Philosophy of JOKER: References - Wisecrack Edition 

Jared out here looking like a ginger Lord Farquaad

Let's all take a moment to be grateful that Ms Rona's social distancing and Jared's break didn't overlap. We really do live in a society.

I never thought I'd hear someone compare Arthur Fleck to Harambe.

Good to have you back Jared. Best hair in the game

11:14 “No idealized love story could save Arthur (or any anti heroes)” Welp there goes the fangirls and their shippings online...

This the only type of Jared I want associated with the Joker.

Exactly the commentary I wanted about this film. The film, to me, is all about subjectivity. The audience is constantly asked to self-reflect on their perceptions of Arthur, Arthur's subjectivity is warped, the real public reflect on the fictitious rioting public and their chosen interpretation of Arthur. As we condemn a world that would condemn arthur's seeming innocence at the beginning we realise we would do the same. We all view the world in a way that makes it easier to tolerate, more simple. The film mocks its critics for their need to see controversy and anarchists looking for a lightning-rod. "Comedy is subjective"

The point of this video is: “bruh, Bobby DeNiro is the MAN”

"I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel’s worth. Banks are going bust. Shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s no one anywhere that seems to know what to do with us. Now into it. We know the air is unfit to breathe, our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had 15 homicides and 63 violent crimes as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We know things are bad. Worse than bad. They’re crazy. It’s like everything everywhere is going crazy so we don’t go out anymore. We sit in a house as slowly the world we’re living in is getting smaller and all we say is, “Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster, and TV, and my steel belted radials and I won’t say anything.” Well I’m not going to leave you alone. I want you to get mad. I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot. I don’t want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crying in the streets. All I know is first you’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, “I’m a human being. God Dammit, my life has value.” So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out, and yell, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” I want you to get up right now. Get up. Go to your windows, open your windows, and stick your head out, and yell, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Things have got to change my friends. You’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

Why doesn't anybody mentions Requiem for a Dream and its influence on The Joker? The theme of madness, the television show component, even Sarah's delusionl dance scene. It's all there!

1:17 The 1970's 1:41 1970's Setting (Class Conflict, The Cult of Celebrity) 2:13 Part 1: Bad Guys? _The Anit-Hero_ - Cynical Post-Vietnam War Despair, WaterGate, Broken Trust - Flawed, Morally Ambiguous Men 4:08 Hollywood became reliant on Blockbusters ever since + Superhero Moral Movies 5:00 Joker 2019 Arthur Fleck blurs Good and Evil, Subverts Superhero Genre 6:00 Part 2 Fantasy Vs Reality 8:41 Where The Joker Began 9:52 Imaginary Tale? 10:17 Deep Isolation --> Seeking out a Unrequited Love 11:15 It couldn't save them from their lonliness 11:25 Part 3: Media Sensation - People take advantage of our emotions 14:20 Commentary on our present 2019-2020

Hey, remember when there was an honest-to-god _moral panic_ about this?

Can tell how much I missed you Jared! Wisecrack without is no wisecrack AT ALL! (The girl does a good job, the other guy don´t hit for me)

Clicked on this, and as the intro played I felt a pang of reluctance... with no disrespect intended for the other hosts, this is the type of thing that just felt perfect for Jared, and it's such a shame it won't be him.... Needless to say, lovely surprise! Great to see you again!

One of my favorite parts of this film is a discussion my dad, my gf, and I had after the film: we all had different interpretations as to what was real. Each of us cherry picked some scenes and disagreed where the line was between reality and fantasy. And each of us were right. There was enough evidence to go either way, the film still made sense, and it was amazing. You can pick and choose any set of hallucinations, and the story remains cohesive. Really an element of brilliant storytelling.

Somebody downvoted in 2 minutes. So they didn't even watch the video. What a banger

I was super excited that this video dropped bc I knew we’d get Jared! Jared, Jared, Jared Lol!!Great to have you back good sir!

