How do you guys feel about Joker shooting warnings?

Before anything else, I’d like to make it clear that I’m posting this with the intent of having a mature discussion, not to troll or anything like that. Just really wanna make this clear since it’s such a sensitive topic.

To be honest, I was so excited for this movie till all the talk of it inspiring “incels” to act out in violence. This is just making me paranoid and making me rethink whether I actually wanna go Friday night. I know that statistically I’ll probably be perfectly fine, as will majority of moviegoers, but I just can’t shake the concern that I have. How do other feel about this? On the one hand, I feel we shouldn’t let ourselves be dictated by fear, cause then we’ve already let them win; but on the other hand, mine and my gf’s safety are my priority, and I definitely don’t want to potentially put that in jeopardy.

How are you guys feeling? Let’s please keep the discourse mature and respectful, and remember that different people will feel very differently about this topic.

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The military doesn’t issue a warning to their troops unless the have evidence of a serious potential threat potential.

Now that also likely means that those incels involved are also probably pretty well monitored.

The truth is you stand a much greater chance in being involved in a fatal crash. (1 in 566)So while I can understand the concern, statistically, you are in more fatal danger driving to the theater than seeing the movie.

Also with all the press coverage, I’d wager many cities will have a larger police presence at theater that weekend.

I also very much agree with your point of not changing behavior because at that point, yes, they’ve basically won.

Obviously this is a choice that only you & your girlfriend can make, and either is valid. Statistical probabilities are valid data, especially on something like fatal car crashes which have been studied for decades.

We live with risks in everyday life, but, most people generally accept them without a second thought. (Or a first thought) because many we simply ignore/accept them because it would cause to much interference with our daily lives.

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Very thoughtful post, De. I agree with your sentiments, I’m afraid I’ve let the coverage and paranoia really get to me in a way that hasn’t really happened before. I’d definitely feel safer knowing there’s an upped police presence at the theater. I feel like having a few officers around would already serve as a visual deterrent for anyone who’s considering doing something violent.

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I think they’re bad people (from Hollywood? No!) for putting us all through this. You can release it online and avoid all this unnecessary and unfunny stress about a movie.

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^ I see what you’re saying, but I doubt they’d wanna do that cause imagine how easy it’d be to pirate. They’d make no money.

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There are numerous and complicated legal and business reasons that major movies are released in theaters before they show up on streaming services. Once they’ve planned a theatrical release, it would be nearly impossible to pull back to direct-to-video.

That said, I suspect these warnings are a whole lot of nothing. The government is hardly averse to being unduly paranoid. Even if there is a credible threat somewhere, then the warnings mean that they know about it in advance and can take appropriate preventive measures.

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I mean i understand the warning, overall they just want to keep people safe. Not gonna stop me though from seeing it.

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And all these business concerns override a warning from the military? I mean, I guess it’s all just suspicion at this point. Either way, it’s happening so here we go folks.

This is somewhat of double edged sword. In one way you could wait for the DVD yet in another uou can always go, but I wouldn’t trust it. I myself am a very cautious person so you may see it differently, if you do go please be careful. I would highly advise that if you go, that you also ensure that you guys have an easy route to the exit just in case. Please do remember my intent is not to scare you but I completely understand the concern you have for yours and your girlfriend’s safety.

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I will be seeing Joker in the theaters. I might be wrong, but wasn’t there a similar situation when “The Interview” came out? Nothing came of it, and those were direct threats of I’m remembering correctly. I understand the concern, but I’m not phased at all.

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@DGWJTWTDW, I can see what you’re saying. It does seem kind of silly to put business concerns in such an important role at a time like this. And 9/10 I would say that the big corporations are trying to screw us over. This, however, is the tenth time. The people behind the movie can’t be blamed for this and shouldn’t be punished for it. Had they made a movie specifically supporting “incels”, then yes, there should be some reparations. But this is a movie about the Joker, one of the most well known VILLAINS in pop culture history. Sure, they might be trying to make him come off as sympathetic slightly, but from what I can tell, they are in no way trying to say what he does is right.

And yeah, this is scary. I can’t fault anyone for wanting to wait to see it. But we shouldn’t just bury the movie, either. If anything, this fear that it’s inspired the past few weeks, the dangers that have arisen because of it, should be used to fuel real change. The fact that our real world is in danger of actually mirroring the fictional, corrupt and impoverished Gotham City says more about our own societal failures than it does Hollywood’s problems. We should use this film to show that, hey, we’re afraid of getting shot, then maybe there should be gun laws that make it harder for these people to get guns in the first place. Joker also follows someone who has severe mental health problems and hasn’t gotten help for it. We can use this to show the need for mental health checks, because anyone who is actually inspired by the Joker in this way probably needs more than a little help.

