tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4646993697540381190.post3568659788583996878..comments2015-08-27T11:46:19.491-04:00Comments on A Princely Dreadful: Leaving The Killing Joke BehindADAM GORHAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01198231533577090523noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4646993697540381190.post-24264947481054802562015-03-18T10:25:33.606-04:002015-03-18T10:25:33.606-04:00Those are all excellent points you make, and they ...Those are all excellent points you make, and they highlight the very notions I found myself grappling with. As always, your words are refreshing and enlightening, John! Thank you for your keen insight, my friend!ADAM GORHAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01198231533577090523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4646993697540381190.post-14313917246138646892015-03-17T23:42:28.591-04:002015-03-17T23:42:28.591-04:00Well said, sir!
The cover is a fine piece of art...Well said, sir! <br /><br />The cover is a fine piece of art, and The Killing Joke is a fine story, insofar as it illuminates the character of Batman or the Joker or Jim Gordon. But it says nothing about Barbara Gordon. She's an object, a (female) vehicle used to explore/explain the important male characters. Her depiction lacks dignity and humanity.<br /><br />And The Killing Joke is one in a long tradition of stories, in comics and other media, where women are murdered, mangled, raped, or ridiculed for the purpose of developing the male protagonist/antagonist. Isn't that exactly the sort of thing that the "Women in Refrigerators" site was all about?<br /><br />So yeah, sure, the Joker brutalizing Batgirl is a legitimate narrative beat, but surely we could do better than that. Nowadays it feels cheap, crass, and insensitive. And like you argue, maybe it was always that way. If I recall correctly, even Alan Moore regretted his decision to cripple and humiliate Barbara Gordon -- but I don't think he much liked any of The Killing Joke, in the end. <br /><br />Which isn't to say anything about how completely tone-deaf the cover is given the current Batgirl comic, which has gone to great lengths to establish Batgirl as a strong, resourceful, positive role model for female (and male!) fans.John Murray Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04478663099868942785noreply@blogger.com