A man dressed as the Joker and holding a Mapuche flag cheers with others dressed in costumes during an anti-government protest in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Nov. 1, 2019. Chile has been facing days of unrest, triggered by a relatively minor increase in subway fares. The protests have shaken a nation noted for economic stability over the past decades, which has seen steadily declining poverty despite persistent high rates of inequality. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In protests around the world, one image stands out: The Joker

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN

Updated 12:20 PM ET, Sun November 3, 2019

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(CNN)In cities around the world, among the sea of demonstrators who have taken to the streets, one image has stood out: the stark white face and creepy red grin of the Joker.

Artists in Lebanon and Iraq invoked the character on posters or edited him into images on social media.
Someone spray-painted "we are all clowns" onto a statue in Santiago, Chile.
And in Hong Kong, protesters dressed as the Joker as an act of protest in itself, defying a government ban on face masks and face coverings during public gatherings.
Their causes are different, their grievances varied. Proposed austerity measures. Threats to democratic freedoms. Deepening inequalities between ordinary citizens and the ruling elite.
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So why are some protesters in Lebanon, Iraq, Chile, Bolivia, Hong Kong and Spain taking inspiration from a psychopathic killer from a controversial film?

Some see themselves in the Joker

"The Joker is us," Lebanese street artist Mohamed Kabbani told CNN. "... Beirut is the new Gotham City."
    In the film "Joker," Gotham City is rife with crime, social services are getting slashed and residents are left feeling powerless and disillusioned, while wealthy elites respond with condescension or obliviousness. One bad day after another slowly drives Arthur Fleck to madness and by the film's end, he's transformed into the Joker -- and ultimately, an unintentional symbol of the downtrodden.
    That pow