Nihilistic Vision

At its core, the Joker is nihilistic. He believes that all citizens, in his case, the people of Gotham, are worthless, and throughout the film, he aims to prove that the people of Gotham are as irrational and hectic as he is. His aim to corrupt the city is evident, by tarnishing the city’s most prominent figures, such as Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne. In the movie, the Joker makes it evident that his motive for chaos is not money, or power, but it is to introduce “a little anarchy” - to show that, even the most upright humans can be broken. 

 

A Living Contradiction to Batman’s Ideals

In the film, the Joker serves to be the antagonist to Batman. His ideals, principles, and morality mirrors that of a psychopath. This polarity that the Joker exhibited is one of the key factors in the psychoanalysis of the psychopath. The Batman, due to trauma that he suffered in his childhood due to his parents death, seeks to make right and scour for justice for his parents death by eliminating all death in Gotham. The Joker, conversely, seems to have no traumatic past, and his evil deeds are just fuelled by his desire to create CHAOS. 

 

Two Steps Ahead

Throughout the movie, The Joker always seems to outsmart his counterpart the Batman. He turned each criminal against another whilst robbing the bank. He was able to convince the mob to support him in his aim to kill the Batman. He tricked the Batman into saving Harvey Dent as he knew that if he gave him the right location, he would save Rachel instead. He then turned Harvey, Gotham’s ray of hope into Two - Face, another prominent and terrifying villain, whose rage is fuelled by his fiancé Rachels death. This shows how deep Joker analysed the behaviour and mindset of every single one of his opponents. He seems to have a deep understanding for human psychology, as he is able to correctly predict his opponents every move, thus resulting in his grand finale: a calculated chaos. 

 

Charismatic Personality

Despite already having established that Heath Ledger’s Joker is crazy and extremely deceptive, he is also very unpredictable. Like any other sociopath, the Joker shows no emotion and remorse for the actions he commits. But unlike traditional sociopaths, he thrives for chaos for its own sake. Every plan of his is so random, that it protects him from any sense of pain, because to him, nothing matters. Humans, empathy - it’s all a fairytale for the Joker. He believes in CHAOS, which is exactly the state in which he puts Gotham. 

 

The Dark Truth

Through Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker, the audience questions their own sense of morality and conduct. Besides the heinous violence and unpredictability of the Joker, his acting and method of conviction makes us question the system that protects us, that is law, police, and society. In doing so, he doesn’t just represent a villain, he represents a possible universe of the potential madness that could commence if all hell breaks loose. Ultimately, it is the death of the actor which adds a layer of eeriness to the character. Debates about whether it was the role of the Joker that lead to his death of the late Heath Ledger has been ongoing for decades. However, one thing that is absolutely certain is that his performance has become such a strong part of cinema, that it is almost impossible to separate the character and the actor. Conclusively, Ledger’s Joker represents chaos that exists between the fabric of every society; a reminder that the line between order and anarchy is slimmer than we might think it is.