I was starting to think Jared died

This and once Upon a time in Hollywood are my 2 favorite movies of 2019. I wanna see knives out and parasite too

No Promotion in between the Video.🙌 Wisecracks soul Jared is back.✌️

Jared we missed you man, great to have you back dude 🙌🏿🙌🏿

WB: hey Todd the Hangover made money, make another one. TP: but I want to do a movie on social status and mental health. WB: sounds good just make two hangovers and a superhero film

Glad you're back, Jared. I hope you're well and happy.

I really want to say that the amount of work that clearly went into this was staggeringly impressive. Respect Wisecrack 👍

Its awesome to hear from you Jared! Welcome back!

One thing about Art, is that it often resonates to people, AND can be interpreted in multiple ways. By that interpretation, even if the film is obviously derivative, The Joker is art. I've also heard it said that "Good artists pay Homage. Real Artists Steal."

I'd say that this movie uses slightly reworked scenes from other movies as recognisable parts in a way not dissimilar from Brian de Palma's movies. De Palma lifted scenes and at times the whole plot of a movie (mostly Hitchcock of course, also Italian giallos) to reflect on social issues and, most importantly, on the nature of the medium itself, enhancing the already powerful messages contained in the movies from wich the movie so heavily borrows.

Really glad you're back Jared, I hope you're doing well!

Jared’s back boiiiiiiii

One of the best movies I've ever watched.

It's so good to see Jared and his crazy hair back! Welcome back, buddy!

joker (2019) remind me of darren aronofsky and martin scorsese movies.

What if the origin stories of Heath Ledger's Joker scars are actually the origin of each scar? Like, his drunk father made him one on one side, and he as an adult made the other side himself, thus giving for created his smile?

Jared: "The inevitable Joker sequel" Me: "You shut your mouth! Don't bring that evil on me, Jared."

1:41 "Philips' 70s vibe is visible in every frame of the film" *puts the 2019 d'angelico line of solid body guitars in the store in the background*

Can you guys do a philosophy of the anime “Monster”? I have a hard time considering whether it’s overrated or not.

12:12 *ITS MY MONEY AND I NEED IT NOW!*

Welcome back, Jared!

Joker had so many references to Taxi Driver

Thanks for the great video! Ain't found one in the comments, so will make up myself Strongly reccomend to enjoy the video first! Referenced films list: . . . . . . Anti-heroes Taxi Driver (1976) A Clockwork Orange (1971) Mashville (1975) The Beer Hunter (1978) Raging Bull (1980) One Flew over the Cokoo's Nest (1975) Ford Copolla & Stanley Cooper Medium Cool Dog Day Afternoon 5 Easy Pieces Anni Hall Amerivan Graffiti ... Fantasy VS Reality Harold and Maude (1971) King of Comedy Network (1970)

JARED I MISSED YOU

Now that I think about it, the Joker and 70s cinema are a match made in heaven. Both are centered around the idea of calling the moral integrity of society into question. Both are dark and violent to an almost disturbing extent. Both often employ twisted subversions of things we take for granted in entertainment. And so on. Just another reason why this film is #1 in my book.

Movie: The Media start a bloody uprising in order to create drama that they can then report about, and it works. Real Life: The Media start a bloody uprising in order to create drama that they can then report about, and it fails.

Thank God, Jared's back.

"I'm the Joker, baby!"- The Joker "baby"

When this channel talked about the inspirations of the Joker movie before I went to the theater, I tried to look for these movies on Netflix for preparation, but couldn't find them. I'm a weirdo that'll go down those kind of rabbit holes for pure satiation of exploring ideas like those!

“Uber-morally questionable choice”. 4:53 Aaahah! I see what you did there.

Joker is the crescendo of ghosts of movies past, real world conflict, and amazing story telling vision. It is no less for taking inspiration from past movies. It doesn't ask to be any more than any other. It merely displays the real world pain in a relatable way. While at the same time being out of the realm of actionable for most people. Which is why calls of impending violence went unrealized.

My overall bone to pick with this film is how it tries to show a working class person with mental problems. The obvious message trying to be put across is to help people with problems and give them the support they need. Yet the subtext and actions by the characters say, “if you don’t help the mentally ill they’ll rise up and kill you.”

yea...imma need a Deep or Dumb: Horse Girl. thanks.

