Last night we viewed The Joker, a movie starring Joaquin Phoenix.  Perhaps you’ve seen it already.  The movie is a grinding exposé of an individual’s destruction, along with the society upon which he depends (New York city), as consequence of institutional cruelty, exploitation for profit and amusement, as well as a litany of petty individual lies and insults.  The individual lies and insults suffered along life’s journey, are usually refer to as “the slings and arrows of life.” Such wounds are the common lot of all humanity.  They are painful but we recover, and somehow achieve maturity, and manage to be productive adults.  In this story, the main character, Arthur Fleck, a aspiring comedian, descends into madness and nihilism — as institutional violence, overt brutality, and petty insult accrue to devastating effect.

Wikipedia gives this account of the 2019 film’s reception.

Joker premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2019, where it won the Golden Lion, and was released in the United States on October 4, 2019. The film polarized critics. Although Phoenix’s performance, the musical score, and the cinematography were praised, the dark tone, portrayal of mental illness, and handling of violence divided opinion and generated concerns of inspiring real-world violence; the movie theater where the 2012 Aurora, Colorado mass shooting occurred during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises refused to show it.

Any story/film that so polarizes has touched a nerve, is close to the truth.

I recommend the film to you.  Be prepared to think critically about your life, about the society in which we live.  Do not expect to be entertained by this film.  The film, a 21st century tragediac performance, is one that is apropos to our condition, crippled by a pandemic, bereft of leadership by a craven Trump administration.

To conclude I offer this magnificent dirge-like anthem written by Stephen Sondheim.  The line, “send in the clowns” is a reference to the standard response when a theatrical production, fails to achieve acclaim.  In abject failure, when nothing is left to be done, — send in the clowns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODqj9Mq39FM

Send In The Clowns

by Stephen Sondheim

Isn’t it rich, are we a pair
Me here at last on the ground
You in mid-air
Send in the clowns
Isn’t it bliss, don’t you approve
One who keeps tearing around
One who can’t move
Where are the clowns
Send in the clowns
Just when I’d stopped opening doors
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours
Making my entrance again with my usual flair
Sure of my lines
No one is there
Don’t you love a farce,
My fault I fear,
I thought that you’d want what I want
Sorry my dear!
But where are the clowns
There ought to be clowns
Quick send in the clowns
What a surprise,
Who could foresee?
I’d come to feel about you
What you felt about me?
Why only now when I see
That you’ve drifted away?
What a surprise…
What a cliche…
Isn’t it rich, isn’t it queer
Losing my timing this late in my career
And where are the clowns
Quick send in the clowns
Don’t bother, they’re here