ABSTRACT

Joker critically and consciously explores the condition of modern loneliness and in so doing complexifies its representation. It does this through its representation of city spaces, social deprivation, political corruption, family breakdown, and mental illness. Together these elements interact so that the film becomes a canvass for the causes and consequences of loneliness and for the lonely imagination it sets in train. It is particularly through the body of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), as he moves through the city and its social milieus, that the affective residues of loneliness are fully materialised. Arthur embodies the figure of the lonely Stranger (Simmer 1964, Bauman 1988) who occupies an outsider-insider relationship to the neighbourhoods where he dwells. However, Arthur is also seen dancing in scenes of embodied reverie, where as the Joker he embraces the corrosive detritus of social isolation for murderous effect. Charting Arthur’s movements through the city streets, reading and sensing his encounters with the metropolis as signposts of and for loneliness, the article suggests that Joker either radicalises loneliness, setting it in opposition to late capitalism, or further pathologizes it, as if loneliness belongs to the flawed and fallen individual rather than to the inequalities of society at large.

摘要

小丑批判和自觉地探索了现代孤独的状况，并以此复杂化了它的表现。它通过代表城市空间，社会匮乏，政治腐败，家庭破裂和精神疾病来做到这一点。这些元素一起相互作用，使电影成为寂寞的原因和后果的画布，以及它在火车上引发的孤独想象的画布。尤其是通过亚瑟·弗莱克（Johuren Phoenix）的尸体，在他穿越城市及其社会环境时，孤独的情感残留得以充分体现。亚瑟（Arthur）体现了孤独的陌生人（Simmer 1964，Bauman 1988）的身影，他与他所居住的街区有局外人-内幕人的关系。但是，也可以看到亚瑟在体现遐想的场景中跳舞，作为小丑，他拥抱社交孤立的腐蚀残渣，以达到杀伤力。该文章暗示了亚瑟在城市街道上的活动图表，阅读并感知了他与大都市的相遇，以此作为孤独的标志和孤独感。小丑激化了孤独感，使其与晚期资本主义相对立，或者进一步使它变得病态化，好像孤独感是属于有缺陷和堕落的个人，而不是属于整个社会的不平等现象。