JUSTICE LEAGUE: Here's Why The Internet Is Going Nuts Over Joker's "We Live In A Society" Line In New Trailer

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Here's Why The Internet Is Going Nuts Over Joker's "We Live In A Society" Line In New Trailer

Since the release of the new trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League last night, the internet has been going crazy over the Clown Prince of Crime's "We live in a society" line. Why? Find out here...

By JoshWilding - Feb 15, 2021 06:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Justice League

"We live in a society..."

That's what Jared Leto's Joker says in the closing seconds of the latest trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League, with the line playing specifically over the movie's title treatment. Why is the internet going crazy over that moment? Well, there is a good reason, but one that requires a bit of a long-winded explanation.

In a 1991 episode of Seinfeld  called"The Chinese Restaurant," George Costanza is forced to deal with a jerk who grabs the pay phone he was waiting to use. He proceeds to go on a rant about living in a society where people are supposed to act in a civilised manner. For the past few years, this has been adopted as an online meme on sites like Reddit where it ended up being paired with images of The Joker.

As time passed, the meme became a way of pointing out something that's seen as being more popular than another, similar thing (Zack Snyder's Justice League vs. Joss Whedon's Justice League, for example). It's also been used by those who feel like outcasts from society - i.e. The Joker - as a way of pointing out how crummy their situation is, and how much better off they are for ultimately coming to that realization.

Honestly, it's a weird meme, but one that Snyder and Leto very directly address in this cut of Justice League. It could be a nod to the popularity of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement, a way of making fans happy (a petition to get Joaquin Phoenix's Clown Prince of Crime to say it in Joker received nearly 60,000 signatures), or something else altogether. Either way, it's now part of the movie, and a lot of fans seem to love it. 

Leto, meanwhile, is also well aware:
 

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Kingdork
Kingdork - 2/15/2021, 6:02 AM
I knew they were self-aware about it. That line made me giggle. Well played.
tylerzero
tylerzero - 2/15/2021, 6:03 AM
I'm very familiar with the line from Seinfeld but I had no idea it was a meme.
IronSpider101
IronSpider101 - 2/15/2021, 1:21 PM
@tylerzero - The article actually gets that part very wrong. The Seinfeld element was only associated with it way after the fact.

Originally what happened, was that post TDK Joker-wank was at peak levels. You'd have cringey edgelords on Facebook and the like sharing memes like "when you're a kid you idolize Batman, when you're an adult you realize Joker makes more sense" and images of the Joker saying "we live in a society where (insert pseudo-intellectual platitude)"

Eventually what happened is, since that became so prevalent, people started satirizing those types of memes and making ironic versions of them. "We live in a society" became the most popular caption just because it was one of the more recognizable versions when the memes were actually sincere.

The only reason I think the Seinfeld episode has been associated with it now is because people have made Joker edits of Constanza having noticed that he once said the phrase. But Seinfeld was never a part of the origin of the meme.
enjoytheshow
enjoytheshow - 2/15/2021, 3:49 PM
@IronSpider101 - Bottom text
tmp3
tmp3 - 2/15/2021, 6:07 AM
It'd be funny if it was self-aware, but I'd be very surprised if it was. Comes across a very cringe. Leto is promoting this more than any of the actual actors in the main cast, and he didn't even join the project until a few months ago lol
Sonata92
Sonata92 - 2/15/2021, 7:54 AM
@tmp3 - It should be self aware but the whole tone of the trailer is so damn bleak & serious & the delivery of that line sounds so serious as well.
aresww3
aresww3 - 2/15/2021, 6:08 AM
what? As a non millennial this article makes no sense to me.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 2/15/2021, 6:11 AM
I think the line is mostly used by insecure incels to justify their self imposed isolation of society (and like the article says, compare themselves to the Joker).

I think its pretty hilarious the Joker said it officially now too. But on the other hand I guess it was kinda hard to have Cyborg say Booyah.
tmp3
tmp3 - 2/15/2021, 6:13 AM
@bkmeijer - It's actually used to make fun of edgy 14 year olds, lol. It's an ironic meme which makes its inclusion here even stranger.
Origame
Origame - 2/15/2021, 6:14 AM
@bkmeijer - characters...saying they're catchphrase? That's racist sir!
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