It’s hard not to look at ‘Joker’ within the realms of social politics. However, it is not inherently political, but more a character based film. Arthur Fleck (the Joker) played brilliantly by Joaquin Phoenix, is a troubled man, quite obviously. He is burdened by so much in his life that it is hard not to enjoy the cinematic violence. As this is not revenge, this is his twisted version of well-deserved justice. The job that tears him down 9-5 24/7; his mother who never believed in him and only believed in the fake/reality of his ‘father’; and just about everyone who looked down on him every single day of his life. I think the reason spectators become so invested with this character is because of the way director Todd Phillips uses the reaction of the public to Arthur’s crimes. The uproar and riots in Gotham creates a superhero of the clown character in the lower classes, which forces the audience to see him in the same light. In this way, perhaps this isn’t the legendary villain’s origin story, but the origin story of an upside-down hero. Phoenix creates the character in a way that made me feel so much emotion that I didn’t know what else to do but admire him in every sense of the role. There is a scene where he is dancing on the steps with absolute freedom, the same ones that he had solemnly walked up so many times before, exhausted with the labour of life. And this is no coincidence, he dances down the steps, cigarette in hand, with fluidity and a strange joy that highlights that he has finally, after so many years of constant abuse. transitioned into the infamous Joker.