Joker and the histerical reactions, only in America*
Note: when I say "Only in America", I mean Only in the USA.
It's clear for me, that in the past couple of years, the USA went insane, like Joker insane. People try to police each other online over language, and that country is so torn apart because of politics, that a civil war might be closer than you think.
For the another note, I am from Europe. I was never in the USA, and I will never be, unless in my lifetime certain things change. I am afraid of the USA, not because of their leaders, but because of its people. I also want to say, that I know that most of you just want to live your life the best as you can. However as always, loud minorities are more damaging, and unless you won't change your political attitude drastically, I don't see any solution for you, other than a civil war.
So here we are, one week away from the Joker movie premiere. Ever since the Venice Film Festival there were a build up in tension and excitement! Director Todd Philips won the Golden Lion, the top prize, and the premiere had an 8 minute standing ovation. Critics told us, the movie is an early Oscar contender, especially Joaquin Phoenix. Rottentomatoes showed an 89% score, which is very good for an R rated movie. The hypetrain has started. Even a writer from IGN scored it 10/10! A writer from IGN, this will be key for later.
Then came TIFF (Toronto Internation Film Festival), and the remaining North American critics started to show their colors. Incels, mass shooters and white guy was the main buzzwords mostly in the negative reviews, while some positive reviews still emphasised the direction and Joaquin Phoenix' work. At that point the RT score went down to 75%, which in my opinion is still a damn good score for an R rated movie.
Joker the dangerous movie?
There were some weird reactions, from people who said the movie is too dark, and there is no hope in the end. Well, this movie is about the Joker, a villain. One might say one of ultimate villain since he came to existense in the 1940s. The Joker doesn't mess around, not even the animated version. He IS Evil.
Some critics say the "Joker movie is dangerous". How a movie can be dangerous, or incite violence? Movies got pretty violent from the late 70s I think, but most people don't react to this like, "I need to go blow something up" or "I have an urge to buy a gun and and shoot up the local market".
Movies are fantasy, and many of us likes to play violent games or watch movies and reading horror novels to give way to our imagination. But that doesn't mean we are actively seeking out violent action in real life. Most people knows what's difference between fantasy and real-life, and if they not, chance is that they already have problems, outside of entertainment.
It seems the media want to create fear, where there is none. We had a couple of big name, violent movies, like John Wick 3 or Rambo: Last Blood, and The Hunt, which were canceled by Universal. It was about rich people hunting people.
I am sure there are couple of others. Yet nobody protested that John Wick shoots people after people, after all it started when his dog got killed. So emotional, yet most people don't do that in real life.
But if a nobody, a simple man, snaps. Oh, we got a problem.
Only in America, though…
In Europe we have no mass shootings. And the United States of Fear continue to point in the wrong direction. Instead of looking in the mirror, and sit down what they are doing wrong. Well they point to anything other than themselves. Video games, violent movies, D&D, anything just not gun control, or health care and education, or keeping family together. If a kid has mother & father while growing up, I think there's a bigger chance for that child to grow up happy, balanced. It makes sense, right?
Where are we now?
Social media also blew up, with lots of misinformation all over it, and people just repeating what the Time magazine, or other news site says, instead of thinking about it more than 4 seconds, what they read.
Time magazined pretty much milked their review on Twitter for the first couple of days of September, and people started to notice it, always asking: "why are you share this again?". link
Joaquin Phoenix walked out of the Telegraph interview, because they asked the question, if he thinks the movie will inspire real life violence.
Honestly I am tired of all this crap surrounding this movie. European critics loved it, gave it one of the biggest awards possible (which I don't think they ever give to a comicbook movie).
Just read the IGN article about it. Both Phoenix and Philips give an interview.
/"I think we all are aware of these issues and we're concerned, and I think that's why we talk about it. I don't think that we can be afraid to talk about it."/
It also corrects the reporting of the Aurora shooter from 2012. Note, that the author was also the reviewer that give the movie a 10/10 score!
I wanted to share a couple of screenshots from twitter, about how people think, or more important how people let themselves by some stupid articles (like this one). No thinking, just parroting. ##
What's for me?
I hope I will see the Joker in the first couple of days. Sadly we dub every movie in my country, so I have to travel to another city to see it. I managed to avoid spoilers, and I am prepared to do it, unless I see the movie.