At first, I thought Billy Crudup played the Joker, but it turned out to be Joaquin Phoenix, who lost 50 pounds for the role.

Joaquin Phoenix has taken on many films centered on psychology and sociology, such as:

• Beau is Afraid: A surreal exploration of a man’s deepest fears and traumas, primarily rooted in his toxic, overbearing relationship with his mother.
• Her: The story of a lonely man who falls in love with an AI, exploring how technology shapes intimacy and the fleeting nature of love.

Phoenix consistently chooses deep psychological and sociological roles, drawn to complex, challenging characters that explore raw human emotions and societal issues. His commitment to authenticity and intense character study makes him ideal for films that confront the darker sides of humanity. So why would he lose 50 pounds to star in a “bad movie”?

The Joker Archetype: Shadow Self and Social Projection

The “Joker” archetype represents the chaotic, rebellious side of human nature, embodying suppressed impulses and challenging social norms. Psychologically, it reflects the shadow self, while sociologically, it highlights the effects of isolation and marginalization.

People view the Joker as a rebellious hero because he symbolizes freedom from societal constraints and defies injustice, channeling collective frustration. This larger-than-life figure becomes a powerful outlet for anger without the moral complexities of a real person.

The Joker’s visual portrayal resembles hallucinations in schizophrenia, reflecting a disruption in perception and cognition.

The main character struggles with his identities:

• Arthur, a simple, kind, and lonely neurodivergent man who faces bullying and isolation.
• Joker, a rebellious anti-hero who dares to challenge authority.

His girlfriend, Harley Quinn, and his followers accept only his alter ego, Joker, while rejecting Arthur as an ordinary, vulnerable man. This leaves him struggling to choose between being alone or hiding his true self to be accepted.

This struggle is common in society, where people feel pressured to act outrageously to gain attention; otherwise, they’re ignored. The film’s reception reflects this—viewers grew bored when Joker 2 didn’t depict Joker as a destructive anti-hero, as they expected. Instead, the film dared to show the complex, human side of his character.

People often refuse to accept vulnerability within their shadow self, preferring that part of them to be powerful—even if it’s destructive. In Native American traditions, the heyoka or “sacred clown” sometimes appears as a shamanic figure. This archetype, encountered in altered states during ceremonies like ayahuasca, reflects our actions at a deep, subconscious level.

The heyoka laughs at us when we try to project negativity outward and plays with us when we lose our composure. This experience helped me understand Yin and Yang on a profound level, teaching me to accept the coexistence of order and chaos.

Shiva’s dance is the Joker’s dance, the Shaman’s dance, the YinYang dance.