“Perhaps this is a man you don’t fully understand Mr.
Wayne.”
This line from the film The Dark Knight conveys more than the psyche of one
man. It puts up the question of how well you understand people around you and
how completely are you aware of your own personality. One categorizes oneself
to be either bad or good but the reality is there are million shades of gray in
one’s character. Every person has an angel inside them; the bright, light and
jovial side. Similarly, every person has a Joker inside them; the dark side.
The Joker lives in all of us.
If you are a Batman fan then you would be familiar with the funny, lethal and treacherous super villain, The Joker. This legendary character created by Jerry Robinson is inspired from the character of a 1928 silent film based on Victor Hugo’s novel, ‘The Man Who Laughs’. When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured and made to laugh forever, hence the name The Man Who Laughs. The cruelty inflicted on the boy and the agony experienced creates evil in its pure form. Born normal and later considered a freak is the story of the man who laughs and the Joker comes from a similar background. Though, the back story of the Joker is not completely revealed.
The dark triad is a group of three personality traits, that is, Narcissism, Machiavellianism and Psychopathy. It is said that an evil personality consists of one or more of these traits or personality disorders. Now it is important to mention that the character of Joker is basically a complete psychopath with a few traits of Narcissism and Machiavellianism. “Psychopath” one of the very widely used term in psychology and now in daily language thanks to Sherlock and Batman. Very few people actually know what psychopaths are and what they are capable of. Many people, out of curiosity and awe, try to emulate this dark personality and idealize it. This can be emphasized by the fact that the Joker has more fans than Batman himself. Probably the eccentricity of the character and give-a-damn attitude is something new for the audience at large. A psychopath, like Joker, is someone who is bored of life, much more bored than many of us. A psychopath makes his world interesting by playing practical games with people around and let me specify these games aren’t of peaceful nature. They can range from emotional torture and manipulation to brutalities and murder. The Joker and other psychopaths like Jim Moriarity of Sherlock lack empathy and remorse. Their actions are solely guided by their desire to manipulate and have fun and any harm done in that process is considered a collateral damage. With this I can conveniently say people like Joker do exist with or without the makeup or mask, very much walking among us.
Now let me discuss another aspect of the Joker and the man who laughs. These are psychopaths are often created by society or one cruel individual. As I stated before that every person has a bright side and a dark side and the dark side either overpowers due to a person’s personal choices or due to emulation of what is perceived as ideal. However, the dark side overpowers a person most lethally when he or she experiences a major depressing life changing event or when cruelties are inflicted upon them by an outside force. This creates a spirit of vengeance which creates negative characters like Joker or positive characters with a violent streak like V in V for Vendetta.
Well many people believe that these characters cannot be real. Many believe that such brutal, inhuman and sadist beings do not exist at all but I beg to differ. A very famous quote by Pablo Picasso says, ‘Everything you can imagine is real.’ Well yes it is. If an imagination of such a character can come in Jerry Robinson’s and Victor Hugo’s mind then it can come in anyone’s mind and not all the imaginations are made into characters of a mainstream Hollywood movie. Some imaginations express themselves in action and individuals like the Joker come to forefront. Let me site the example of a few astonishing murder and rape cases which were solely done to have fun or to satisfy ones sadist needs. “The Hello Kitty Murder Case,” in which the victim was tortured for days, her body parts were boiled and cut and her skull was stuffed in a hello kitty toy which was discovered by the police. This was primarily done for fun and entertainment. Similarly, the most brutal of the rape case known as the Murder of Junko Furuta was the rape of a Chinese school girl, who was abducted by four men and tortured and raped continually for 40 days. Her body was found battered in cement after her death. So, one can see that what Joker was capable of has its real examples or probably even worse ones.
Let me shift back to the main thing I have to discuss and that is the Joker within all of us. This doesn’t mean all of us have a tendency for brutality, murder or torture. This means that each and every human being has a dark side, an aggressive side and probably even a murderous side if instigated. These unacceptable and disturbing sides of a person’s personality are curbed and controlled by societal norms, family love and innate care. A very kind benevolent person also has a Joker hidden in him which if instigated can be lethal. Human nature and psyche is still a mystery and that is why psychology is considered a developing science. One cannot fathom it completely and playing with it can be dangerous. Also, the kindness, charity and helpfulness are social constructs for co-existence while naturally humans or Homo sapiens are brutal animals capable of much harm and viciousness.
As for how my life revolves around this psychology lies in the simple fact that I like observing people. People enthral me, mystify me and surprise me more than anything and witnessing the psyche, reactions and behaviour of people in various situations is what I love. After silently observing and analysing people on my own and judging my own behaviour in various situations I have come to a conclusion that no one person is good or bad, angel or devil. Every person has his own story and the angel and the devil resides in each one of us. Our circumstances bring forth the force which we our guided by. As for the Joker, I think every human walks with a part of him inside them. A dark humorous part that is subtly denied by a “Just Kidding.”
