Right, suppose I should write something original in this ol' blog. Well for those of you who do not know, my name is John Fisher, or Fish for those who feel so inclined to call me Fish. Oh, and before you ask, yes YOU can call me Fish; I only say this because you would not believe how many times people have asked me if it is okay to call me Fish, of course it is because it is my nickname. Oh, and for the record, if you're dumb enough to want to ask why my nickname is Fish, than you have no business talking to other human beings in the first place.
A little history about me is, I dislike mostly everything in the entire world that ever did or does exist. I am not a friendless, cynical bastard however, or at least I would like to think I am not. I have some really close friends, all of whom I can count easily on one hand, I would say I have five, five people who I sincerely "like" to be around Oh and if you have to ask your self, "Am I one of those five?" then let me save you some time and just say, no you are not.
Why do I dislike mostly everything? I do approach most situations with a bad out look already. You see, to me I look at everything as being bad, or not worth my time the instant I interact with it. Once I have come in contact with anything, something, it is then up to what ever it is I have interacted with to prove to me that it is worth my time and is something I would like.
Example:
Even for bands I like, when I listen to a new song or album by a band I enjoy, I instantly assume it will be awful, it is then up to that band to prove to me that it is still a good band to listen to, and something I would like.
Example over.
I'm explaining all this because Thomas Nudi told me to use this blog for whatever, for reviews, writings, rants, whatever. So, I just want it to be clear, when I review something it means one of two things, One, it proved to me it was worth a damn, or Two, it could not show me any reason to like it. This does not mean that you will not enjoy whatever it is I am reviewing, just that I did not. However, do not worry, I will always try to back my information up with examples or actual reverences if need be, I will not make random observations and general statements. Though I do hate everything, I give everything a chance to prove to me it is worth liking; sadly though that rarely happens.
So, now that this is all out of the way, I will not make my first review here. No, not on a movie, book, band, or....well anything else. No, I will be judging acting, and I am sure by the end of what I have to say, no one will agree with me and some people may hate me, so it goes.
If I had to pick one performance that pissed me off more than any other this year, I could answer that with out question. I do not mean one performance that was "bad", I am not here to judge acting talent, and in fact the most frustrating performance of the year that I saw was easily the best as well. No, I do not want to judge acting talent, but simply say what one performance angered me the most out of all others in 2008. Easily and without question, Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight. I now hate this character.
Before everyone freaks their shit, I will agree that Ledger's role as the Joker was easily one of the best performances of the season, yet no other role fills me with more hate. Why? I did not always hate Ledger's Joker, I loved it at first; but sadly so did everyone else in the entire world. Suddenly every teenager and manchild in the world has some Joker quote for their myspace and or facebook status. How many times did your friends or family do their crappy Joker impressions for you in a failed attempt at impress you? How much money did giant corporations like Hot Topic make off of impressionable teenagers by selling them cheaply made, very expensive Joker merchandise? How many douche bags did you see dressed as the Joker for Halloween? 3 at MCC alone was my count, what about you! Never was murder, madness, and makeup so popular.
AND I CAN'T FUCKING STAND IT!!!!
Sorry to swear, I really am, but I had to. I am angry that I can not change my myspace status to, "I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve..." because someone out there who looks at it is going to say, "Oh look, another teenager quoting the Joker, how original..." Though I do not care if people judge me, I do care when they judge me as someone I am not! I am not some teenager who thinks the Joker is the best thing on the planet. I am not the asshole continually saying, "why so serious" "It's all part of the plan" or "Good evening ladies and gentlemen..." I am not the one with the why so serious t-shirts. I am not the one who put on make up for Halloween so I could look like everyone else who saw The Dark Knight; I did not dye my hair green.
