We all know Joker is set to release at the end of next week and fans of the character and cinema in general are pretty excited about it – I have my press tickets already and can’t wait.
But, that said, it seems the movie is stirring up fears over gun violence and the portrayal of the character’s potential portrayal as a sympathetic character.
It also seems to be bringing back awful memories for the families who lost 12 loved ones on July 20th 2012 when a gunman, John Holmes, armed to the teeth and with shocking orange hair, attended a screening of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight in Aurora, Colorado and then opened fire into the crowded screen.
Understandably, this will be a horror that will live with them forever.
And, because of this, they felt moved to write a letter to Warner Bros regarding Joker.
“We are calling on you to be a part of the growing chorus of corporate leaders who understand that they have a social responsibility to keep us all safe,” reads the letter.
“I don’t need to see a picture of [Holmes]; I just need to see a Joker promo and I see a picture of the killer,” says Sandy Phillips,whose 24-year-old daughter, Jessica Ghawi, was among the slain.
The letter goes on to plead with Warners to “end political contributions to candidates who take money from the NRA and vote against gun reform” and “use your political clout and leverage in Congress to actively lobby for gun reform. Keeping everyone safe should be a top corporate priority for Warner Brothers.”
Referring to the Aurors shooting, the letter says it was “perpetrated by a socially isolated individual who felt ‘wronged’ by society [and] as a result, we have committed ourselves to ensuring that no other family ever has to go through the absolute hell we have experienced and the pain we continue to live with. Trust us, it does not go away.”
The letter was signed by Sandy and Lonnie Phillips; Heather Dearman, whose cousin Ashley Moser was severely wounded and lost her unborn child due to her injuries, and whose 6-year-old daughter Veronica Moser Sullivan was killed; Theresa Hoover, whose 18-year-old son Alexander J. Boik was killed; and Tiina Coon, whose son witnessed the shooting.
It’s worth pointing a few things out here though. At the time, because of Holmes’ orange hair, the media believed he modelling himself after the Joker, even going so far as to falsely claim the shooter referred to himself as ‘The Joker’; he did not do this and as Joker has green hair, the connection is… a stretch. Also, Heath Ledger’s Joker appeared in The Dark Knight and was not in The Dark Knight Rises.
This is not said to reduce the trauma and horror these people are experiencing, I just feel it’s worth noting.
Holmes was eventually convicted of 24 counts of first-degree murder and is now serving life in prison with no possibility of parole.
Daniel Oates, Aurora’s chief of police at the time, had this to say about the latest DC movie: “Every time there is a mass shooting or, in the collective media culture, a portrayal of a mass shooting or an evil character who engages in the wanton, random, senseless killing of innocents, we are all traumatized again.
“For me, it’s the gratuitous violence that this film glorifies and elevates with the Joker character.”
Dr Debra Kaysen, a professor in Stanford University’s department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences believes Joker could “trigger” victims’ PTSD, saying: “It’s topically related. It’s in the same comic book universe. [The trauma] is also movie-associated. And it is a violence storyline. So, you have a compounding of those networks, or those cues.”
However, in contrast, Tom Sullivan, now a Democratic state representative in Colorado and whose son Alex (27) was killed in the shooting, seems to believe that the movie is not likely to cause harm in moviegoers: “I don’t think that seeing something is the catalyst to, ‘OK, that is what I am going to start to do.'”
He also added that he likes comic book movies despite the event, but admits he’s not likely to see this one.
Aurora survivor Pierce O’Farrill, who was shot multiple times and still has a bullet lodged in his arm – and is still a comic book nerd, he says – had this to say: “If people were trying to shut down the film, I would have a strong opinion against that because I am kind of an old-school constitutionalist. I think Warner Bros. has the right to make any kind of film they want.”
Warners Bros have responded to the letter to reassure the parents and, it seems, others that the movie neither glorifies violence nor the character.
They write: “Gun violence in our society is a critical issue, and we extend our deepest sympathy to all victims and families impacted by these tragedies. Our company has a long history of donating to victims of violence, including Aurora, and in recent weeks, our parent company joined other business leaders to call on policymakers to enact bi-partisan legislation to address this epidemic.
“At the same time, Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues. 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.”
Earlier, on the topic of violence and concerns over the movie, star Joaquin Phoenix had this to say: “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.
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… I think if you have somebody that has that level of emotional disturbance, they can find fuel anywhere. I just don’t think that you can function that way.”
Director/writer Todd Phillips added: “It’s so, to me, bizarre when people say, ‘Oh, well I could handle it. But imagine if you can’t’.
“It’s making judgments for other people…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.”
And finally, it seems the US military is taking the situation very seriously, with members being warned of potential trouble at screenings of the movie.
The US Army has distributed a warning after alleged posts were discovered by the FBI by incels (a group name for ‘involuntary celibates’, basically young men who are unable to find girlfriends and who apparently are radicalised and find Joker to be a brother in the cause – even though from the trailers it seems Joker is romantically entangled with the beautiful Zazie Beetz’s character).
Service members are instructed to be aware of surroundings and to take some very specific steps – such as identifying two escape routes – when going into theaters. If a shooting does take place, they are instructed to run, hide, or fight.
“Run if you can,” the warning reads, “if you’re stuck, hide (also known as ‘sheltering in place), and stay quiet. If a shooter finds you, fight with whatever you can.”
So there you have it, guys.
The Joker movie is stirring up all sorts of emotions and fears.
Let’s hope it just turns out, in a world full of Rambos and John Wicks, to a great movie and doesn’t lead to anything bad happening.
I think we can all agree on that.
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
Nerd Comments