The Joker: Does Ledger's Death Enhance His Performance?

Christopher Nolan's newest Batman film, The Dark Knight, has grossed 350 Million Dollars worldwide in its first 17 days on screen. I have seen it twice, and I loved it both times. To many, including myself, what really stands out about the movie is Heath Ledger's performance as Batman's nemesis, the Joker. The Rolling Stone claims Ledger is "mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker", and Gina Carbone of seacoastonline.com refers to Ledger's Joker as "the best performance in years, if not decades". I happen to agree with most of the gushing over Ledger, but I find myself having one problem with it: I walked into the theater wanting to love the performance. Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose in January of 2008, and his memory was heavy in our hearts. I'm pretty sure no matter how incredible or terrible Ledger was in the movie, I was going to find a way to like it. After all, after a short but succesful career which included movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, Knight's Tale, Brokeback Mountain, and Monster's Ball, just to name a few, this was going to be the movie that had the most potential to define him. This was our last chance to see him on stage, and we wanted it to be memorable. The movie had been hyped up (to a degree) by Ledger's death, and is a factor in the movie's success.

Talk to nearly anybody who's seen the movie, and they'll recite their favorite Joker lines. Maybe its "You know how I got these scars?" or "You see to them, you're a freak...Like me!!" Or maybe it's "You think a guy like me has a plan!?" Ledger's Joker is starting to become an icon in our culture, the type reserved for special, once in a generation people and performances. As taboo as it is to question it, I must ask myself: Did I find myself subconsciencely enjoying Ledger's scenes more because I walked in wanting to like the performance? Has his death turned this performance from great to legendary? The subject is a very controversial and delicate, as the topic of death always is. Many will angrily scoff at the notion that somehow we like the Joker more because of Ledger's death. But it is a fair question, and one I believe needs to be asked.

So as thousands call for a posthumous Oscar for Ledger, step back and truly try to imagine what the movie would have been like if Ledger hadn't died. It's very difficult, and maybe even impossible. And even though I loved the performance, I can't think it's just a coincedence that Ledger's death is followed by his last performance being dubbed "one of the greatest of all time". You decide.

Changed Forever

I have never been shaped more as a person than I have during our nine-month AIS class. I feel as if I have taken so much from that class, and it was evident when I started watching NBC's 'Heroes' this weekend. As soon as the first episode started playing, I spent much of the forty minutes linking scenes and characters to our own themes, books, and characters. I found connections to TV tokenism, women and children, American Dreams (and nightmares), propaganda, product placement, Jay Gatsby, and much more. And the lessons I have learned from AIS has also made me more aware of things. For example, in one episode of Heroes, a seemingly unimportant extra clearly appeared in two different scenes, and I realized that he must have significance because he was shown two separate times. And making these connections isn't only limited to watching TV. Even was I was driving yesterday, I saw a pro-communist bumper sticker and thought about perceptions and re-writing history, and how the person driving the car believes in a different history than the ones in our textbooks. Overall, I just think it is awesome how much I have taken from our class, when usually I walk away from classes without much staying with me. This class has changed me forever, and I am not looking forward to parting ways with my teachers and classmates, and the class in general.

The College Destinations Issue: Fair or Foul?

Every year, New Trier's student Newspaper, the New Trier News publishes a list of all of the Senior Class and what they are doing post-high school. It ranges from students going to Harvard and Yale to students not going to college at all. With everyones information so public, it is clear why it is such controversial issue. Would seeing:

Maseeh Moradi: Stanford

make you think of me as a more important individual? What about:

Maseeh Moradi: Not attending College

Wouldn't that inevitably make me seem like a lesser person?


Students going to upper-echelon colleges tend to like the publication, as an anonymous Junior told me : "It's not that I want to say I am better than everyone else, I just want to know what everyone's doing". But many don't agree with that sentiment. They feel like they will be judged based off of what school is in front of their name, and that they will be seen as inferior to other students who have more prestigious schools listed next to their name. I think the Destinations Issue should be abolished, as if even one student feels uncomfortable, it isn't worth it. Also, I just don't see the point in publishing the information other than ranking and classifying students more than they already are. I think it is unhealthy for the school environment, and feeds into New Trier's extreme competitiveness. I would like to hear everyone else's opinion, so feel free to comment.

