‘Joker’ Director Says Reaction to Movie Has Been ‘Eye Opening’ about Far-Left ‘Outrage’ Culture
Shane Trejo
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With Joker set to debut in movie theaters nationwide one week from today, hysteria driven by the far-left has caused a panic over the movie and its supposed glorification of terrorist violence.
“As Hannah Arendt saw banality in the supposed evil of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann, I see in Joker an attempt to elevate nerdy revenge to the plane of myth. That’s scary on a lot of different levels,” wrote movie critic David Edelstein in Vulture about Joker.
“In America, there’s a mass shooting or attempted act of violence by a guy like Arthur practically every other week. And yet we’re supposed to feel some sympathy for Arthur, the troubled lamb; he just hasn’t had enough love,” wrote film critic Stephanie Zacharek for Time Magazine.
However, the film’s director Todd Phillips believes that criticism of his film is wholly undeserved and another example of outrage culture run amok.
“We didn’t make the movie to push buttons,” Phillips said to the Wrap. “I literally described to Joaquin at one point in those three months as like, ‘Look at this as a way to sneak a real movie in the studio system under the guise of a comic book film’. It wasn’t, ‘We want to glorify this behavior.’ It was literally like ‘Let’s make a real movie with a real budget and we’ll call it f–ing Joker’. That’s what it was. “
The backlash has opened Phillips’ eyes about the hostile nature of the far-left, and their intolerance toward anything that offends their delicate sensibilities.
“I think it’s because 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.”
But threats surrounding Joker are being taken very seriously. A representative from Warner Bros. was forced to release a statement earlier this week explaining that the movie is not meant to promote violent behavior.
“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,” the representative wrote.
“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,” they added.
Even the U.S. military is warning their personnel about Joker and the possible terror threat posed by Incels who they believe may perform violent acts during a showing of the film.
The military sent out the following e-mail warning to service members based on social media monitoring by FBI agents:
Team,
Posts on social media have made reference to involuntary celibate (“incel”) extremists replicating the 2012 theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, at screenings of the Joker movie at nationwide theaters. This presents a potential risk to DOD personnel and family members, though there are no known specific credible threats to the opening of the Joker on 4 October.
Incels are individuals who express frustration from perceived disadvantages to starting intimate relationships. Incel extremists idolize violent individuals like the Aurora movie theater shooter. They also idolize the Joker character, the violent clown from the Batman series, admiring his depiction as a man who must pretend to be happy, but eventually fights back against his bullies.
When entering theaters, identify two escape routes, remain aware of your surroundings, and remember the phrase “run, hide, fight.” Run if you can. If you’re stuck, hide (also referred to as “sheltering in place”), and stay quiet. If a shooter finds you, fight with whatever you can.
** this is a condensed version of an HQ Army Materiel Command, G-3, Protection Division Security message **
Only time will tell if these warnings are justified, or if they are just more mindless hysteria in a crumbling civilization that has lost its soul. Joker is set to debut in theaters on Oct. 3.
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