If you are a Batman fan then you would be familiar with the funny, lethal and treacherous super villain, The Joker. This legendary character created by Jerry Robinson is inspired from the character of a 1928 silent film based on Victor Hugo’s novel, ‘The Man Who Laughs’. When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured and made to laugh forever, hence the name The Man Who Laughs. The cruelty inflicted on the boy and the agony experienced creates evil in its pure form. Born normal and later considered a freak is the story of the man who laughs and the Joker comes from a similar background. Though, the back story of the Joker is not completely revealed.
The dark triad is a group of three personality traits, that is, Narcissism, Machiavellianism and Psychopathy. It is said that an evil personality consists of one or more of these traits or personality disorders. Now it is important to mention that the character of Joker is basically a complete psychopath with a few traits of Narcissism and Machiavellianism. “Psychopath” one of the very widely used term in psychology and now in daily language thanks to Sherlock and Batman. Very few people actually know what psychopaths are and what they are capable of. Many people, out of curiosity and awe, try to emulate this dark personality and idealize it. This can be emphasized by the fact that the Joker has more fans than Batman himself. Probably the eccentricity of the character and give-a-damn attitude is something new for the audience at large. A psychopath, like Joker, is someone who is bored of life, much more bored than many of us. A psychopath makes his world interesting by playing practical games with people around and let me specify these games aren’t of peaceful nature. They can range from emotional torture and manipulation to brutalities and murder. The Joker and other psychopaths like Jim Moriarity of Sherlock lack empathy and remorse. Their actions are solely guided by their desire to manipulate and have fun and any harm done in that process is considered a collateral damage. With this I can conveniently say people like Joker do exist with or without the makeup or mask, very much walking among us.
Now let me discuss another aspect of the Joker and the man who laughs. These are psychopaths are often created by society or one cruel individual. As I stated before that every person has a bright side and a dark side and the dark side either overpowers due to a person’s personal choices or due to emulation of what is perceived as ideal. However, the dark side overpowers a person most lethally when he or she experiences a major depressing life changing event or when cruelties are inflicted upon them by an outside force. This creates a spirit of vengeance which creates negative characters like Joker or positive characters with a violent streak like V in V for Vendetta.
Well many people believe that these characters cannot be real. Many believe that such brutal, inhuman and sadist beings do not exist at all but I beg to differ. A very famous quote by Pablo Picasso says, ‘Everything you can imagine is real.’ Well yes it is. If an imagination of such a character can come in Jerry Robinson’s and Victor Hugo’s mind then it can come in anyone’s mind and not all the imaginations are made into characters of a mainstream Hollywood movie. Some imaginations express themselves in action and individuals like the Joker come to forefront. Let me site the example of a few astonishing murder and rape cases which were solely done to have fun or to satisfy ones sadist needs. “The Hello Kitty Murder Case,” in which the victim was tortured for days, her body parts were boiled and cut and her skull was stuffed in a hello kitty toy which was discovered by the police. This was primarily done for fun and entertainment. Similarly, the most brutal of the rape case known as the Murder of Junko Furuta was the rape of a Chinese school girl, who was abducted by four men and tortured and raped continually for 40 days. Her body was found battered in cement after her death. So, one can see that what Joker was capable of has its real examples or probably even worse ones.
Let me shift back to the main thing I have to discuss and that is the Joker within all of us. This doesn’t mean all of us have a tendency for brutality, murder or torture. This means that each and every human being has a dark side, an aggressive side and probably even a murderous side if instigated. These unacceptable and disturbing sides of a person’s personality are curbed and controlled by societal norms, family love and innate care. A very kind benevolent person also has a Joker hidden in him which if instigated can be lethal. Human nature and psyche is still a mystery and that is why psychology is considered a developing science. One cannot fathom it completely and playing with it can be dangerous. Also, the kindness, charity and helpfulness are social constructs for co-existence while naturally humans or Homo sapiens are brutal animals capable of much harm and viciousness.
As for how my life revolves around this psychology lies in the simple fact that I like observing people. People enthral me, mystify me and surprise me more than anything and witnessing the psyche, reactions and behaviour of people in various situations is what I love. After silently observing and analysing people on my own and judging my own behaviour in various situations I have come to a conclusion that no one person is good or bad, angel or devil. Every person has his own story and the angel and the devil resides in each one of us. Our circumstances bring forth the force which we our guided by. As for the Joker, I think every human walks with a part of him inside them. A dark humorous part that is subtly denied by a “Just Kidding.”
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