Where is Killing Joker Hiding?

There was an era of comic and superhero cinema where the point of superheroes were supposed to beat the bad guy where the bad guy wasn't given as much back story as I would believe they deserve. Even though The Joker was Batman's opposite since the beginning, he wasn't taken particularly seriously. You could try to argue, "well he's a clown" but that can be argued with two major points 1) clowns are terrifying. 2) None of the characters in the Adam West Batman were taken seriously. But then The Killing Joke came along and the story is terrifying. I won't tell you what the Joker does but it is MESSED UP. But the writer Alan Moore did something really cool with the character. He expanded on it while keeping the core essential elements to who the Joker is: a sadistic clown. If you want to know where you can see the most accurate portrayal of the character is (what a shock) Heath Ledger's Joker. Although they never actually describe him as a clown in the movie, the two parts that express who The Joker is more than anything are 1) the magic trick and 2) when he has the frag grenades in his coat and he says, "lets not blow this out of proportion." I highly suggest you check out both of the Joker pieces I talked about because they're both awesome.

What does the mask mean?

Among most superheroes a common trait is that they have a mask (besides X men, Hulk, Thor, Wonder Woman, Dr. Strange and Superman) although that's a lot of exceptions we will address those later. But why do superheroes wear masks? Is it just a form of disguise? I don't think so. Let's discuss a couple of heroes and their reasons for wearing the masks. As a child dressing up for Halloween my least favorite part was the mask because it was as sweaty as all get out so it worth it? The main use for the mask or the outfit in general as Ra's Al Ghul put it in Batman Begins is (to paraphrase) that it you have to be more than a man. A symbol. To be honest more that one person can be taking that persona of Batman. There might even be a Batman organization of people who are Batman all over the world. Although this is only in the comics, there is a real super hero organization who wear costumes and do work for the good of humanity. Not for hiding identity but as a symbol. What do you think the mask is for? Comment below to state your thoughts.

The best thing about Dark Knight Returns

The best part about The Dark Knight Returns so far is that it constantly addresses the issue of 'is Batman a vigilante or a hero?' and the morality of what he's doing. There are entire pages dedicated to newscasters and correspondents discussing the morality of what Batman is doing. Honestly I'm surprised more superhero cannon doesn't do this. Sure cops chase after Spiderman and he's huge in the press but they don't go that far in depth. Metropilous just gracefully accepts a dude flying around trying to save the earth. But that's because his girlfriend is a reporter. Then again so is Batman's, and the ninja turtles. Princesses and reporters can never stay out of trouble that's why I'm pro news-less democracy. For the safety of the people. But anyway what looked like it should have been a problem for the Batman universe was manipulated by the writers into interesting subject matter.

The Killing Joke Review

So a few weeks ago I read the graphic novel The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, the author behind small works such as V for Vendetta and Watchmen, which is basically the closest thing we have to a Joker origin story. I loved the graphic novel for two primary reasons. 1) the Joker is one of my favorite characters of all time to the point where I can name all the actors who played him: Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill (that's right, Luke Skywalker was the Joker!) and the most recent and best from the bunch Heath Ledger. But I digress. If the movie The Dark Knight took from anything its this and The Long Halloween (which is also awesome). The Killing Joke is praised as the best Joker story of all time and for very good reason. In the Adam West TV show and the early comics (from my understanding) wasn't a violent character but as you can probably tell he has changed over the years. This novel is very dark and the Joker spends the majority of the novel trying to make Commissioner Gordon go insane like he did. And it shows this really interesting motivation for the Joker beyond 'just cause' that I can't talk about without entering spoiler territory. 2) The other reason I really like this book is because of the dark tone. The first Batman movie I've ever seen is Batman Forever and it was very childish but I will always have a special place in my heart for Jim Carey as the Riddler. But the first Batman comic I've ever read had the first panel being a guy shoved into an iron maiden and that triggered the, "holy shoot Batman isn't for kids" and this comic does the same thing. My only problem with it is it is too short. Like every Joker story is too short but this is only 46 pages long. But besides that, its a dark  psychopathic story involving one of my favorite characters and I suggest you check it out

Final Blogger Reflection

Click here to view my best blog post.

