A person on the Luas train system from last week described to their companion their decision to purchase a standing desk which they considered their first investment in personal development. The friend paid complete attention to the statement because he treated it as if he had discovered vital information. The phrase continues to echo in my mind as I watch Vera Drew's The People's Joker because the film demonstrates our society's flawed approach to discussing personal body changes and self-transformation.
The autobiographical superhero fantasia of Drew exists in a Gotham City which operates under a system that regulates comedy through authorized channels for its distribution. You need permits. You need approval. The Batman serves as an authoritarian cultural landlord who controls which social groups can experience humor and when they can do so. It's absurd, obviously. But then again, so is requiring insurance approval for hormone therapy.
The film cost almost nothing to make. The production of green screen footage spanned five days while the post-production process took many years to complete with more than 100 animators who used diverse artistic approaches to create their work. The seams show themselves in their complete form throughout the entire surface. The story features characters who transform between live-action performances and basic 3D computer models and watercolor illustrations and an unprofessional After Effects style.
This isn't a limitation being disguised. It's a thesis statement. The Joker the Harlequin from Drew delivers the film's most subtle yet heartbreaking statement when she describes her experience of jumping into a solution containing feminizing hormones which she says "Because gender health isn't accessible even in comic-book movies."
I should admit something here. The movie presented itself as a clever production which would deliver a self-assured wink to its audience. I got something stranger. Something more vulnerable than I was prepared for.
The story contains economic elements which reach further than its basic humor about licensing and control systems. Watch the bodies in this film. Watch who gets to rest.
The young Joker character in Drew's story displays Griffin Kramer's portrayal which reveals his character's state of complete mental disarray. The medical team handles her dysphoria as a treatment problem but they fail to understand it represents her genuine self. The Smylex inhaler presents itself as a twisted pharmaceutical nightmare which does not hide its nature. It doesn't need to be. The pharmaceutical industry's relationship to trans healthcare, or rather its selective interest in trans bodies as sites of profit rather than care, doesn't require subtlety. It requires acknowledgment.
Mr J who Kane Distler portrays in the story represents an economic system which operates under different principles. The romance between him and Joker literalises gaslighting, actually has him holding a gaslight at one point, which sounds unbearable but somehow works. People who experience their partners blend romantic feelings with controlling behavior will usually follow these patterns of interaction. The way they interacted followed typical patterns which people experience when their partners combine romantic feelings with controlling behavior while showing them that limited approval equals total love.
The movie devotes its attention to Joel Schumacher because his Batman films received decades of criticism for their campy style and their perceived queer elements and excessive nature. The process of reclaiming land creates a strong impact. Drew uses Batman mythology for his own purposes instead of performing a simple theft of its elements. She's arguing that it was never theirs to begin with. The interpretation of these characters as queer existed before any company took control of them. The appropriation exists in multiple different directions.
The sensation of the material remains deeply embedded in my mind. The movie presents itself as an unattractive visual experience during certain moments. The frames contain electric fuzz which appears at their borders while the graphics display student-level quality that would not be acceptable in a professional setting. The following sequence of rose-tinted beauty appeared so unexpected that I needed to stop watching it. The organization faces resource constraints which create difficulties but its direction remains perfectly defined. When community replaces capital.
I don't know if it's a great film in any conventional sense. I'm not sure that matters. It exists as proof of something. That the gatekeepers can be routed around. The human body contains the power to achieve its natural state but social systems maintain an expensive process which continuously drains people.
The stage becomes visible when the theater lights turn on. You're still thinking about permits. About who gets to decide.
