Answers to the in-class reading questions.
1. What is your reaction to the text you just read (Batman: The Killing Joke)?
I enjoy comics with more of a serious tone, and this was one of them. While I've seen the Batman universe portrayed pretty grimly, however, I was shocked by just how dark The Killing Joke gets--Gordon is dragged naked by a collar and is shown nude photos of his daughter after she was shot. This was much more sexually explicit than I am used to seeing with big name comics like Batman, too. I've seen sex scenes in these comics, but not sex used as the disturbing element it is in The Killing Joke.
2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the story with which you were able to connect.
One thing I enjoyed a lot about The Killing Joke was the pacing and the switches between the present and the past in the Joker's life. The comic set up a good mystery within both timelines that really drew me in and made me want to keep reading. The Joker's past story was what I found the easiest to connect to personally, because of the way the Joker was only doing wrong after feeling forced into a corner, and his actions had many unintended consequences. This is something I think a lot of us go through, if not as extreme.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
If I were to adapt this story into another medium, I would use film, because the Joker and the carnival are both very visual. When making it into a film, however, I would the part of the comic with Gordon. I think that part would be a bit too disturbing and graphic for the Batman audience, and apart from the shock value, the specifics of Gordon's ordeal didn't have any great specifics to the plot. Instead, I'd use Gordon's part in the film to further explore the comic's question about whether or not the Joker should be killed instead of imprisoned.
1. What is your reaction to the text you just read (Batman: The Killing Joke)?
I enjoy comics with more of a serious tone, and this was one of them. While I've seen the Batman universe portrayed pretty grimly, however, I was shocked by just how dark The Killing Joke gets--Gordon is dragged naked by a collar and is shown nude photos of his daughter after she was shot. This was much more sexually explicit than I am used to seeing with big name comics like Batman, too. I've seen sex scenes in these comics, but not sex used as the disturbing element it is in The Killing Joke.
2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the story with which you were able to connect.
One thing I enjoyed a lot about The Killing Joke was the pacing and the switches between the present and the past in the Joker's life. The comic set up a good mystery within both timelines that really drew me in and made me want to keep reading. The Joker's past story was what I found the easiest to connect to personally, because of the way the Joker was only doing wrong after feeling forced into a corner, and his actions had many unintended consequences. This is something I think a lot of us go through, if not as extreme.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
If I were to adapt this story into another medium, I would use film, because the Joker and the carnival are both very visual. When making it into a film, however, I would the part of the comic with Gordon. I think that part would be a bit too disturbing and graphic for the Batman audience, and apart from the shock value, the specifics of Gordon's ordeal didn't have any great specifics to the plot. Instead, I'd use Gordon's part in the film to further explore the comic's question about whether or not the Joker should be killed instead of imprisoned.
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