Now I have to watch taxi driver again, thanks Jared.

These kinds of callbacks are in a sense neccessary imo because it inspires younger generations to look back at these references to enjoy and analyze

Ma boiiii Jared, love you buddy

It mirrors southpark's film about the controversy that their film would inevitably generate. Interesting to see that we've not come much further since the 70s

I find myself enjoying the dives into Joker’s “themes” more than the movie itself. I didn’t like the film much - the slow burn didn’t crescendo into much of a bang personally, but for seemingly most others I know and talk to, it hit all the way home for them. I reluctantly went for the alleged controversy, and came away wondering what exactly was so controversial in the first place. 🤷🏾‍♂️ Folks tend to graft their own meaning onto the film & Authur Fleck, despite the movie telling both the masses in its world and the masses of our real world that you really shouldn’t do that because you’ll likely get it wrong, and even knowing that you’ll still likely motivate yourself into making a poor choice anyways only to look back later and question why you ever thought that would be a good idea at all.

Boromir!?!?! Is that you!? Never mind this “joker” our people need you back in Gondor at once

I really wished that that clarifying montage wasn't in the movie.

It's kinda sad to see Martin Scorsese say that he didn't feel that Taxi Driver's ending was in any way questionable. Even before the internet and it's theories, when I first saw the film in the early 90s I thought "Oh, I see, in his dying breath he's fantasizing about the world celebrating his actions and Jodie Foster's character having a nice life". I thought it was clever and made WAY more sense

Welcome back sir.

Not even watched the video yet. I am happy you are back Jared ❤️

He's back !

I think above all Joker was one of the best portrayals of New York at that time. New York was the pinnacle of inequality between those who lived there and those who worked there when Time Square was nothing more than a filthy block you would not want to go near at night. This was a timely piece to reflect our reality of inequality as it is now and with its heightened awareness because of movements like Occupy Wall Street and figures like Bernie Sanders we are reliving the anxiety of those who could not escape their unequal reality in New York City and their hatred of the upper class who ensured separate spheres existed in the City during that time period.

On the case of Taxi Driver the fact that he didn't get arrested tells us more about the criminal justice system with the most inflated of egos, that would kill some people for the pettiest of reasons, or COMPLETELY unfounded suspicions on one hand, and would let actual criminals walk away particularly by-product of the over inflated egos... on the other.

5:00 Kevin Wendell Crumb: Am I a joke to you?

Thank you for a very well-researched, thoughtful & enjoyable overview of my fave flick of 2019 (I'm SO glad that I had the prescience of mind to ignore Rotten 'Manipulated Much?' Tomatoes & went to see it at the cinema). I'm old enuff to remember when films axually MEANT something, & while my initial reaction to Joker's obvious references to Taxi Driver & King of Comedy had me a TAD worried, it quickly became obvious these reference points were NOT simply shallow "Hey look - I'm goin' all 'Tarantino' on yer ass, muthas!", & were (reasonably) sincere & unexploitative artistic decisions. Oh, & you'll be fascinated to know that Robert De Niro got my 'Best Casting' vote for last year as well. LoL! One small caveat though - you appear to have forgotten to switch off whatever music you were playing in your studio b4 recording your piece - please ensure this doesn't happen again, as I found it most irritating & distracting & ultimately knocked your wee vid down from an 8 to a 7 out of 10. Other than that - 3 thumbs UP! :-D

I thought joker's philosophy was "individualist anarchism'' .. Anyway I like taxi driver and the king of comedy please share your light on them too one day 😊😊

I like to think of the movie as one big joke. Directly "stealing" plot points from other movies, the fact that a five round gun shoots eight times without reloading, and the almost famous line: "If I'm going to have a back story, I want it to be multiple choice." But the real kicker to the whole thing, when the movie was first coming out, and all the articles decrying it as an Incel call to violence. As well as the Military warning which came out in America... Guys, guys... You're listening to a story told by a clown in an Insane asylum, "Why so Serious?"

Hey Wisecrack, you guys should do a video on Season 3 of Castlevania. I think it has quite a bit of philosophy this time around.

Finally, a decent video.

