“My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face. She told me I had a purpose: to bring laughter and joy to the world.”
The Joker, Joker
…as I search…
…may my unseen…
…for I am thy…
…who showed the way…
“You don’t listen, do you? You just ask the same questions every week. How’s your job? Are you having any negative thoughts? All I have are negative thoughts.”
…all that was promised…
…this blessed assurance…
…when in the realms…
…for why…
…within us burn…
…how wondrous…
“People are starting to notice.”
…a banner is unfurled…
…are you really…
…gladly, gladly…
…of the promise…
…pure, unbounded…
“Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?”
…when in splendor…
…that he should extend…
…though our numbers may be…
…more sorrow for sin…
Poet’s Notes:
The above piece is a collage made of lyric phrases I jotted down while listening to the choir performances during General Conference on October 5th and 6th. Interspersed with the lyric phrases are quotes from the movie Joker, which I saw on Monday the 7th. I transcribed the quotes from audio clips included in a pan review of the film by Glen Weldon on NPR. (Unlike Mr. Weldon, I liked the film.)
For some perspective on the Joker quotes, here is a quote taken from an interview the movie’s star, Joaquin Phoenix, gave to Vanity Fair.
“You can either say here’s somebody who, like everybody, needed to be heard and understood and to have a voice. Or you can say this is somebody that disproportionately needs a large quantity of people to be fixated on him. His satisfaction comes as he stands in amongst the madness.”
Wheat & Tares 
Thank you for this. The Church too often tells us to put on a happy face without noticing the sadness we endure. I need someone to understand my ‘here and now ‘, not tell me to endure to the end and then “the Lord will make it right. ”
“I’d rather die while I’m living than live while I’m dead.” Jimmy Buffett
I also liked the Joker movie.
I also find myself weaving church narratives and teachings in and around Hollywood stories at times.
When stories are about the human struggle, and right and wrong, or things like “The Force” that bind us all together in the universe…I compare what I hear at church with what I hear in the world.
The Joker was a bad dude, a dark figure with mental illness and tragic circumstances.
Life is not all happy Mormon stories. The struggle between good and evil is real in the world. And art and entertainment can symbolize our experiences.
Isn’t there a trend now with many stories…where the bad people in stories are made to be more complicated and sympathetic? It seems like it to me.
When I was a kid, it was more black and white to me. Batman good…Joker bad. Jedi good…sith bad. Shield good…Hydra bad. Church good…world bad.
Nowadays it’s all complicated.
Thank you for the responses Heber13 and Dark Traveler. Very interesting. This was not a planned piece for me, at least not the addition of the Joker quotes. I followed an impulse on that. So it’s helpful to get a sense for how others experience religion and pop culture mingling in their lives.