NT's Competitve Atmosphere Fueld By Its Alumni

Ask any student, and they will tell you that New Trier is a very challenging school and has an extremely, and maybe even unhealthy, atmosphere. Over the last 100 years ago, New Trier has built itself a very reputable image and has established itself as the most prestigious public school in Illinois. A lot of the stress and competitiveness stems from that. In a recent class survey, more than half of the students had a mother, father, aunt or uncle attend New Trier. These family members as well as the administration push for an environment of excellence equal or even better than when they were in school. Overall, schools with established legacies like New Trier remain very prestigious because the Alumni remain involved with the school, and it becomes a true part of them. They won't let the school slip in any form, and they want to make sure the words "New Trier" maintain their value . This effect is responsible for the level of excellence today at New Trier, and hopefully my kids will one day be able to go to this fine institution as well, and it will have maintained or even bettered its prestige.

Feeling the Stress

I thought I had handled Junior Year pretty well up to this point - good grades, meeting new people and friends, and surprisingly dealing with the much hyped year with ease. But with less than a month to go, I am a mini-disaster. I just finished Junior Theme (I expect serious revisions), and I recently took an ACT. Also, my math final is next week (!) and I have to begin preparing for all of my finals if I want to do well. In AIS alone, we are having more homework daily than we've had the whole year. It seems like all my classes are cramming in tests these last few weeks. At this time, I usually look forward to the summer, but I have an ACT in June, and will have to start seriously studying for that as well as the SAT and SAT II I'm taking in the fall. AND I'm taking a summer school course. I'm finding myself pretty depressed, as all I do is worry about my grades and test scores. What else is sad is that I doubt I will be too happy until I get into college, hopefully. The best way to deal with this is to fall back on your "rocks" - family and friends. I hope they can help me get through this stressful time in my life. Please comment on your own stress stories!

Black Athletes Serve As Role Models

Why, you may ask? Because they are generalized as a group of people that achieved the "ideal" American Dream, the one which is achieved without the need for books, and their physicality and style is admired by many races. These reasons make them not only popular, but ultimately very marketable as well. Kids want to be like them, and when the athletes endorse a company, like Michael Jordan did to Nike, the company tends to flourish or do well in whatever aspect they are trying to market. Some may say that they see many white athletes on commercials as well, and that is a fair assessment. But to endorse something and be white, you must be one of the best if not the best at your sport. For Black athletes though, often times the average players are heavily marketed, because of their bodies and style, and their success stories. Also, Black athletes tend to be in the process of doing something athletic like stadium steps or lifting weights in commercials, while white athletes have more off the field ads. Be conscience of these things the next time you are watching TV, because they are actually happening.

Rhoden Can Write

I've just finished Bill Rhoden's Forty Million Dollar Slaves, which I talked about a few weeks ago. The books takes us through the past, present, and future of the Black athlete and the multi-billion dollar sports industry. Rhoden makes the controversial point that the "black labor/white profit" element of slavery is still around with Black athletes and White team owners, and he shows how the current sports industry has removed Black athletes from their origins and made them as neutral as possible in the public eye, so as to not "rock the boat". Rhoden argues that Black athletes have lost their sense of self, and throughout their history, he claims African Americans have failed to look ahead and plan. The book does end on a positive and optimistic note, illuminating the way to fix the sports industry as currently constructed.

I think this is one of the most well written books I have ever read, as it does a great job explaining a 200 year period in detail, it relates both current and historic black athletes, and for the controversial thesis it has, it does an extremely good job backing it up. I can definitely say I agree with what Rhoden said in the book, mainly because he was so good at explaining himself. I really recommend this book to anyone, especially sports fans.