The Abstract

Recently i came across this photo of the joker in this iconic scene from The Dark Knight, on the patterns of Starry Nights. It was just another picture I has casually scrolledthrough, but it got etched in my head the next few days. As much as I thought about it, I started thinking about the thought which could have been gone behind making it. For the unaware, starry night is an abstract painting made by Vincent Van Gogh after his nervous breakdown. The painting has garnered different interpretation over the years.

Coming back to the topic in hand, thoughts like Life imitates art and Freedom came to my mind. But I settled on the idea of the abstract . The Joker has been adapted countless number of times and still manages to always keep you on your toes and though now mainstream will always be in the top tier of all time greatest villains. The main reason being he is the character most close to real life. A character not sugar coated to match the side of your brain that gives you relief. He’s raw and he's unstable. He'is the villain who kills babies and skins faces. The Punisher can be considered bad, but he has a code. Joker has none. People like him cause they cant figure him out. People like to be in control, to be assured they have the better of things, to think they are ahead of the curve, all the while unable to see it for the spot on the circle it is. I tend to believe he is more evolved, beyond materialism. He understands the world and is ready to take it by the balls. In this era of sugar and spice and everything nice, a character like him reminds me of the cannibals humans really are, how easily people tend to throw away what they have for what they desire, how easily people throw you down the bus and most importanatly, how to never trust because unless you are an asset to people you are invisible. There is no such thing as friends. You only form alliances for physical intimacy, mental strength and emotional stability .

Joker is an important character that shows me how easy it is to play people because inherently everyone is the same, greedy and conceited. You promise to show people what they desire and massage their ego and you have them in your fist before you kow them. Lastly, It showed me a really stark reality of duality. As young kid I loved it when batman kicked jokers ass. As an adult I understand that joker actually got a kick off of it. There is a kind, evil, greedy , helpful version of you out there. There is no singularity, In some peoples eyes you are the person who have done them wrong or right and that is how they broadcast you. In real life action never speak louder than words, cause you have to speak for them to know that you did something. Theres so many layers to a person and hence so many version. Joker taught me to wear the makeup required for the day and carry on. Then let the world decide for themselves what they chose to see. Because inside the makeup we are all the same- parasitic angels lusting over momentary pleasures.

Joker will always be alive cause he is the person we are if we are set free.