Deconstructing Power Relations in Film: A Critical Film Analysis of Joker (2019)

Abstract

This research employs Derrida’s theory of deconstruction to critically examine the representation of power relations in the film Joker (2019). Positioned within the broader field of film studies and critical theory, deconstruction provides a productive lens for uncovering the internal contradictions, unstable meanings, and binary oppositions that structure the film’s portrayal of societal authority and marginality. The purpose of this research is to reveal how Joker simultaneously constructs and disrupts hierarchies of power through its visual language, character development, and narrative progression. Using qualitative textual analysis, the research investigates key scenes in which dominance, resistance, institutional control, and social exclusion are depicted, focusing on the ways the film both reinforces and challenges conventional power structures. Findings indicate that power in Joker is not presented as stable or singular; rather, it emerges as fluid, fragmented, and continually contested across social, psychological, and political dimensions. The film exposes cracks within dominant ideologies by foregrounding marginal voices, ambiguous moral positioning, and contradictions in character motivations that destabilize the narrative’s coherence. Through these ruptures, the film ultimately challenges traditional understandings of power, inviting multiple interpretations that resist authoritative or fixed readings. This research contributes to the growing scholarship on critical film analysis by demonstrating how deconstruction can illuminate the complexities and ambivalences embedded in cinematic representations of power, positioning film not as a closed text but as an open field of tensions and interpretive possibilities.