The inspiration behind one of Joker's most memorable scenes is revealed in an episode of Netflix's new docuseries Trial By Media. Executive-produced by George Clooney, the show focuses on six cases in recent history where the media has impacted high-profile court trials. The episodes are at once fascinating and disturbing for their insight into how media can often turn the search for justice into a cultural event. But episode 2, "Subway Vigilante," is note-worthy for its relationship to another, more recent cultural moment — the release of Todd Phillips' movie Joker.
Phillips' Joker didn't skimp on the disturbing insights, either. One memorable scene in the film shows Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck giving in to his darker impulses after being menaced by three wall-street types onboard a subway train. He eventually shoots the men before escaping, in a scene that seems to be daring the audience to empathise with Arthur's reasons for doing what he did.
It's an unsettling and tense moment in Joker that's actually rooted in real-world events: the same events chronicled in episode 2 of Trial By Media, which tells the story of Bernhard Goetz, the "Subway Vigilante." When Arthur pulls the trigger in that fateful moment, he becomes Gotham's own subway vigilante — just like the New York version in the early '80s.
The True Story of Bernhard Goetz, The Subway Vigilante
Trial By Media episode 2 recalls the story of Bernhard Goetz, a 37-year-old electronics technician from Manhattan who was all-too familiar with the hazards of living in the city at the time, having been assaulted in 1981 at a subway station by three men who would eventually go free. On December 22, 1984, he would again be confronted on the subway, this time by four young African American men from the Bronx who tried to mug him for five dollars. The Netflix true crime show recounts how Goetz pulled a pistol he had illegally brought to the city after being denied a permit by the authorities. He reportedly spoke the ominous line “I’ve got five dollars for each of you,” before shooting the boys, seriously injuring all four.
Goetz managed to escape the subway without being seen and stayed out of public view for days, before turning himself in at the end of December. The media quickly dubbed him the "subway vigilante," with many crime-weary NYC residents supporting Goetz's actions – much like Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, which heavily inspired Joker. The 37-year-old would eventually be acquitted of attempted murder, and served less than a year in jail for possession of the illegal firearm. 12 years after the incident, the mother of victim Darrell Cabey, who was left paraplegic and brain damaged from the shooting, won a $43 million civil suit against Goetz. Soon after the trial, the “quiet, frail scientist,” as one news report described him, filed for bankruptcy.
How Joker Changed The Bernhard Goetz Story
A New York native, Todd Phillips was 14 years old when the Goetz saga played out in his hometown. In his DCEU movie, Phillips has Fleck become increasingly alienated from the unsympathetic inhabitants of the decaying city in which he lives. By the time he's confronted by three obnoxious men in suits on the subway, he's close to breaking point. After the men start physically assaulting him, Fleck pulls a gun and murders all three, before disappearing from the subway station — his journey towards becoming the Joker well underway.
While the scene closely resembles the events of the night of December 22, 1984, Joker — which filmed in New York – makes some fairly dramatic changes to the story. Most obvious is the instant deaths of the men who attack Fleck. But by making the attackers white, the movie also strips the event of any racial component. Otherwise, the citizens of Gotham who rally behind their version of the mysterious subway vigilante are another callback to the real-life New Yorkers who viewed Goetz as some sort of hero. Ultimately, Fleck becomes Gotham's new villain, Joker, and eventually leads violent riots in the city's streets. All of which is a far cry from where Goetz ended up — living as a squirrel-owning vegan ex-con in the same Manhattan apartment he's been in since the 80s.
