Arthur was brought up by a foster mother and did not have a father figure. The foster mother herself describes him growing up as a fun and kind boy, but later he was abused and beaten by his adoptive parents and even had a severe head injury.
'” (Alexander, 4). In Joker, Arthur not only suffers from his own history of being abused, but also from the collective trauma described by Erikson.
The most common story involves him falling into a tank of chemical waste that bleaches his skin white and turns his hair green and lips bright red; the resulting disfigurement drives him insane.
From six of psychological disorder who described by Cherry (2019) there are just three which Arthur has schizophrenia/delusional, trauma and dissociative disorder.
Phoenix, though, still manages to make us feel empathy for the character, the key to which was understanding the trauma Arthur Fleck – the Joker's name – has been through. "When I read through the script, I noticed the traits of PTSD," Phoenix tells GamesRadar+ and Total Film (opens in new tab).
Arthur's head injury in childhood is assumed after the description of ongoing childhood abuse. The audience sees Arthur mugged and beat up by a group of young men at the beginning of the movie, which might have further impacted his existing TBI.
We learn that Penny stood by while her boyfriend at the time abused Arthur throughout his childhood, chaining him to a radiator and leaving him without food where he was found by authorities aged just three.
The condition known as pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is characterized by brief uncontrollable outbursts of crying or laughter that are incongruent with the patient's feelings of sadness or joy.
Personality Disorder, specifically, Histrionic Personality Disorder plays a key part in Harley Quinn's life. People with Histrionic Personality Disorder are “pervasive and excessive emotionally and display attention-seeking behavior” (Bornstein 1998).
Penny is not mentally well, as she possibly has schizophrenic and narcissistic tendencies hinted in the film. She is shown to be neglectful as she didn't save Arthur as a child from his abuse. It is currently unknown why she let this happen, but it's presumed she was abused by him as well, causing her mental problems.
He has a congenital disease where he can't stop smiling, and it's horrific. His face is half-covered throughout most of the film.
Joker gets his skin bleached by Ace Chemicals in the comics, but the reason why in The Dark Knight the Joker applies make up to create the white face we're familiar with is because Christopher Nolan's Batman is more realistic, so his Joker puts on make up sort of as a way to scare people like war paint, as heard in the ...
Martha reveals that she forced Psycho-Pirate, a villain with extensive knowledge of the entire DC Universe, to tell her the name of the Joker in the main DC Universe. It is then revealed that the Joker's real name is “Jack Oswald White.”
Arthur, now known as the criminal Joker, ends up incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital after being tied to multiple murders over the past few weeks, which led to riots breaking out in Gotham City against the rich.
In the 2016 DC film, Leto's character has many tattoos, including the word “damaged” on his forehead. As it turns out, the ink is a nod to a previous encounter between the Joker and Batman, during which Batman knocks out the Harlequin of Hate's teeth in an attempt to get revenge for Robin's killing.
After stealing some files from Arkham, he finally learned that he was adopted, and that his mother abused him maliciously as a child.
The character of Arthur Fleck is an authentic and well-researched depiction of a man with borderline personality disorder.
Best known as the former girlfriend of the Joker, Harley suffers from multiple personalities, homicidal tendencies, Stockholm syndrome and possibly “shared psychotic disorder.” A survivor of domestic violence (not surprising, given her former beau), she has murdered grown-ups and kids.
Fans trust Jinx suffers from Borderline personality disorder, PTSD and Schizophrenia, while Vi has extreme childhood trauma.
He said the Joker doesn't fall into the criteria for diagnoses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. He is more likely to be a psychopath, but even that is reductive.
In Joker, Phoenix's character is about 30 years old. In the film, we watch as he interacts with a young Bruce Wayne of about nine or 10 years old.
Batman's Personas
When looking at the Caped Crusader, three distinct personalities emerge. This is an artificially constructed case of dissociative identity disorder, designed to keep his identity and emotional wellbeing safe.
He experienced physical abuse and neglect by his stepfather. He was adopted by a woman who was living with her own mental illness, which prevented her from being the nurturing force he needed. These relationships could have made him feel safe and protected and buffered his trauma, but instead were limited and empty.
It is interesting to consider that Heath Ledger once described his Joker as a "Schizophrenic clown with zero empathy", and now, more than a decade later, the new interpretation of the character is born, not by his own lack of empathy, but by the lack of empathy in society in general.
Discovering the truth - he was adopted and abused as a child - sends Arthur over the edge: he suffocates his schizophrenic mother (Frances Conroy), stabs a former co-worker (Glenn Fleshler) who gave him that gun, and discovers his relationship with Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz) was a lie.