Analysis 

Like in every portrayal of the clown prince of crime, Phoenix also needed to find his own signature laugh in the film. One of the key parts of the character’s origins in the film is that he suffers from an uncontrollable laugh that comes at random times, no matter what the emotions he is feeling from it, and he suffers from it throughout the entirety of the film.  

Three key places in Gotham that are shown prevalent throughout the film are the Joker Stairs, the subway, and the Murray Show. 

 The stairs are shown three times, twice at the beginning of the movie when Arthur has not snapped into the Joker and once after he accepts who he is as Joker. The main purpose of the stairs is to show how Arthur has transitioned into the Joker.  

The subway helps show what Arthur’s actions can cause as the first time he was on the subway, he killed three wall street guys. Later is on the subway again when he is running away from the police as they believe it was him who murdered the three men but is saved by the protestors he created by his murders.  

Lastly, the Murray Show, whether in the background or the vocal point of a scene, helped demonstrate his transition to Joker and the theme of Mental Illness.  

Mental Illness is one of the many themes throughout the entirety of the film. It is shown in many instances, but the most common ones are when the audience cannot tell whether what is happening is happening, or if it is all in Arthur’s mind because of his past abuse.