Today we are going to make a controversial claim, that Joaquin Phoenix’s 2019 version of the Joker can not possibly be the same person as the Jokers portrayed in the earlier films. Basically, the film can’t function as the Joker’s origin story.

For the sake of simplicity we will profile a composite of the many Jokers that preceded the prequel. In the MindHub system they have a common drive and a similar position in the MindHub circle. They all have Resentment combined with social proactive drives. The combination of Resentment with social proactiveness creates a personality that is willing and able to manipulate the environment in a way that can create chaos and harm, particularly with strong levels of Resentment. They also have a common aim, to have Fun. They vary their games, jokes, tricks, and their modes of violence as the name Joker would suggest and they are quite proud of their displays. For lack of a better phrase, they’re having “I don’t give an F” energy. They have strong Ego. As a viewer, we are never asked to emotionally relate to these villains and we have some comedic relief with them on the screen. They are evil, but in a zany way so that it is easier to view them lightly.

In contrast 2019s Joker, Arthur Fleck, presents with a very different set of drives. He does have Resentment in common with the others, but his other relatively fixed drive is Regret which presents as hopelessness. This is a sad clown. Due to this hopelessness, he is very present-oriented with no aims at all. The lability of his thoughts and emotions suggests mental health issues, his most prominent symptom being his inappropriate emotional responses which it seems are compulsive or not within his control. He attempts to deal with this in a functional way by becoming a clown, but this strategy breaks down when he loses his job. He loved his job because he is more social with animals and children, than adults and he understands that he doesn’t fit into society.

His third primary drive switches between boredom and attachment, which also creates shifts between being proactive and reactive making his behavior at times spontaneous and at other times calculated. This feels chaotic, like a personality roulette, where both the audience and the character are hoping Arthur can land on a safer profile. Unfortunately, things deteriorate further at the climax of the film when his disappointments push him to develop Revenge. It’s at this point, where Arthur has all three inner drives that he is able to take action in a very disturbing way. He seems desperate to achieve an Ego drive and seeks attention and validation by appearing on a talk show and admitting to his crimes. However, by the end of the film Arthur still hates his life. As a viewer, we can’t take this Joker lightly, we pity him as much as we’re afraid of him.

None of the Jokers are written with enough consistent symptomology to diagnose with specific disorders, and it’s worth it to note that people can be evil to this extent without a mental illness. However, 2019 Arthur’s symptoms tend toward the dissociative elements of Cluster A disorders as he seems torn from reality and very much preocupied with his inner world which distresses him. He also has a challenging socioeconomic situation. The other Jokers are much closer to dramatic/erratic Cluster B disorders, particularly psychopathy, and seem to have infiltrated or have power at the highest levels of their society. Psychopaths might have an easier time climbing the social ladder, so it makes sense for them to have a gangster or business-like persona like Jack Nicholson’s joker. This kind of Joker would never laugh when he should be crying, and would be very unlikely to cry at all.

We find it unlikely, if not impossible, for 2019s Arthur Fleck to transform into such a social and proactive profile confident enough or resourceful enough to reach such a level of power and control. This Joker doesn’t prefer chaos; he is chaos!

To purchase a copy of the MindHub book, search for ‘MindHub Personality Profiler’ in your preferred search engine or check the Amazon link. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Support our work on Patreon and check our updates on X, Goodreads, Instagram, Rumble and YouTube.