The Dark Knight To Bleach or Not to Bleach? That is the Question

[Spidey-Sean]

I'm with you. To get the white face AND the green hair AND the fire-engine red lips in one go is a bit much. (I mean, what gives you green hair ANYway?)

*Raises waving hand*
Oooh ooh! I know this one! There's a nifty little jingle for it!

*Ahem*

"COMET! It tastes like gas-o-line!
COMET! It makes your hair turn greeen!
COMET! - It makes you VOMIT! - So try some COMET, and VOMIT, today!"

 

[shapeshifter]

if you bleach your hair and go swimming in a pool your hair will turn greenish.

 

[The Guard]

The mystery is solved!

 

[gobrutus]

I thought comet made your TEETH turn green?

 

[Spidey-Sean]

I thought comet made your TEETH turn green?

Only one way to find out! I'm off to the supermarket . . .

 

[itsthebatman]

I'm having trouble finding it but I believe the interview with him was done on CNN.

I believe everything you say Figs, you don't need no stinkin' link to prove it.

 

[nickyg641]

I'm with you. To get the white face AND the green hair AND the fire-engine red lips in one go is a bit much. (I mean, what gives you green hair ANYway?)

I actually wouldn't have minded, at least not much, the Joker dying his hair and adding his own makeup. So long as he's got white skin, I think the Joker applying his red and black makeup is intriguing.

 

[Psoliagos]

What if the joker was just white at first but then he thought that he looked obnoxious and decided to throw a little hot rod red in there?

 

[~.:/|T-MaN|\:.~]

The answer is "not to bleach", my reason: Heath Ledger's version is more the Joker than any previous incarnation in the history of Batman.






IMO

 

[Saint]

Explain how being bleached would change that.

 

[Mister J]

Yes, please explain that.

 

[~.:/|T-MaN|\:.~]

Well. a chemical bath doesnt seem like an origin story Nolan would even say aloud let alone include it in his movie. Self inflicted stuff is always creepier than a freak accident.

 

[Saint]

That doesn't explain your comment at all.

 

[~.:/|T-MaN|\:.~]

son of a basket weaver...

I think to not bleach is better. An alternative to bleached skin is the face paint idea. I like the face paint idea better, therefore i prefer not to bleach. Why is paint better you inquire? well, its more realistic. Sure to the hardcore purists such as yourselves its a travesty to not bleach, because its not like the comics. However the general public would find face paint more believeable. They dont care if in issue #whateverthef*** he fell into a vat of chemicals. Like come on, that would not fit into Nolans world, and I think Nolans vision is far superior to that of previous batman takes, THEREFORE i like the non bleached idea. The Joker is a villain, and a scary one at that. Jack Nicholsons bleached joker was not even close to as scary-villainous as Heaths and no one can argue that.

 

[Manosman]

son of a basket weaver...

I think to not bleach is better. An alternative to bleached skin is the face paint idea. I like the face paint idea better, therefore i prefer not to bleach. Why is paint better you inquire? well, its more realistic. Sure to the hardcore purists such as yourselves its a travesty to not bleach, because its not like the comics. However the general public would find face paint more believeable. They dont care if in issue #whateverthef*** he fell into a vat of chemicals. Like come on, that would not fit into Nolans world, and I think Nolans vision is far superior to that of previous batman takes, THEREFORE i like the non bleached idea. The Joker is a villain, and a scary one at that. Jack Nicholsons bleached joker was not even close to as scary-villainous as Heaths and no one can argue that.

That still doesn't explain how this joker is superior.

I like the idea of him not being bleached, but that is mainly because for years as a child i always assumed the joker painted himself, even when i watched b89 when i was like 4 years old, i didnt get that he was bleached, maybe because there were a few times he had different makeup on, regular joker, flesh over bleach joker, pen is mightier than the sword joker. Doesn't bother me. If they decided to do the vat of chemicals, people would say its too similar to b89, and i think nolan did the face paint in order to help heath establish his joker as very different from jacks.

 

[~.:/|T-MaN|\:.~]

Well how can someone say bleached is better, other than saying "well thats how its always been so then it has to be better". I just think The face paint really adds to the insanity of the character, that seems about correct to me for the joker

 

[Boom]

Chemically bleached skin is well within the realm of realism. It's just as plausible as a man fighting crime in a cape, and a microwave emitter that can vaporize water yet has absolutely no effect on humans.

