There is a lot of controversy going on. I decided to bring it here it might be a mistake.
News channels and social media think that the Joker movie, because of the violence will “inspire” mass shootings and violence in people
They have a point.
Aurora, Colorado :mass shooting at a Dark Knight rises premiere .
I think it’s just a movie,glorifying The Joker they said, so Harley Quinn gets a pass? How about Venom? Deadpool?
So, get your debate on!
The point of the movie is to not glorify the Joker’s actions but to analyze what drives people to violence. And how society can grind up these social outliers and push them over the edge. Phillips has said you only feel sorry for Arthur for a bit before he crosses the threshold and loses you. That’s certainly the message they’re going for anyway, will have to see the movie to know if they pull it off.
The theme of a difficult and/or unlikeable protagonist is a common subject for Scorsese’s early films (Taxi Driver, King of Comedy, Raging Bull, etc.), which are very noticeable source of importation for this film. The only reason this film is controversial is because it’s an indie film going mainstream.
I love and watch movies like this all the time. Movies that challenge you and make you uncomfortable. The problem is the general audience goers are too used to hollow blockbusters. Joker is here to greet us in the middle to hopefully save us all from an endless barrage of Transformers and Fast & Furious. And THOSE are the kinds of movies that celebrate violence. Joker seems to be using violence to hold up a mirror and get us thinking again.
The misconception about the tragedy at Aurora is first the dude wasn’t inspired by joker, his hair was red not green showing no resemblance. Plus it was at dark knight rises which, last I checked joker wasn’t in it. It’s a tragedy but attaching the joker to one shooting that had barely anything to do with him is just dishonesty
Im not worried. I bought my tickets yesterday, im a concealed carrier. Always have my compact 9 mil tucked under my shirt, people who open carry are stuuuuuuupid. Why, just why.
I’m very excited for the joker movie, also the liberal news media needs too calm down. There’s been a lot of other superhero movies with guns and shooting in it.
Every story should be able to be told - as a written book, a comic, a movie or whatever format. With that said, with great power comes great responsibility. We have tools for managing ages at cinemas so that minds that are not prepared for some stories aren’t put at unnecessary risk. But age is far from the only thing that rules the way of the mind.
I am not saying that we should do some mental health checks at cinemas, it’s a bad tool for the job.
I’m saying we should be better at catching these issues long before then as a society. We have learned that fighting bad habits such as smoking and drugs is a neverending effort for every generation. We should understand that teaching people how to be observant and compassionate requires the same vigilance. We need to teach both adults and children to notice the lonely person and try to give these people a place with love if that is what they need. We need better free mental healthcare across the board, and in cases where no efforts can help we need the resources to find those people and give them a safe and good place to be where they can’t do harm.
So what is the most important thing that DC can do when they release a film such as the Joker?
Pay their taxes.
That’s where money comes from to avoid these things from happening in the first place.
I don’t know how DC runs their business, but my answer is: If you are doing your best to avoid as many taxes as you can, then don’t release the Joker, you haven’t earned that privilege. Release only wholesome movies and help that way at the very least.
I can’t make any statements regarding the Joker movie since I haven’t seen it yet. I won’t even go by the trailers since the trailer scenes might not even be in the final cut of the movie.
What I will say about the situation is that some people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions and often try to blame an outside source for influencing them. Someone who is already extremely unstable can be set off by any little thing.
As for the other movies mentioned by the OP, in terms of the Venom movie, it’s loosely based on Venom’s anti-hero comics so the story isn’t approached from a villainous point of view. The movie is rated PG-13, so while there is violence, it is not overly gory nor is it the main point of the movie. The focus of the film was the Terminator 2 buddy dynamic going on between the Venom symbiote (hereafter referred to as just Venom) and Eddie. Venom is like the T-800 wanting to kill whatever gets in its way. While the Terminator does this to complete its mission objective of protecting John Connor, in Venom’s case it’s because it is hungry and wants to eat people. Meanwhile, Eddie is in the John Connor role trying to teach Venom between right and wrong and being a voice of reason.
@TheLegendKiller
Joker is in the Dark Knight Rises
The other problem with all this is the fuss and attention that various media outlets and voices are creating around the movie. If anything, that’s what’s going to lure out the wrong kind of people.
Either way I purchased my tickets last night and am very excited to see the film.
@Anonymous No, joker is in the dark knight, not dark knight rises and the police have since then said the man did not dress up like joker nor was there evidence to suggest he was inspired by joker, it was rather a rumour that got told enough times that people believed it was true.
Matches_Malone, You hit it right on the head. If the letter was never sent to WB, there would not be the controversy surrounding it nor the threat of shootings at theaters showing it. I also have a CPL, but rarely do I actually carry. I may consider it when going to see the movie.
