Have you seen The Dark Knight? (Yes/No/Maybe/Can’t say)
The late Heath Ledger portrayed the Joker as a psychopathic clown, mass murderer, and schizophrenic with no empathy. His role is hailed as one of the best performances by any artist in Hollywood history.
Christopher Nolan (the creator of The Dark Knight) used an interesting campaign to market the movie. He was called the ‘why so serious?’ campaign.
In the film, you see the Joker as a total madman who “has nothing planned” and just creates havoc in an attempt to kill Batman and get a lot of money for it. He basically wants to have a good time at the expense of others. On the other hand, Batman and the Gotham City Police are there to clear up the mess. They have a plan and they take it very seriously.
MEANING OF THE GRAVE DICTIONARY:
1. Require effort or concentration; complex and not easy to answer or resolve;
2. Completely devoid of joy;
3. Preoccupied with work or important matters rather than play or trivia.
The above definitions of ‘sErIoUs’ made me nervous. Because even though the Joker was the one questioning everyone’s seriousness, he was pretty serious too! Don’t you think?
The point here is simple.
Even though the Joker thought he was just doing kaboom-kazoo for fun, he had a purpose. He had something on his mind. He had what we call a ‘plan’ (to kill Batman) contrary to what he is led to believe.
Was he serious?
Oh, I can bet a million dollars that he was absolutely serious!
And how can I say it with such conviction?
Because he just had a different approach to being serious. And no matter how absurd it may sound, she was having fun being serious. Most will think that it completely opposes the above definitions, but it does not.
– How can you (with pinpoint accuracy) imagine, plan and implant bombs? unless you don’t put effort and concentration?
– How can you hogwash an entire city without being concentrated do we have a single goal?
– How can you kill two birds with one stone? without proper love?
– How can you achieve all of the above and still have fun?
Easy.
You have to be serious man! Period.
Long story short, this Joker guy was having some serious fun.
Really?
The bottom line here is that no matter what you want in life (materialistic, spiritual, mental, or Batman), you have to be serious! You can have fun being serious (Joker) or you can be very serious (Batman). The choice is yours, if you really want something.
If you’re not serious enough, you’re either not inclined or you’re just having a good time.
So the next time someone sneaks up on you and asks “Why are you so serious about this?” tell them the Joker told you to be so… 😉
