A Rhetorical Analysis of the Killing Joke
One Bad Day: A Rhetorical Analysis of The Killing Joke
The Joker was once seen as a comical criminal who committed ridiculously silly crimes, such as spreading laughing gas throughout Gotham City. However, after the reinvention of Batman, The Joker was transformed into a grave and terrorizing character. Continuing the course of the new personality given to The Joker, writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland created a graphic novel called The Killing Joke, “a much more complex, darker, and ultimately, frightening story” (Wooldridge) which tells one of the origins of The Joker since The Joker himself is unsure of his true inception. However, this particular graphic novel “isn’t about how the Joker came to be, it’s an examination of human nature” (Goldstein). Within The Killing Joke, The Joker commits heinous crimes to try to force his insanity upon the virtuous Commissioner James Gordon. He does this in an attempt to “prove that only one bad day stands between the average person and insanity” (The Illusive One). Although Alan Moore believes that “[The Killing Joke]’s not saying anything very interesting” and that he “[doesn’t] think it’s a very good book” (Blather), many say that it is “easily the greatest Joker story ever told” and “is also one of Alan Moore’s finest works” (Goldstein). In the graphic novel, The Killing Joke, Alan Moore utilizes various word-picture relations, cinematic shots, and colors to create gruesome scenes in order to convey the message that The Joker’s theory of having “one bad day” does not apply to everyone, which in turn causes the audience to view The Joker as a petty and unforgivable character and Commissioner James Gordon as an honorable and dependable one.
Moore evokes a sense of sympathy from the audience towards Gordon as they are filled with anxiety during the scene where The Joker commences with his plan to impair Gordon’s mental stability. According to Scott McCloud, a moment to moment transition is “a single action
The Joker was once seen as a comical criminal who committed ridiculously silly crimes, such as spreading laughing gas throughout Gotham City. However, after the reinvention of Batman, The Joker was transformed into a grave and terrorizing character. Continuing the course of the new personality given to The Joker, writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland created a graphic novel called The Killing Joke, “a much more complex, darker, and ultimately, frightening story” (Wooldridge) which tells one of the origins of The Joker since The Joker himself is unsure of his true inception. However, this particular graphic novel “isn’t about how the Joker came to be, it’s an examination of human nature” (Goldstein). Within The Killing Joke, The Joker commits heinous crimes to try to force his insanity upon the virtuous Commissioner James Gordon. He does this in an attempt to “prove that only one bad day stands between the average person and insanity” (The Illusive One). Although Alan Moore believes that “[The Killing Joke]’s not saying anything very interesting” and that he “[doesn’t] think it’s a very good book” (Blather), many say that it is “easily the greatest Joker story ever told” and “is also one of Alan Moore’s finest works” (Goldstein). In the graphic novel, The Killing Joke, Alan Moore utilizes various word-picture relations, cinematic shots, and colors to create gruesome scenes in order to convey the message that The Joker’s theory of having “one bad day” does not apply to everyone, which in turn causes the audience to view The Joker as a petty and unforgivable character and Commissioner James Gordon as an honorable and dependable one.
Moore evokes a sense of sympathy from the audience towards Gordon as they are filled with anxiety during the scene where The Joker commences with his plan to impair Gordon’s mental stability. According to Scott McCloud, a moment to moment transition is “a single action
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