 

My theme and summary post for Looking for Alaska was the best because it meets all the requirements, the theme is appilicable to other texts as well as life and it was well recieved in comments. The theme was that nothing will ever truely be gone. The requirements for the post are to determine a theme or central idea of atext and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text. In the post, I say, " Miles Halters who loses a dear friend (not saying who, how or why). So Miles and his friends have to cope with their disapearance. For most of the second half, Miles is very sad and at many points angry that his friend was gone mostly because of how he wanted questions answered that could only be answered by the person they could not find. But once Miles came to grips with his friend being gone was when the theme was realized." That meets that requirement. The theme (according to comments) was a touching theme worded well which is applicable to other texts which I point out about the end of Romeo and Juliet, or just applicable to life. 

 

My goals for next tri involving reading are to finish An Abundance of Katherines and read (or at least start reading) The Fault In Our Stars because I cannot read more than one or two books at a time. I want to read The Fault In Our Stars because 1) everyone says it is great 2) I really like the author and what I read of his and 3) it is being made into a movie and I want to read the book first. My goal for writing is to attempt to participate in NANOREMO (National Novel Writing Month) but I am almost certain I will not complete that task. But my trimester goal is to brainstorm and start writing a new novel or screenplay as a new project. My other goal with my writing is that I want it not to only be entertaining but helpful in others lives with relatable characters and situations.

Analysis of An Abundance of Katherines

"' Because of the whole genius thing...is nothing. That's just about wanting to be famous'
'No it's not. I want to matter' he said" (Green 11).

I think this is an interesting concept. Being famous and mattering seem like two different things to me but I can't put my finger on why. This is a problem that I (and many other people I presume) face. But is it just a euphemism for simple lust for fame. I think the arguement can go both ways. Collin goes to Gunshot, Tennesee to see the body of Archduke Franz Ferbinard. He meets a nice mother and daughter who give them jobs and housing. But Collin spends most of his time thinking about the most recent Katherine or battling the idea that he might just want to be famous. You can argue that they are the same thing that fame is a result of work that you have done that matters to people. And thats true. Many people revolutionized the world we live in like Albert Einstien or George Washington. But sometimes you either get one or the other. For example many people don't know who Martin Cooper is. But he invented the first version of an invention practically everyone has now (try to guess what he made and don't use google) and I think that mattering means someone who has found a way to positively impact your life or the human experience. The Kardashians are famous but they don't really do anything to positively impact society. From what I know, all they do is walk around, be rich and get divorced every once in a while. But they are well known...somehow.Sometimes the concept of fame confuses me. Should all people that matter be famous or do all famous people matter. What do you think makes someone famous and or matter? Do you think fame builds or destroys human culture and why? These aren't retorical questions and I would like to wrap up with this: fame and mattering is all about perspective. Someone can matter and/or be famous to a lot of people but not everyone.

New Book!

After reading Looking for Alaska, I grew an apreciation for John Green as not only a youtuber and a human being but now as a writer. So I started reading An Abundance of Katherines, his second novel. Everyone tells me to read The Fault in Our Stars (which I will read once I read this and maybe some of his other books). That got me wondering what made his books so good? As a child I loved the concept of magic, I would always pretend that I was a wizard because it is protrayed that there is a spell for everything in the universe of Harry Potter for example (which again, I still have to read. So contrasts between Green's work and Harry Potter will be based on the movies. Sorry) but I digress. Harry Potter is so imaginative in the universe it creates but I couldn't find the main conflict relatable. But that doesn't mean it isn't a compelling conflict. One of the goals I find in liturature is basically why we look for theme statements. When characters are put in relatable situations, we turn to them to see how they handled it. In An Abundance of Katherines, the main character Collin is a child protegy who has only dated girls named Katherine and has been dumped by a Katherine 19 times. But his main struggle in the beginning of the book is not his relationship problems (as much) but how he wants to matter. I can relate to that. So in conclusion books can serve as guides, warnings or just an escape from this world to enter another.