7 Comments
Sep 15, 2021Liked by Mathew Crawford

Wow! I haven't seen Joker, but as a person who worked in mental health, including forensics, I sure want to now. I will be sharing.

Expand full comment

really well worth it, one of the best movies of all time, I think. Certainly hits you in the head and the feels in a, shall we say, direct manner.

I personally was very disappointed by one scene in the last bit of the movie. I am waiting to see what Matthew has to say about it. But for me the movie would have been basically perfect if that scene wasn't in it.

But it doesn't ruin it. Even my wife called it the best movie she has ever seen, which surprised me greatly.

Expand full comment

Good job Mathew, I went over and read your Medium article as well. Have you noticed that the only review you mentioned specifically amongst those you thought were ok, has been taken down by youtube?

Expand full comment

No, I hadn't noticed that. Thank you for pointing that out.

Expand full comment
May 18Liked by Mathew Crawford

Soul Seranades For The Broken

Thank you for showing The Joker some love.

A super-fan paired scenes from The Joker with a cover of Indila's "Dernière Danse" by Diana Ankudinova to wonderous effect here >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONlsbX6Qics

"Diana Dmitrievna Ankudinova (born May 31, 2003) is a Russian singer. Much of her initial fame resulted from her winning two consecutive seasons of You Are Super!, a talent competition show on the Russian NTV network for children who have spent some significant part of their childhood without parental care."

Indila's "Dernière Danse" official MV here >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5KAc5CoCuk (suggest turning on CC if you are not French-fluent).

Expand full comment

As someone that just stumbled on your substack a few weeks ago, and has been trying to catch up, this post really stood out.

I don't watch movies. I don't like Hollywood. I can't remember the last movie I saw before Joker -- I think it might have been a Lord of the Rings.

But, I watched Joker when I was on an airplane (I also rarely travel). And, it blew my mind. I think about it frequently. I'm still trying to process why it hit me so deep. Your analysis helps.

One thing that struck me, which I think you touch against here, is the crazy empathy I feel for Arthur.

"But what should really horrify us all is wondering whether there is anything actually different about Arthur, as a baby being born, joining this world out of a mother, then distanced by an absent father who was perfectly capable of taking care of them both."

I'm horrified by his brutality, and yet also feel extreme empathy toward him.

It reminds me of things I've heard Jordan Peterson talk about, where there's this fine line between chaos and order that's almost mystical. That's the best explanation for why I found Joker so meaningful/disturbing and I think about it so much. It gets you into that weird place.

Expand full comment

Very good look at this movie. You're absolutely right that most people completely misunderstand the movie and what it actually shows about the main character and the point of the story. There's so much to understand about what Joker does as a film. I recently watched it again myself and plan on releasing my thoughts.

Expand full comment