Society
He was even shown to be mugged by petty thugs at one point
He wanted to be loved but was anything but.
Here's part of the NY Times' review:
"
That’s the Joker’s alter ego: a lonely, damaged man eking out an abject living as a clown-for-hire and living in a drab apartment with his mother...Fleck is bullied by thieving poor kids and drunken rich guys, goaded to the point of murder by the meanness of the world. He has a crush on a neighbor (Zazie Beetz) that he thinks might be reciprocated. He keeps a notebook full of stand-up material and works up the nerve to go onstage at a nightclub open-mic night...
...But he also carries the burden of being a victimized Everyman in a parable that can’t get its story straight. Arthur’s uncontrollable laughter arises from a medical condition that is possibly the result of childhood abuse. His profound alienation also arises from social inequality, the decline of civility, political corruption, television, government bureaucracy and a slew of other causes. Rich people are awful. Poor people are awful. Joker’s embrace of radical evil becomes a kind of integrity..."
‘Joker’ Review: Are You Kidding Me? - The New York Times
Joker was the victim, a "
victimized everyman"
Tell me what you thought you were watching
Actually I said patriotism is akin to nationalism and that is just a hop, skip and a jump to totalitarian rule
And it's true, it is
Both Hitler and Mussolini came to power on a platform of nationalism.