Assessment: "The Killing Joke"

What is your reaction to the text you've just read?

I would say intrigue, but also a little pessimistic as well. It was an incredibly intense story, and also very complex. I know there have been a lot of attempts to reinvent the Joker or elaborate on his past and how he became the mad villain he is, and while this story seems to fall in line with painting him under light of having a bad break in life and being driven to madness and evil-doing, it also alludes to the fact that this could be a hallucination or a fake memory created by a lunatic. So is the story Joker is remembering as the comic progresses true? Who's to say, in all honesty. I do enjoy the fact that Batman is still trying to leave a violent end out of the realm of possibility between the Joker and himself, even though Joker gives him ample reason to hate him or even kill him. In some ways, this comic made me consider if Joker was even the craziest character in the series. He is highly intelligent, incredibly dangerous, and had strange goals, while batman is highly intelligent, incredibly dangerous, and trying to thwart crime in a city. In the two similarities out of the three, Joker and Batman are very strong parallels of what could happen to any in a bad situation: They could become either a moral correct character or a morally deviant character. Still, the lines between the two are very much blurred, and I think that's what made their dynamic so intriguing

What connections did you make with the story you read? Discuss the elements of the story with which you were able to connect.

Well, I don't connect with the Joker or Batman completely, as they are both characters that work within shades of moral gray. Joker is portrayed to have a broken, terrible past that has influenced him to be who he is today, and the same sentence could be said for Batman. The two characters operate the way they do, whether good or bad, because of that. I think the most relatable aspects of each character are the traits that make them still human. Joker is a character who I can relate partially to because he questions the hierarchy of this world and the structure that maintains it's ordered. He questions all aspects of it, it's fairness, its intentions, its reasoning or logic. He represents a side of humanity that can potentially be driven insane by the confines of this work and how humans operate within it. Especially when humans are dealt a bad hand. Batman, on the other hand, represents humanity's desire to maintain stability and believing in what is right and good for the better of society, regardless of what hand you've been dealt with in your life. He represents our human desire to be good people in spite of the horror and pain that the world creates every day. Ultimately, they are two sides of a social coin that all people can relate with: "Why should I take the world seriously when it's all crazy anyway?" and "Why wouldn't I fight for this world and protect the goodness in it?"

What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use, what would you change?

I would adapt this story into a silent film. No words, only instrumental. I would want to challenge the story by interpreting it into a medium that completely relies on visual understanding and representation of a story, especially when it comes to Joker reliving what could be his past. As much as I like the dialogue and the script for the story, I think it would be an excellent challenge to try and convey the message of the comic only through visual actions and representations as the story progresses. It would be hard to convey some of the more specific thoughts and dialogue between the characters, but I also think that removing the words would enhance some of the more ambiguity of the story and what is actually being perceived as true memories, as well as what the ending is.