 

[Boom]

Well how can someone say bleached is better, other than saying "well thats how its always been so then it has to be better". I just think The face paint really adds to the insanity of the character, that seems about correct to me for the joker

Well, for one, it makes him unique. Hell, any lunatic could paint his face up and claim to be The Joker.

Two, the Batman-Joker relationship is yin-yang. Batman stands for order. The Joker stands for chaos. Batman uses the terrifying image of a bat to bring order. The Joker uses the innocent image of a clown to bring chaos. Batman can take off his mask. The Joker can't. They are exact opposites. That's what gives their relationship such an extreme dynamic.

As for the insanity bit, any man who finds humor and pleasure in murdering mass quantities of people is a psychotic lunatic. Face paint won't add much more to that.

 

[magus]

Chemically bleached skin is well within the realm of realism. It's just as plausible as a man fighting crime in a cape, and a microwave emitter that can vaporize water yet has absolutely no effect on humans.

I have to agree with this statement. Though I don't particularly care whether Joker is bleached or not, the realism argument doesn't really hold weight. I personally don't see a drastic enough effect on the character to argue either way.

 

[Dirt Like Me]

Well how can someone say bleached is better, other than saying "well thats how its always been so then it has to be better". I just think The face paint really adds to the insanity of the character, that seems about correct to me for the joker

I prefer to think that he's not actually insane (in the legal sense) at all, but he's shrewd enough to know that his freakish appearance helps buy him that perception from society. So when he acts out, he knows he's going back to Arkham. He acts "insane" because he can, because the accident freed him to do so.

The loss of a physical connection to humanity plays a big part in how he's perceived by the world at large (i.e. "How can society expect any sense of normalcy from a man who went through whatever the hell he went through?"), and impacts the way in which he's treated by the authorities

I'm excited for Ledger's performance, but I don't think I'll ever be sold on the idea that makeup is superior to permanently white skin.

 

[Boom]

Bleached skin + green-dyed hair + red lipstick + black eye makeup = Perfect.

 

[Saint]

son of a basket weaver...

I think to not bleach is better. An alternative to bleached skin is the face paint idea. I like the face paint idea better, therefore i prefer not to bleach. Why is paint better you inquire?

Please read.

You said: "The answer is "not to bleach", my reason: Heath Ledger's version is more the Joker than any previous incarnation in the history of Batman."

Let's ignore the fact that, logically, changing something about the Joker can't make him "more" like the Joker, and skip to my response: "Explain how being bleached would change that."

Your answer was: "Well. a chemical bath doesnt seem like an origin story Nolan would even say aloud let alone include it in his movie. Self inflicted stuff is always creepier than a freak accident."

So your reasoning, apparently, is that "This Joker is more the Joker because Nolan wouldn't use that origin," and that "This Joker is more the Joker because self-infliction is creepy." Both reasons are nonsense, hence my response that you had not explained your comment.

Or, to sum this up more concisely, so perhaps you can understand your mistake: you said the Joker is more the Joker by virtue of having bleached skin. I asked that you explain how he would be "less the Joker" if his skin was bleached. You responded with nonsense, so I pointed out that your response did not satisfy my original request.

Sure to the hardcore purists such as yourselves its a travesty to not bleach, because its not like the comics.

Please bother to read my posts on the subject before you run your mouth about what you think my position is.

However the general public would find face paint more believeable.

The general public doesn't give a damn either way.

Like come on, that would not fit into Nolans world, and I think Nolans vision is far superior to that of previous batman takes, THEREFORE i like the non bleached idea.

Sigh, see here.

The Joker is a villain, and a scary one at that. Jack Nicholsons bleached joker was not even close to as scary-villainous as Heaths and no one can argue that.

And it has nothing to do with being bleached or not. If you don't realize this, well, then you are beyond help.

 

[Boom]

Sometimes you "realism" advocates slay me. You think the general public wouldn't buy bleached skin?

Did Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest scream "realistic" to you? And how much money did that movie make?

 

[Manosman]

I view the realism argument as the same way I view the "I was drunk" argument, both can be used as excuses, but both aren't really acceptable arguments.

 

[batman_1982]

Whether the joker's skin is bleached or unbleached won't make big difference on the characters acceptance by the viewing public since it is a comic book movie. Nor should it make a difference on the characters psychosis, since it has been documented in real life instances that physical trauma/disfigurement can cause a person to go psychotic. And more specifically on that note both heath's and jack's jokers have gone through some physical trauma. I loved jack's take on the joker, but since I'm a lot older and my tastes have matured since batman 89', heaths joker appeals to me more cause what I love more about Heath's joker is his dark, gritty, approach to the chracter.