KJCKorea
Journal Central

Joker (2019), directed by Todd Phillips, differentiates itself from existing superhero movies, by unconventionally bringing the character of Joker, who had taken a supporting role in the original series, to the forefront. Besides, on the realistic background of New York in the early 1980s, it projects the issue of polarization resulting from the economic injustice the world is facing today. The discourse implied by Joker argues for civil disobedience, including violence, which is different from the system-protecting discourse in Hollywood films, ‘to eradicate evil that threatens the world and to reestablish justice’, which has been mainly used in existing hero films. One of the decisive reasons for the favorable reception of such a film among the public is that it raises the issue of polarization, but the audience’s response to the prominent cultural phenomenon of our time, or the incorporation of subculture reflected in this film into the mainstream culture, must have played an important role as well. This study attempts to understand this cultural phenomenon as an aspect of the spread of the grotesque over time rather than simply considering it as anti-culture or counter-culture. Therefore, this study stipulates that the subversive forms of various layers appearing in Todd Phillips’ movie Joker and the public acceptance of these works are the basis for showing the recent trend of the expansion of the grotesque era. In this context, by analyzing this film from the perspective of grotesque realism, this study aims to find out why and in what way the overall structure of this work is built on the structure of grotesque. And, based on major grotesque theories, it checks also how this structure works to subvert the existing order, which is the main way that the grotesque emerges and operates. Approaching the work with a focus on the grotesque theory will be a way to effectively explain the various subversive aspects contained in this work.

Grotesque, Joker, Batman Series, Grotesque Realism, DC Comics