The reason I am mad at Heath Ledger's Joker is not because of Ledger at all, but because everyone in the world seemed to think it was the greatest thing on the planet and still will not stop talking about it, or doing crappy impressions. Christ! Ledger's performance was good, but it was not the end all be all of acting talent! It was a great performance though, and everyone talked about it too damn much, and they killed it, they drove it as hard as they could into the ground and they are still driving it deeper and deeper! They will not forget about it, not as long as some big company can find a way to make a buck off of all the hype.
I am pissed because I can not publicly say I enjoyed the Dark Knight with out someone immediately quoting a line the Joker said in the movie. I would kill to hear this happen...
Fish: "So I really like that Dark Knight movie"
Someone else: "Oh yeah that was good...*clears throat* 'People are dying Alfred what would you have me do?"'
But no, I always have to hear a Joke quote,; why? Because he's in, he's in with the hip crowd, the nerd crowd, the emo crowd, the goth crowd, the smart crowd, the dumb crowd, the jock crowd, the good people crowd, and especially the bad people crowd.
In closing, because fuck me this has gone on way too long. Maybe I am just an asshole and hate when the things I enjoy and like become popular. Yet, I believe there is a line between liking something and trying to show off you like something in order to impress other people, and that is what happened with Ledger's Joker. Every so often something comes along that people enjoy and have to tell everyone else they enjoy it so they can feel accepted. The worst part is, this did not make comic books any cooler, people still consider them lame. The people who wear the "why so serious?" shirts or any other Joker crap, the majority of them do not know the first thing about the Joker, Batman, Two Face, or any of this comic book jazz. Obviously not everyone who claims they like the Joker character and the Dark Knight movie are assholes, but a lot of them are just along for the ride, and next year something new and shiny will come out and that Joker t-shirt goes in the back of the closet and is never put on again, and that sucks. It sucks that such a great performance will just be forgotten like that by most people because it was the cool thing to get behind. It is a shame that people can not just like something, they can not just enjoy what they enjoy quietly; no the majority of people have to tell the world what they like, they have to make sure every single person they come in contact with knows they like this movie, that band, this show, this food, this drink, this place, or this whatever. It is all about impressing people in the end, all this Joker shit, it is about trying to make other people see that you are as cool as they are. This is going to sound messed up but I am glad Heath Ledger is dead, because I do not think he would want to see what became of his character. He did not work so hard on the Joker so a 13 year old private school GIRL who has never even stepped foot in a comic books store or has even seen a movie that was not a "teen movie", could dress up like his Joker and go to a high school party, get drunk of wine coolers and get drilled by some drunk asshole on his parents bed while she's passed out and helpless. At least, I hope he didn't work so hard on the Joker for that...
Would You Like Some Vomit With That?
6 years ago
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1 comment:
Erudite, inflammatory work Mr. Fisher. Your love-affair with black and white thinking provides a tempting perspective in this world of grays and half-tones. Even for a radical button-pusher as yourself, using hate 10 times in 1,623 words is a little over the top. Have you considered working with Michael Savage?
I find this film and its timing a curiosity. Do not misunderstand, I care nothing for what makes one hip in the circles which you describe -- the subject that intrigues is the social context of the film.
As we all are aware of, on January 22, 2008, after he had completed filming The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger died of a sleeping pill overdose.
Ledger himself described his Joker as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy".
To prepare for the role, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's posture, voice, and personality, and kept a diary, in which he recorded the Joker's thoughts and feelings.
Mystery writer Andrew Klavan, writing in The Wall Street Journal, compared the extreme measures that Batman takes to fight crime with those U.S. President George W. Bush has used in the War on Terror. Klavan claims that, "at some level" The Dark Knight is "a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war." Klavan supports this reading of the film by comparing Batman — like Bush, Klavan argues — "sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past."
Whether or not you buy Klavan's view, or feel a more moderate understanding of culture's confrontation with violence and terrorism, key, the element of timeliness remains.
Why do you suppose Grimm and crew collected the ancient fairy tales, or why they were told in the first place?
Hate is exactly what is at issue here, and no film has yet addressed its significance.
with high regard,
Chance
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