Cool. Good Work. Now, how 'bout a video on Beastars?

J A R E D A R E D

As much as this film takes inspiration from those of the '70s, it also heavily draws upon the movie which sparked the Joker's creation in the first place: 1928's "The Man Who Laughs". From the (most obvious) physical resemblance between the lanky Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine and Phoenix's gaunt Arthur, to shots in "Joker" which echo or even directly mirror those in "The Man Who Laughs", to the two tales each giving their different takes on the theme of a child bearing the scars and the literal and metaphorical laugh of generations who came before him, this film was the clearest, most direct homage to the Joker's real-life origin source I'd ever seen.

Jared has the best video essays hands down. Shout out to all the other wisecrack members too but Jared is elite!

Jared you are back!!!!

The thing about this woman is that she is the unlucky object of this man's fantasies.Projection of his desire to find love, beauty, and a merciful end to my tragic isolation.

I have been waiting for this for a long time I love the joker

Y'all should do Casshern Sins. Ive recently wathched it and it is instantly in my top 5 anime ever. I really like the way they play with the ideas of life, death, and purpose.

Joker is not a blatant rip-off necessarily. I liked it a lot, but there's a big difference. Particularly in Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy Scorsese's great trick is getting the audience to identify with the problematic character without having to actually like the character. Those influences never make excuses for their characters or give much background to gain a greater understanding; they only show the story from the disturbed characters' point of view. I never feel the need to be on Travis Bickle's team in the way that it feels like Joker wants me to be on Arthur's team. Joker makes plenty of excuses for Arthur, which makes me more uncomfortable with the movie because ultimately it's an unrealistic comicbook film that is trying to validate the decisions of a supervillain who does not exist in real life. Why am I being asked to validate a blood thirsty supervillain? At the end of Taxi Driver, you're terrified of what this guy might do next. The end of the Joker almost seems like a victory for the underdog, at least to me. With all its great points about society and Joaquin's amazing performance, Joker does make me concerned about the behavior it is validating.

remember when this channel used to dress up as aliens and gangsters to review things

"First hollywood film with a laser focus on the supervillain" makes me wonder why Venom doesn't count. or Brightburn

Yaaaay welcome back!

DeNiro in King of Comedy reminds of me Harrison Ford in Mosquito Coast. Just seems like a role out of their range.

I wish the film was as deep as your analysis. Great video, Jared!

I really wanna watch the king of comedy without spoilers but it’s just amazing to listen to your thoughts, keep up the good work

Glad to see you are back Jared. Your voice is the best 👍

Probably an unpopular idea but I would LOVE to see a "Philosophy of/Deep or Dump" video for the Parasyte: The Maxim anime. It's really worth checking out.

Jared’s back. Life is good.

Really good commentary on the film, but Peter Coffin's video about it is still the best.

Jared out here looking like out of work Prince Adam

Joker just can't be compared to anything else. It's a masterpiece that stands alone.

Maybe after a decade of Antiheroes, we finally have Joker as an Antivillain.

I think reading the ending of Taxi Driver and King of Comedy as fantasy can be argued but ultimately streamlines the morality of those films and removes complications we would have with our relationships to those characters. We're not used to bad behavior being rewarded in cinema and so if things ultimately work out for these guys the way they would like, we see that as a reward. However, Travis at the end of Taxi Driver sees something in that review mirror. This is the moment Scorsese describes as the time bomb starting to tick again. Rupert gets the fame he wants but it doesn't bring him the satisfaction he thinks it would. The fantasy remains a fantasy because fame cannot make you a whole person. They're trapped in the hell of their own consciousness, only able to perceive the very edge of what it is that makes them so tortured but unable to fully comprehend it.

Thanks for the insight man. Chaos!

Loved it. A modern classic

Please do a Philosophy of Community (the tv show)!

The only issue with the film is the one scene that does not contain Arthur. Thomas & Martha Wayne being killed means that everything in the film had to happen. Because there's no way that Arthur would be aware of Bruce's origin to interject into his fantasy.

Glad you're back, Jared

I rewatched the Joker today for this

Best movie of 2019

Yay! Jared we missed you! That voice man :)