Like many other film boy-fearing women, I was hesitant to view Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker in theaters. When a movie is described as “incel-friendly”, it’s only natural to want to remain a safe 50 feet from the box office at all times. But, after hearing a few of my friends’ rave reviews of the movie, including such praise as “It was pretty good”, “Joker was fine”, and “Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” I decided to put on my big girl pants and head to the theater. What follows are a few helpful tips for what I feel is an untapped market — women who are seeing Joker ironically but will walk out of the theater with some thoughts they were not expecting. This is a guide to what to expect in Joker, for women. Jokher, if you will.
1. Joker does NOT pass the Bechdel Test
That’s right, ladies. There are but three (3) named female characters in Joker (barely), and they never speak to each other. Not even once! I understand that this movie centers a male character but come on! It’s 2019 and we couldn’t even get one female-identifying character to exchange words with another female-identifying character? My advice to female moviegoers is to not even bother waiting for a possible Bechdel pass to occur, as you will waste away the prime minutes of the movie on a fruitless search for even the smallest utterance of dialogue between two women. Check your feminism at the door and just enjoy the male-dominated chaos of the movie.
2. You WILL think “I could change him” and that IS a red flag
This was one of the most unexpected moments of the movie for me, if I’m being honest. It had less to do with the content of the film and more to do with the startling realization that I’ve fully developed a savior complex with respect to my personal relationships. It’s important to note that while Arthur Fleck often evokes empathy, thinking you could solve every one of his problems (and boy, does he have a lot of them) with pure kindness and constant affection is completely delusional. Joker is a fictional character and does not need you to save him. In fact, he literally cannot be saved! If you save him, then he never becomes Batman’s enemy and films’s greatest treasure, The Dark Knight (2008), never gets written, let alone produced. It’s much better to use that savior energy to attempt to save the white boy from your film class that definitely has that “tormented artist” look to him. Yeah, that relationship will definitely work.
3. Unrealistic Hair Dye Halts Suspension of Disbelief
Joker maintains fairly masterful realism for the majority of the film, but one moment nearly ruins it for the whole movie. The makeover scene is a scene that has only been mastered by one genre — chick flicks. The fact that Joker even attempts it is a major risk, and one that could make or break the female audience’s general approval of the film. There is a scene in the movie in which Arthur Fleck decides to dye his hair green — the quintessential Joker color. However, as many of you are aware, Joaquin Phoenix possesses dark brown hair. Yet after one treatment of what is presumably box dye, Arthur Fleck’s hair becomes an unnaturally vibrant green. This blatant disregard for hair chemistry is downright disrespectful. He doesn’t even bleach his hair first! And we’re expected to believe that his drugstore hair dye just “works well”? It’s laughable and, honestly, pretty alienating to a female audience.
4. Clown makeup…hot?
There are MANY men who don a face of clown makeup in this movie. Usually, it’s Joaquin himself but clown imagery becomes quite prominent throughout the film. At first, it was unsettling but after a few scenes it became…kinda hot, actually. Like it was getting hard to keep it in my pants after looking at their generically happy painted-on faces. I swore I would never become one of those people who finds themselves attracted to clowns but, what can I say, Joker converted me. The thick white paint, luscious painted lips, the little blue triangles oozing out of shape after the Joker’s been crying — I ate it all up. Joaquin Phoenix has never been sexy to me but when he was in the streets all dolled up in clown makeup, I thought to myself, “He could, like, get it.” I say all this as a message of caution to my fellow ladies. Clown makeup might turn you on a little bit. And if it does, then Joker just might be the movie for you.
Written by Francesca Varga, Social Media Officer