The Joker’s Moral Understanding in the Dark Knight (2008)

In Progress
Written By Justin Martin

Martin, J. F. (2026). “See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.”: The Joker’s moral understanding in The Dark Knight (2008).  [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department of Psychology, Whitworth University.

  • Argues that the film portrays the Joker as someone who’s approach to self-interest is often in service of his critiques of Gotham as a sociocultural normative structure (SCNS).

  • Relies on this construal of the Joker as a context to compare and contrast various psychological theories on the development of moral understanding.

Justin Martin
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