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Jürgens, Anna-Sophie and Will Visconti. "Joker stages: Popular performance and theatrical sensibilities in Joker comics and film adaptations." Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics (2023). Added by: joachim (10/12/24, 8:32 PM) Last edited by: joachim (10/12/24, 10:46 PM) |
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| Resource type: Journal Article Language: en: English Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2024.2410914 BibTeX citation key: Jurgens2023 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: "Batman", Character, Performance, Superhero, USA Creators: Jürgens, Visconti Collection: Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics |
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Clown, performer, entertainer. The Joker’s stage identities and innate theatricality have many facets. This article explores the violent clown’s theatrical sensibilities across a range of Joker comics and films with the aim of opening up a conversation between the present and the past – between contemporary Joker ‘stage performances’ unfolding in comics and a powerful mix of historical contexts and cultural continuities that, we argue, continue to inform Joker stages in comics and film. The Joker’s theatrical sensibilities, this study shows, are influenced by the aesthetics and cultural backgrounds of three intertwined phenomena: (un)happy comic performers from fictional films, stage hypnotists, and ‘theatres of pain’. From these three phenomena emerges a dialogue with historical precedents of comic performance, hypnotic spectacle and the representation of violence (sometimes with comedic elements) that not only refers back to the late nineteenth century, but continues to shape the Joker’s identity and stories, and helps us to better understand the character’s aesthetic achievements and cultural power.
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