Funny, driven, intelligent and sexy without being overpowered by innuendos,Harley Quinn is a novelty within a medium that seldom depicts female characters with depth.
Before becoming Harley Quinn she was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, the woman at the center of one of the most complex and intriguing relationships in the world of fantasy. Controversial because of it's abusive elements, and beloved by fans for its sophisticated undertones. Made sympathetic by the participation of the highly identifiable female Doctor and intriguing by the participation by The Joker, arguably one of the most sociopathic and iconic villains ever conceived.
In the fan-film Gotham Origins: Harley Quinn the film markers seek to tell Harlene Quinzel‟s story from the feminist perspective, through the eyes of Harley herself. And while it seems common sense to examine a woman's fall from grace through a feminist lens, as the film's kick starter page points out: to date no interpretation of her story has taken the story under this consideration.
How can you tell the story of a woman without some kind of feminist agenda?
This is the question posed by writer and criminal psychologist AM Arneaux, the driving force behind Gotham Origins: Harley Quinn. She's a woman who cut her teeth as a psychologist in New York State's largest Maximum Security Prison, like Dr. Quinzel her early 20‟s were spent working with high profile criminals such as John Jamelske “the Syracuse Dungeon Master”, “Son of Sam”, and Joel Rifkin.
“I call that time in my life my years of living dangerously. You couldn't be a ditz and work in that setting and more important you couldn't be a young woman working in such a setting and remain
unaffected for long. I‟m not what most would consider a comic book fan, but when I learned about the origins for the character of Harley Quinn I was dumb struck – how could they get it SO wrong. Then it occurred to me, what reference did they have? My experience was unique, how could they understand all of the emotional and psychological challenges a woman in her 20's deals with in a setting like that? Or what she must have gone through not just to earn a place at Arkham Asylum and the emotional repression that occurs when you work in a setting like that day after day. I guess I felt connected to her in a way - her original origins story and these recent revamps of her character were really giving her a raw deal. I wanted to do something about that."
"Think about her from this perspective when Dr. Quinzel meets the Joker," Dr. Arneaux says. "she HAS to believe that there is some shred of humanity left in him somewhere. Her job is to first find that scrap of humanity - however small it might be, and then guide him to connect with it. She would see a man who's gone though life so bereft of love- she can't help but feel for him. I have no doubt he used her feelings to manipulate her, but just he fact that he FEELS her love, that he feels anything outside of his obsession with Batman- is her triumph as a psychologist and a woman. And it's her devotion to him makes him accessible to us as readers. I wanted to create something that honored that."
With this in mind, Dr. Arneaux created a profile for Harley Quinn based on the text given to
us in Batman: The Animated Series where her character appeared first, and then each variations of her story in the DC comic books. Based on synthesis of the different comic book worlds, using the Animated Series as the baseline, she built a psychological profile for Harleen Quinzel.
"I did the same to breakdown the Joker, just as if he were an inmate brought into my Prison."
From this she wrote a modern origins account, one based on these profiles and her unique insights.
In the spring of 2011 the production team began work on the film after being approached about the possibility of the film's inclusion on the DARK KNIGHT RISES bluray package, as the character of Dr. Quinzel was mostly cut from the upcoming film but still had a small role in new story.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for indie film makers like us," producer Tom Phillips said in a phone interview "we were all crushed when we couldn't find the funding to keep filming and get a first cut to the Warner Brother's team for review. But we aren't giving up on the project, in independent film, delays like this happen all time because of funding challenges - the story is worth telling and everyone involved believes this depiction of Harley Quinn should be shared with the world."
For more info on the project check out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/486132257/gotham-origins-harley-quinn