What gives Arthur the idea that his life is not a tragedy, but a comedy?
Joker is a beautiful movie that shows the progressive derangement of Arthur Fleck, who turns into one of DC's favorite villains: the Joker. Joker is about how a regular guy, Fleck, transitions into this maniacal villain. We know that the Joker thinks that he's a comedian (while still being self aware) and everything he does is sort of an act -- but attached to some good in his view -- and in Joker, we finally see how he gets to that point psychologically. I'm thinking about the scene in the hospital
(when he kills his mother)
when he says, "I used to think my life was a tragedy, but now I realize that it's a comedy". What specifically triggers that change in his attitude towards his life? On first glance, it might seem like the answer to that question is obvious, but there's so much going on in the movie at the same time that I'm confused about what specifically causes this change.
Best Answer
I will once again venture to answer a question about a movie I have not yet seen ( but I do have tickets for this Sunday )
First, let me start with a quote from Mel Brooks, one of the greatest minds of our time.
“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”
There is very subtle difference here (I'm not being too sarcastic here, I hope). The tragedy is when we personally experience loss, pain, injury because of the pain we feel. From the trailers, Arthur Fleck is seen to go through plenty in his life. The comedy aspect is from watching something as an uninvolved observer. Depending on who you are and your sense of humor, you may find some things funny (comedy) or not. That part is subjective to each individual.
Back to Arthur and the spoiler in your post. Not sure where it falls in the plot, but it is a movie about the mental breakdown of an individual who becomes a villain. Perhaps committing acts of evil are comedic to him after he has made the full transition from a functional human being to a comic-book level mega-villain.
Pictures about "What gives Arthur the idea that his life is not a tragedy, but a comedy?"
Who said life is either a comedy or tragedy?
Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 \u2013 2 March 1797), more commonly known as Horace Walpole, was a British politician and writer, noted for his collected letters and for having written the first Gothic horror novel, The Castle of Otranto (1764).Is life a tragedy or comedy?
Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.Joker (2019) - My Life Is a Comedy Scene (5/9) | Movieclips
More answers regarding what gives Arthur the idea that his life is not a tragedy, but a comedy?
Answer 2
What he means by that is something similar to a quote by the Joker I read in Batman: The Killing Joke.
After Arthur discovers his father is not Thomas Wayne (Batman's father), and that he'd been constantly abused by one of his Mother's boyfriends, and that he was, he concludes that life is nothing more than a monstrous, demented comedy, and that death is the punchline.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Pixabay, Jakayla Toney, Mikhail Nilov, Engin Akyurt