Joker Controversy: What to Know About Joaquin Phoenix Movie | Time
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Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker strays far from the cartoon villain known for tormenting Batman in the DC Universe comic books. In an origin story which explains the forces that shaped the character, Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, a lonely man who lives with his mother and for whom life is a revolving door of disappointment, violence and isolation. The lack of love, and a feeling that the world is consistently beating him down, pushes Fleck into crime as he morphs into the murderous, now-iconic villain. But for some critics, Fleck’s homicidal tendencies—which the movie depicts as having spawned from his sense of being treated badly at at every turn—cut a little too close to reality. In a time when headlines all too frequently report mass shootings and other acts of violence committed by people whose motivations are later tied to anger at the world or specific groups, they argue that giving the Joker such an origin story could encourage misplaced sympathy at best, and violence at worst. Here’s what to know about controversy surrounding the movie. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now The film arguably furthers a tendency, in American media at least, to look for a reason that would explain why a white man would be driven to commit mass violence. In his review of the film, Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson writes: That’s a complexity of causality that many Americans don’t extend to non-white men who commit heinous crimes; there, the thinking seems to be, the evil is far more easily identifiable. But those angry loners—the ones who shoot up schools and concerts and churches, who gun down the women and men they covet and envy, who let loose some spirit of anarchic animus upon the world—there’s almost a woebegone mythos placed on them in the search for answers. The theater in Aurora where the shooting took place will not be showing the film, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Phillips worked with Igor Volsky, the director of the gun control advocacy group Guns Down America, to write a letter signed by five family members of those killed in the shooting urging Warner Bros. to “understand that they have a social responsibility to keep us all safe.” “When we learned that Warner Bros. was releasing a movie called Joker that presents the character as a protagonist with a sympathetic origin story, it gave us pause,” they wrote. “We want to be clear that we support your right to free speech and free expression. But as anyone who has ever seen a comic book movie can tell you: with great power comes great responsibility. That’s why we’re calling on you to use your massive platform and influence to join us in our fight to build safer communities with fewer guns.” “Keeping everyone safe should be a top corporate priority for Warner Brothers,” they wrote, urging the studio to use its political influence to lobby for gun control reform. WarnerMedia, of which WB is a subsidiary, has donated to both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate. On a list of their 2018 contributions to federal candidates, three (Devin Nunes, Marsha Blackburn and Dean Heller) were among the top six recipients of contributions from the gun rights sector. How has Warner Bros. responded to the criticism? “Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues,” read the statement. “Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.” How have Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix responded? Phillips responded by urging people to watch the movie “with an open mind” and cautioned against judging the film on behalf of other people. “The movie makes statements about a lack of love, childhood trauma, lack of compassion in the world. I think people can handle that message,” he said. “To me, art can be complicated and oftentimes art is meant to be complicated. If you want uncomplicated art, you might want to take up calligraphy, but filmmaking will always be a complicated art. Phillips continued to reject criticisms of the film in an interview with The Wrap published on Wednesday, saying he was confused as to why people were against talking about violence. “Isn’t it good to have these discussions about these movies, about violence?” he asked. “Why is that a bad thing if the movie does lead to a discourse about it?” Phillips said he believed the controversy arose because people on the “far left” are looking for something to get angry about. “Outrage is a commodity, I think it’s something that has been a commodity for a while,” he said. “What’s outstanding to me in this discourse in this movie is how easily the far left can sound like the far right when it suits their agenda. It’s really been eye-opening for me.” Phoenix echoed Phillips, saying that a person who is already emotionally disturbed can find inspiration for violence anywhere. “Well, I think that, for most of us, you’re able to tell the difference between right and wrong. And those that aren’t are capable of interpreting anything in the way that they may want to,” he said. “People misinterpret lyrics from songs. They misinterpret passages from books. So I don’t think it’s the responsibility of a filmmaker to teach the audience morality or the difference between right or wrong. I mean, to me, I think that that’s obvious.” With an opening weekend box office projection of between $82 million and $90 million and awards buzz for Phoenix, debate around the movie is certain to continue in the months to come. Write to Mahita Gajanan at [email protected]