• Play:
• Song Name: The Man Who Laughs
• Artist: Darren R. Reid
• Album: The Artist in American History
• Year: 2013

The second American Studies lecture again looks at classic American comic books, this time turning its attention on Batman's arch-nemesis, the Joker. Throughout his long career the Joker has been portrayed as everything from a Chicago-inspired gangster, to traumatised victim, and ruthless terrorist - in this lecture we explore how each of those images reflected huge social and cultural changes in America.