I think its just the media creating a false narrative to get clicks and $$$, the easiest way to do that is to spread fear and to get people worried and talking about this.
We have far too little personal accountability in our current culture. That guy could have easily shot up a my little pony movie if it was crowded the weekend he decided to go on his rampage.
God this is fricking ridiculous! What the hell?! The media sucks! It has for a long time! Trump was 100% right when he said that the media was the enemy of the people. Its is just a fricking movie! Joker is a messed up character and thats what this movie is portraying! They are only acting like this because Joker is a villain and this isn’t a comedy. Loads of movies have guns and messed up stuff but Joker is inspiring violence? Thats so dumb. I wish I type so many swear words right now! Why do the Media have to ruin EVERYTHING!
This was actually one of the first things I thought when I heard they were going to make a Joker movie.
It’s funny, I just had a very lengthy conversation with a friend about this very thing last night.
To start, I do NOT think that those who make this movie should be held liable in any civil or criminal court if someone commits horrendous acts inspired by the film. The only reason I would change my mind on that is if the movie blatantly calls for those acts; It’s pretty safe to assume it will not.
Conversely, I do think it would be unwise to say that the movie has no impact on society or those who may be inspired to emulate the titular character. I had my opinions about this before the media ran with it, and before the confirmed threats were announced; I wasn’t swayed by them, as I’m one to be very critical of the media’s bias and agenda. That said, I think there may be some merit to the concern. It hasn’t been a secret that the movie will portray the elite of Gotham, the Wayne’s in particular, as “Trumpian.” It is equally no secret how popular it is to hate Trump, capitalism, etc today. “Stick it to the man!” and “F*** the system!” right? Even if the movie is clear that the audience shouldn’t sympathize with the acts of the Joker, you can’t convince me that there won’t be people who sympathize with his motivations, or the results.
Many movies are made where the protagonist is shown in a way that encourages the audience to support or side with them, even when they are criminals. You betcha I wanted to steal cars like Memphis Raines, steal gold like Charlie Croker, and many others after watching them on the big screen. This isn’t inherently bad, but if a movie about the Joker does the same, it’s the Joker; arguably the most evil character in fiction. Glorifying him isn’t good idea, and if there isn’t an antithesis to him in the film because the usual suspects for that are painted in bad light…
This by no means is me saying that everyone who hates x,y,z are going to copy the Joker and do horrible things. I strongly believe people are responsible for their own actions, and many of us have the capacity to separate fiction from reality (I never emulated Raines or Croker). However, we won’t get any closer to reducing the number of mass shootings or mass murders without really studying what influences the perpetrators, and those prone to these actions like their “heroes” just as much as we do.
I think seeing the movie and how the Joker is presented will sway this discussion more. It may be very clear -as some have already pointed out -that the Joker is not someone to cheer for in the film. But my initial thought about making a movie where the Joker is the protagonist is that it is risky. As someone else said, it can be fascinating to explore what leads a man to become this monster, but if it is done in a way to garner sympathy to his actions or motivations then i’m not for it.
You want to see the movie? Go see it. Hopefully it’s fantastic. You don’t want to see the movie? Power to you. Ether way, I think we’ll all be talking about this movie for a long time to come.
@TheLegendKiller
I apologize I was thinking of the Dark Knight
He was originally planned to fill the role of the “judge” in the mob-ruled court in TDR instead of Crane. That would have been a nice cameo.
I feel like I need to clarify when I mentioned “the media” earlier.
Not all media is the problem and news and journalism is certainly not the enemy of the people. When functioning properly it protects the people. Authority figures making enemies out reporters and journalism is a solid first step to dictatorship and certainly some underlying corruption. It’s the sensationalist clickbait mindset that’s created this problem, not credible journalism.
Generally speaking, I don’t believe movies/TV/video games are directly linked to violence. There is a wide variety of complex reasons why someone would choose to commit any violent action in the real world. But if anyone tries to blame it on entertainment (like movies) then they are avoiding addressing the real cause, whatever that may be.
As for “Joker”, since I doubt anyone on here has seen the film at this point in time, let’s just wait and see what exactly they do in the movie and how they portray certain characters and actions before making a firm decision.
I actually just learned how many theaters are being threatened and how I should avoid theaters for a week while it’s out. Movies are suppose to send messages and can inspire people but hopefully not in the wrong way. It seems Joker is talking about the unfairness of our government and how we should step up but perhaps not in the way it shows us, protest are fine but not full on violence. Movies are suppose to be stories, and stories are lessons, it is unfair that people are blaming this movie for only showing the terrible truth of our society when it has been done so many times before. I’m seeing the movie still, but don’t blame a work of fiction only trying to spread a message on why some people are violent. Blame the people who didn’t do anything to prevent that.