Abstract

The original Joker tells the story of Arthur Fleck, a marginalized man with mental health issues who one day grows tired of being abused and reacts with violence, as a result of which he ends up in prison. But the mass shock derived from the live murder he committed elevates him as a symbol of the oppressed people, fed up with being mistreated by the privileged. Joker: Folie à Deux is a brilliant correction to the simplistic interpretation made of the first film. Harley Quinn represents the audience thrilled by the appearance of an uncontrollable madman who believes that because he has suffered in life, he has the right to kill at will. But Fleck wants nothing to do with his alter ego, whom he despises. And he does not seek to excuse himself by appealing to an alleged "multiple personality" pathology; rather, he takes responsibility for his actions. The audience that embraced the first Joker rejected this second one because there are no longer scenes of gratuitous and wild cruelty, except in a dreamlike state... which speaks to a certain average state of today’s society.

Keywords: Madness | Mis en abyme | Responsibility