the camera to say that s life. They cut the show.

Joker is apprehended and taken into a police car but as he drives a clown in an ambulance truck hits the police car killing the police officer and freeing the Joker. He dances on the hood of the car as the city is in chaos. Another clown catches up to the Wayne family as they walk out of the Zorro the gay blade (worth noting it’s a comedy instead of the original Zorro) and shoots them in an alley leaving young Bruce to his fateful night where he is orphaned. As a result of the chaos that Joker has provoked.
Joker laughs. A writing on the wall says “no unsufer…patients”. The psychiatrist asks to tell the joke, but he says she wouldn’t get it. A flash shows Bruce Wayne in an alley. We see the joker walk away with blood marking his footsteps but no blood on his clothes despite being dressed in all white. He walks to the end of the hallway and dances. It’s a daytime. A comical chase ensues, and the end comes.
THE END of Joker’s story