Joker's Wild: Part I

"It's all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for...it's all a monstrous, demented gag! So why can't you see the funny side? Why aren't you laughing?"

-The Joker
Batman: The Killing Joke

Perhaps not since 9/11 has a world event been more monumental among the esoteric research community than the recent passing of Heathcliffe Andrew Ledger on January 22nd, 2008...the attention has not been limited to those of us who work behind the scenes, this event seems to have affected people from all walks of life. In all honesty, this story has more dark resonance than ANY this researcher has ever attempted to write about in my short ten month presence online. The difficulty I have experienced trying to condense the related material has delayed any initial reactions I have had to events as they unfolded over the past week.

As quickly as Heath Ledger's charismatic talent had been snuffed out, writers Adam Star, Ellis Taylor, JB and others were on the case, offering heart felt apologies for the Holistic detective work they were about to conduct on the synchromystic footprint left behind by Mr. Ledger. The results have been, as usual, more than grimly intriguing... Although I realize that some of the research shall be repeated within the context of this series of articles, I urge readers to follow up on each of their investigations, as the material is substantial and noteworthy to say the least... My hat's off and awe to my fellow researchers for the following (which just also happens to be the title of an an excellent film by director Christopher Nolan which I selected to screen at my film festival back in 1998):

"This Joke is not Funny (Updated)" - Adam Star

"This Joke is not Funny Part II" - Adam Star

"The Joker is dead, long live the joker" - The Meta'-Logic Cafe'

"Heath Ledger" – Ellis Taylor

"Killing Joker" & "Killing Joker, part 2"– Christopher Knowles

"The Joker and the Jokerman" – Ben Fairhall

"Ledger's Lafayette" - Loren Coleman

If you follow the Deep Impact workings of researcher Goro Adachi, no doubt you'll be aware that January 22^nd, 2008 marked an important astronomical event as Comet Holmes 17P aligned with one of the best known stars in the heavens; Algol the Beta star of the constellation Perseus. It's Arabic name, "al Ghul" translates as "the demon". According to Adachi this event serves as a celestial "Omen"...and one need only look at the Batman franchise to observe the first synchromystic connection, as a similar alignment took place with the release of 2005's "Batman Begins". In it we see actress Katie Holmes in the role of Rachel Dawes, and Liam Neeson in the role of Ra al Ghul. The matrix-based conjunction of Holmes and Algol played out on the silver screen three years prior. The Ra al Ghul connection is one that has a long standing history in the Batman saga.

While monitoring more terrestrial matters as the world's financial markets began to sway like the houses of cards that they truly are, the dark reprocussions of the celestial "Omen" began to unfold in the shadows of the Hollywood dream machine. Several early indicators surfaced...the sentence of actress and former lover of Heath Ledger, Lindsey Lohan (a Disney product) to community service at an L.A. morgue- the sentence was handed down by one court Commissioner Gordon (Batman anyone?). On Jan. 15th actor Brad Renfro was found dead in his L.A. apartment (Renfro had been discovered at the age of 10 by a casting director for Joel Shumacher, the director of "Batman & Robin", "Batman Forever" and "The Number 23"). Just a few days later it was announced that the Jesuits had elected a new "Black Pope" (Heath Ledger's 2003 film "The Order" aka "The Sin Eater"deals with the subject of the Black Pope)...these related events kind of go on and on actually but I think you get the picture.

The 28 year old Oscar nominated (Brokeback Mountain) Aussie (Oz) seemingly had everything to live for; a skyrocketing career, a two year-old daughter; and so why is he dead? Some might say it was "written in the stars" or "in the cards"...his very name, Heathcliffe, taken from Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights; is steeped with demonic connotations.

from wikipedia:
"The novel contains many Gothic and supernatural elements, although the true nature of the latter is always ambiguous. The mystery of Heathcliff's parentage is never solved. He is described by Hindley as an 'imp of Satan' in chapter four, and by the end of the novel Nelly Dean is entertaining notions that Heathcliff may be some hideous ghoul or vampire. The awesome but unseen presence of Satan is also alluded to at several points in the novel, and it is noted in chapter three that 'no clergyman will undertake the duties of pastor' at the local chapel, which has fallen into dereliction."

The novel was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, which just happens to be the last name of Heath's mother Sally (who is descended from the Scottish clan Campbell, as is yours truly). The viewing of Heath's body took place at Frank E. Campbell funeral home in Manhattan. In yet another Bronte related sync, Heath had previously owned a home in the seaside Australian town of Bronte before selling it and moving to New York after numerous run-ins with the paparazzi (one such event we shall return to later). When considering his name it is also interesting to note that the actors initials are H.A.L. which resonates with the Arthur C. Clarke/ Stanley Kubrick computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Early media reports have given the impression of a drug related death, perhaps connected to depression and exhaustion, and this portrait might seemingly hang to his memory for ever more. Mr. Ledger has been painted as plagued by personal demons (not unlike his industry peer Brad Renfro who also died in his sleep less than a week prior), or mentally stuck in the role of a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy" squarely placing him in the earthly title of The Demon Star.

Personally, I'm sure Heath was exhausted, he had just returned (two days prior) from London where he was working on his next film, and yes, maybe he had reason to be depressed; his engagement to actress Michelle Williams had come unraveled late last year which had left him separated from his two year old daughter Matilda. A toxicology report is due to surface in about a week which will hopefully put an end to all the speculation, and judgments being placed upon his private life. The funny thing (if there is one) is that there is a chance that report comes back inconclusive too (as did the autopsy), and Heath's legacy becomes that of yet another James Dean or Kurt Cobain... for me Heath Ledger was marked, whether he knew it or not.

If looks could kill...The Joker forever

As for the why, how, or who, consider the now infamous statement by actor Jack Nicholson outside of a London restaurant less than 12 hours after news of the actor's death was made public. The following response was literally the first public statement issued from anyone about the tragic event...Mr. Nicholson's reaction was; "I warned him". Since the moment I saw the quote it has troubled me...and frankly, the more you look into it, the more troubling it becomes. What did the former Joker mean? Well, likely that depends on where you read the statement, and who wrote the supporting article. Everyone seemed to interperet Jack's comment in slightly different lights. Did he mean "he warned Heath about the dangers of drug use"? Or did he mean"he warned Heath about the toll playing The Joker would take on him"...in fact, neither of these "fixed" contexts apply at all. The statement was quite bluntly, "I warned him...". Which sounds much more like a threat brought to fruition. Perhaps even more so if you take into consideration statements made in a Nov. 7th, 2007 interview with MTV, in which Nicholson, when asked about Heath Ledger reprising "his" role of The Joker, ranted "I'm furious".

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1573617/20071106/story.jhtml

This is not the first time that "Jack" has been at the center of darkness. Back in 1977 film director Roman Polanski (forever linked to darkness via the Manson Family murder of his wife Sharon Tate, and his 1969 film Rosemary's Baby) was arrested for rape, sodomy, child molestation, and giving drugs to a minor after he invited a thirteen-year old to the Nicholson estate on Mulholland Drive (which would later become the name of master film director David Lynch's movie which starred former Ledger love interest, and Aussie Naomi Watts) for a "photo shoot" for French Vogue... The 'photo shoot' was, in actuality, a party.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/11/newsid_4265000/4265617.stm

It is now clearly apparent that there will not be a more anticipated motion picture release in recent memory than the upcoming Christopher Nolan summer blockbuster A Dark Knight (to be released June 2008). Heath Ledger will be reborn as the most notorious comic book villain of all time, The Joker.

Part II COMING SOON