For me, Ledger's Joker WAS frightening. But I was so intrigued by him, unable to look at much of anything else when he was in a scene. He's very charismatic. I also found myself identifying strongly with a lot of the things he said in regards to human failings and fraility. Like Hannibal Lector, who was a genius and a doctor of psychology who understood how the mind works. Joker is -- this one, at least -- a genius, too, and very up on human psychology because, hey! He IS psycho!
While some may say this is a prime example of that fine line between genius and madness, I say there's no separation whatsoever, that often being so intelligent, so AWARE can drive a man to insanity. Many ancient cultures, ie Native Americans, believed that crazy people were the wisest, that they were in touch with forces no one else could reach or comprehend, that the gods were speaking to/through them. Think of all the highly creative/inventive people throughout history who were borderline or actually diagnosed with mental problems (Van Gogh, Poe, Beethoven, Mozart, Tesla, et al). They lived tormented lives but left an amazing legacy.
I think that's why I found myself giggling so much over some of the things Joker said and did, because I recognized the genius within the madness, and appreciated it. Yes, he caused a lot of pain, torment and even death, but HOW he did it was just brilliant. Just as there are countless TV programs dedicated to exploring and even admiring the technical side of enemy military maneuvers during past wars, I have to admire Joker's setup and execution (no pun intended) of his plans. He's scary-dangerous but he is also poetry in motion. Intriguing. If he was real, I'd want to sit down and talk to him -- barring, of course, he didn't kill me afterwards. Although dying at his hand? Might not be so bad. At least it'd be creative and spontaneous. I'd just make sure no pencils were around. Heh.
And to top it all off, he's got a wicked-ass sense of humor. I really dig that in a guy. ;D
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-07-28 09:24 pm (UTC)While some may say this is a prime example of that fine line between genius and madness, I say there's no separation whatsoever, that often being so intelligent, so AWARE can drive a man to insanity. Many ancient cultures, ie Native Americans, believed that crazy people were the wisest, that they were in touch with forces no one else could reach or comprehend, that the gods were speaking to/through them. Think of all the highly creative/inventive people throughout history who were borderline or actually diagnosed with mental problems (Van Gogh, Poe, Beethoven, Mozart, Tesla, et al). They lived tormented lives but left an amazing legacy.
I think that's why I found myself giggling so much over some of the things Joker said and did, because I recognized the genius within the madness, and appreciated it. Yes, he caused a lot of pain, torment and even death, but HOW he did it was just brilliant. Just as there are countless TV programs dedicated to exploring and even admiring the technical side of enemy military maneuvers during past wars, I have to admire Joker's setup and execution (no pun intended) of his plans. He's scary-dangerous but he is also poetry in motion. Intriguing. If he was real, I'd want to sit down and talk to him -- barring, of course, he didn't kill me afterwards. Although dying at his hand? Might not be so bad. At least it'd be creative and spontaneous. I'd just make sure no pencils were around. Heh.
And to top it all off, he's got a wicked-ass sense of humor. I really dig that in a guy. ;D