We shouldn’t allow these people to control us. We shouldn’t allow these people to use fear to rule us. We can’t give them that kind of power. That doesn’t mean risk your life for it. If you feel unsafe, then please, stay home. At the end of the day, it is just a movie. But we should also remember where at least part of the blame falls. Yes, anyone who actually perpetrates the acts is at fault. But they’re also not where the problem began.

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I think it’s rampant speculation.

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I’m going to see the movie this week in the theatre. I won’t be dissuaded or held back by what “might” happen.

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@Tomato You know what, fair enough and interesting point.

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Please everyone, be responsible. Don’t let the Joker tell you to go out any shoot anyone. He’s a fictional character, a form catharthis in and of his fabled self.

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I wish the media would quit going looking for hypotheticals to make people afraid. If anything this is going to inspire people, had anyone even thought of that issue before the news said to worry about it?

And what is the source the military issued a warning? Not saying they didn’t but seems hard to believe a warning issued to their troops would have actually used the word “incels”.

Should be noted after the purge movie came out, the last one I mean, people were all 9ver the internet saying there would be a real life purge they would make it happen… nothing happened.

Birth Korea threatened mass killing over The Interview… nothing happened.

I don’t want to tell people to ot do what makes them feel safe, but the media has become in the business of telling us why we should be scared, we shouldn’t just believe it because they say so.

I was going to wait before, but I have decided that Friday… I will now be there.

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Im a little curious as to how authorities recognize a legit incel post versus one created by trolls to knock down sales and/or stir up people for the sheer trolliness of it. I promise I’m not paranoid, just cynical.

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@DGWJTWTDW: As for business concerns, I’ll put it more bluntly: They make a very, very substantial portion of their money from theatrical releases, and getting first dibs on new movies is pretty much the only thing keeping theaters alive, so they essentially hold studios hostage not to do simultaneous releases. It’s theaters first or no theaters at all, and no theaters at all can’t reach the same breadth of audience, receive as high of a bid from streaming services, or justify an extensive marketing campaign like the one they’ve already paid for. If they abandon a theatrical release at the last minute, it would lead to lots and lots of lawsuits. Compare to the potential liability of running the movie in the face of vague, unsubstantiated threats that we’re hearing about third- or fourth-hand, which may vaguely possibly lead to some liability somewhere, more likely for the theaters than the company.

Yeah, they’re going ahead with the theatrical release. I wouldn’t be surprised if some individual theaters make the call not to run it, but the distributor has no choice, and it’s still probably worth the risk to the theater chains generally not to back out en masse because there essentially is no risk. Shootings are dramatic, but even a fire is probably more likely to happen and create more damage if it does, and that doesn’t even vary from movie to movie.

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@Aylex

There may or may not be extra security at your particular theater. I’d suggest either calling the theater or contacting the police public number (not 911 obviously).

As for exactly what intel was collected that caused the warning, that is not going to be released. It would make it more likely to “reverse engineer” how they are collecting it and that would intern making collecting such intel more difficult.

@BatWatch
I don’t agree that this t is pure speculation. A warning such as this is only going to be sent to military personnel if the data suggest a viable threat potential. Have others overblown the situation, probably. Welcome to the never ending news cycle and social media.

@TornadoSoup
Again, the only thing that’s known ya the possible threat potential. These happen. Businesses and people in general should be made aware of them, but, interruption of daily life goes on. We live with all kinds of threats to our safety everyday. If businesses were to close because of a possible threat potential, nothing would ever be open. (I dint know the specific odds, but I’d bet it’s probably a higher probability of getting killed during a robbery at a business, than this situation happening. It doesn’t mean it might not happen, but the risk exists. Because it is not an “everyday, normalized risk” it gets media coverage. It’s a good story that will garner eyeballs and money, and that is the name of the game.

In general, I’d stick to known data, and understand that you likely take much greater risks on a daily basis. (As I posted earlier)

There is nothing wrong with contacting the theater, to see what, if any precautions are being taken. They also may have more specific or newer information. They are a business and such a call is reasonable, and as a business they should expect it.

There is no wrong decision on whether to go or not, that is down to a personal choice that is tight for that person.

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In a postbin on of the various threads about this, someone said like, ‘If you go be aware of your surroundings and the people around you and know where the exits are in the theatre.’

The reality is people should be doing this all the time. You never know when something weird/bad/unexpected might happen. A shooting, or a fire or a insert_here, could happen at any time, at any place. Being aware of what’s going on around you and where exits are, is always a good idea.

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