This post is dedicated to Heath Ledger.
4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008)
“Introduce a little anarchy, upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos.”
- The Joker in The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger’s performance in the 2008 film The Dark Knight earned him an Academy Award. The cost for this prestigious award may have been his own life. I recall being extremely excited for this film, especially after seeing (and enjoying) Batman Begins in 2005. Batman Begins was the first film in director Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. That film ended with a big teaser cliffhanger implying that the Joker would be the villain in the next film. For the first time since Jack Nicholson played the Clown Prince of Crime in 1989, the Joker would reunite with Batman on the big screen! The casting of Heath Ledger caught me (and many others) a little off guard, however. Up until that point, Heath was known more for romantic comedy roles. How was a guy that most people saw as “the knight in shining armor” type play a sadistic, sociopathic Batman villain? To say that I was apprehensive would be accurate. At the same time, I wanted to see what ol’ Heath could bring to the character.
Mr. Ledger wanted his rendition of the Joker to be completely different from any previous versions of the famed character. So, he isolated himself in a London hotel for around six weeks prior to shooting The Dark Knight to cultivate an entirely new character. It was during this time that Ledger studied the sources of inspiration with which director Christopher Nolan had provided him. He also began writing and pasting pictures into a journal that would famously become the "Joker Diary.” He would flip through this journal to get into character while on set. Mr. Ledger also spent a lot of time with the makeup and wardrobe department(s). He wanted to be heavily involved in how this version of the Joker would look on screen. The final product ended up being a chaotic, disheveled, and downright creepy clown look.
The theme of chaos permeates The Dark Knight, especially when the Joker is on screen. Alfred Pennyworth, who is Bruce Wayne’s butler and best friend, discusses this theme in the movie while having a conversation with Bruce. (SPOILER ALERT: Bruce Wayne is Batman.) Alfred says, “…some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” Alfred was speaking about the Joker, of course. When I initially saw the film, I did not think anything of this soliloquy. With the aging process comes wisdom, and now I realize just how true the last statement is. Some men, men just like me (and you), want to see the world burn. I decide every day to do the right thing, and that decision is the only thing preventing me from being the Joker. The responsibility that comes with masculine energy is hanging on by a thread and only realized when men make the right choice.
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