With the release of Suicide Squad, we will inexplicably see many discussions on the relationship of Joker and Harley Quinn. It is talked about a lot because of the unhealthy relationship and how it is portrayed as glorified. Harley is constantly being over-sexualized and there is general domestic abuse that comes about. Their relationship is built on psychotic, and psychotic is trendy. So the question is, "Should we never talk about these characters ever?" Or "Do we bring them to the forefront?"
I have always been a fan of comic books. It probably links back to my dad passing down the legacy of the comics he bought as a kid. I remember reading everything from "The Far Side to World's Finest to Detective Comics" to "Calvin and Hobbes." I was thoroughly intrigued by all the characters and stories. That intrigue would follow me and it would develop into a deep respect for comic books. It follows me to this present day, a time where comic books are generally accepted as awesome. This is a result of the big blockbuster superhero movies, and it is a time where it is cool to talk about the comic book characters. But honestly in the transition from panels of art to cinema something very essential was lost. The comic books were not represented for the works of art they were created to be.
The origin of superhero comics arguably began in 1938 with the Action Comics debut of Superman. Ever since that, many creative minds followed and created an entire mythology. The comic book characters are America's modern mythology. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America—they all represent an American ideal in character form. But these are more than just characters—they are the pieces of different mosaics that created original stories that presented philosophical ideas. Up until the 1980s, comics were not taken very seriously. The releases of "The Dark Knight Returns", Alan Moore's "Swamp Thing", Frank Miller's "Daredevil" (just to name a few) would spark a movement to set these graphic novels right up next to widely respected classic pieces of literature. The writers of that era weren't concerned with the characters as much as they were concerned with the ideas surrounding the characters. A complete opposite view from the modern mainstream outlook on comic book characters. Today we only hear about how awesome the new Iron Man suit looks, or how great a fight was. It disrespects the previous ideas that surrounded these characters and just focuses on looks and fighting.
That being said, the relationship of Joker and Harley isn't actually about the people, Joker and Harley. It is a depiction of chaos in the form of a relationship. It is a depiction of domestic abuse. It is a depiction of a misplaced love. These are ideas that will be overlooked because the audience will just take them at face value and look to the characters as actual people instead of looking to the source material and realize they are ideas being presented. Joker and Harley are a lesson, not role models.
