Joker: Backlash against this Joaquin Phoenix starrer explained

That the character is lonely, feels oppressed and mistreated and that causes him to become a violent criminal is uncomfortably reminiscent of several incidents of gun violence in the US. The 1980s’ fiction in the film is just too close to contemporary reality for people to actually enjoy the movie. After all, films are a means to escape from the harsh and banal real world for many people.

The worry among many critics is also that this film might inspire such incidents and may validate the beliefs of many people who see themselves in Arthur Fleck.

The thing is Joker has always been a controversial character. Several comic-book stories featuring him have prompted the question whether the writers went too far in depicting the Clown’s villainy. He has tortured people, skinned them, paralysed them and so on in comics, and all that was just for fun.

Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke comic had a Joker so sadistic that it ended up frightening even him. The questions that are asked in regards to Joker — specifically whether it glorifies violence and violent men — have been asked several times.

But this is the first time that an out-and-out sadistic Joker has come to the centre of attention. Heath Ledger’s Joker deliberately told wildly different stories of his origin and he was presented as less an actual man, and more of a primal force of chaos.

Phoenix’s Joker, on the contrary, could not be more human. The promos and reviews show him dealing with mental health issues and several injustices. The trailers suggest Arthur Fleck (the real identity of the Joker) goes nuts because of constant mistreatment, the destruction of his ambitions to be a comedian and perhaps his mother’s death.

This humanisation of a murderous character and rationalising his actions by saying that they are just part of his revenge against an uncaring and inhumane world is the reason Todd Phillips’ Joker has found itself in this position.

Joker releases in India on October 2.