Why the Media NEEDED Joker to Fail

anyone even remotely in tune with modern cinema DC Comics or even just contemporary pop culture is probably aware of the Joker the movie has been mired in surface level controversy for months pre and post release but now as it makes a stunning debut on the big screen - smashing levels of success media tone and portrayal has shifted in a rather self compromising way I won't be reviewing Joker today I won't be focusing on the movie itself as a standalone work of art even though it is undeniably a work of art instead today I want to focus on reviewing the reaction to Joker and examine why the mainstream media appears to be absolutely desperate for the movie to either fail or inspire mass tragedy I'll say right off the bat that my own personal and subjective preferences Heath Ledger's portrayal of the character from The Dark Knight Ledger's version adopted a deep and insidious intelligence that made for an experience unlike any other but the impact of the Joker as a character and as a villain has tremendous flexibility Joaquin Phoenix in the now most recent version of this iconic agent of chaos has crafted a portrayal that is entirely unique artistic and brilliant but the response from widespread media to this brilliance in terms of artistic vision and execution is not one of respect and appreciation it is one of fear and distaste the articles are frequent and very deliberate - terrifying people walk out of the Joker movie Joker film release sparks violence fears as US cinemas ban bags and face paint it's way too terrifying the film worries families it's an insult raining manual or even Joker has toxic fans does that mean it shouldn't exist the list of terms and criticism is long and very precise but the central theme is consistent throughout media outlets and journalistic personalities view it to be a dangerous film that may incite violence here is where I will take a deliberately more controversial approach to the topic than many other commentators often times in recent coverage those condemning or refuting the stance of various writers and media headpieces will use very particular language to describe the perceived attitude their words will often resemble something along these lines it feels like the media wants there to be a tragedy it seems like they want something bad to happen or it's almost as if they are trying to spark something with their own words by projecting these messages those are all very true sentiments right now it does feel like the media wants something bad to happen it does feel like they are wishing for a reason to validate their criticism of this film but rather than skirt around the subject and utilize imprecise language out of fear that accusing them directly will open oneself up to counter criticism I would like to take a more hardline stance mainstream media subconsciously needs Joker to fail and the most direct and impactful failure that they can visualize is brutality inspired by its message they absolutely want a tragedy to occur and such a statement now opens me up to the shallow and pathetically disingenuous defense that they will fall back on inevitably of how they obviously don't want such events to happen and saying that they do is false fear-mongering hyperbole or whatever else they can stammer out but the truth is they want and need the film to either fail miserably in terms of public interest or inspire an event so heinous that they can rely on that action to discredit and bury it entirely in a way Joker is immune to major spoilers the film is rather direct in its format man becomes villain it's difficult to spoil it because we all know what is going to happen the intricacies of precisely what and when are somewhat of a mystery at least for those that have not seen it but an overarching narrative is a methodical descent into madness through the embrace of anarchy and chaos the film is many things but among those things it is a societal reflection Joker holds a mirror up to its audience and as is always true with a well-crafted mirror what one sees in it remains entirely personal the film carries strong references to mental health with recurring mention of class warfare and elitism for one viewer they may relate strongly to arthur's struggle with depression for another his loneliness and to a different individual entirely it may signal a distaste with wealth inequality and our current political atmosphere there really is no right or wrong interpretation and that is intentional by design the visionaries behind the film have been precise in their wording when discussing the desires present during its creation the goal was to have a movie that could speak in different ways to different people while telling the story of Joker in a unique setting unlike any other with these goals in mind the movie is successful not just successful but masterful honestly however the megaphones of modern media reflected in this mirror or witnessing an ugly side of themselves that they simply cannot reconcile and when faced with a mirror that displays something truly disgusting unappealing and ugly you can either deny it or accept that it is showing you what you really are the desire to frame Joker as a protagonist should in theory be somewhat difficult ideally in a just fair and kind world it should not be easy to construct a relatable descent into madness wherein murder and mayhem begin to feel justified previous iterations of the Joker have seen him displayed as everything from a goofy prankster to a psychotically intelligent serial criminal but Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Phillips have given him a story derived more closely from plausible modern-day events and therein lies the fear as the mirror is held up as day-to-day interactions unfold it forces viewers to wonder and even outright ask themselves what role do we play what impact do we have on someone in our everyday lives whether it be co-workers acquaintances or those we have never met save one simple interaction that question like everything else in the film is highly subjective but in true reflective form certain viewers will see something ugly staring back at them this is the case for many of the media personalities that are desperately seeking a way to shatter that mirror Joker is a slowly building film it's not an experience that will give non-stop action and adrenaline fueled cinematic sequences the value and brilliance lies in its methodical journey from a man we can kind of feel sorry for as his possessions are stolen his career abilities and livelihood viciously mocked or he is beaten outright in the street to the final result of a man so broken he will become an iconic villain capable of the darkest conflict imaginable with his moral adversary Batman the brilliance is the sequence of events which facilitates his transformation and I will be discussing some scenes in particular which might be viewed as spoilers here so be aware of that but as I stated before on the most basic level it's hard to really spoil this film because the final conclusion is a destination we always knew would eventually be reached Arthur is obviously a troubled man from the very beginning that is made abundantly clear and his everyday life is plagued by an inability to relate to people this inability is not just a result of his own condition which causes constant seemingly pained laughter when he is nervous or uneasy that inability is also a direct result of cold rude behavior by others Arthur is subjected to harsh violence multiple separate times at the hands of total strangers a group of boys mercilessly beating him for no real reason other than thinking he is a bad clown or a group of wealthy stock traders who dislike the way he laughs this physical abuse is accompanied by verbal and societal abuse a prominent recurring figure is Marie a late-night talk show host who Arthur clearly views as a sort of father figure or role model but who makes a very deliberate effort to mock and degrade Arthur on his program with no regard for the effects or knowledge of who Arthur is and the struggles he may have herein lies a direct connection to modern media late-night shows journalistic hit pieces and other forms of public attention seeking because for the most part that is what they truly are at the end of the day a profit-driven fiscally motivated endeavour to entice clicks and sequentially earned revenue from that viewership these programs articles and people often have a damaging effect on the world around them a personal example would be a hit piece written about me by a journalist from CNET the writer contacted me under false pretenses asked vague and manipulative questions while chasing a predetermined story that I and a few other youtubers are too negative just because he deemed it to be so and even went so far as to contact advertisers to try and get them to pull their support and destroy our livelihood this was all done because he subjectively did not like that sometimes we criticize video games that was literally the sum total of his motivation and journalism like that has a very ugly reflection media constantly chases clicks which can mean degrading the targets of their articles or pushing gory and violent content to the front page sometimes lying outright for views or otherwise engaging in morally reprehensible behavior to the detriment of others that furthers their own ratings or their own careers I am by no means saying every journalist or TV program fits this blueprint but then not every article being written is a desperate attempt to discredit or destroy the mirror that Joker is holding up the angle of Joker's violence being too graphic is entirely meaningless a film like Deadpool has more graphic violence and gore than Joker by a multiple of nearly a hundred thousands of other films have more intense displays of violence than this movie and that is an undeniable and Ear if you in fact but the fear is not born of the violence the fear is born after a realization on some level or another spurred by an accurate depiction of violence motivated by human behavior that absolutely exists in our modern society that if they were to be inserted into this fictional world they might have helped contribute directly to the rise of Joker modern cinema thrives on the ability of an audience to visualize themselves as the hero but Joker takes a very different approach Joker shows the audience that some of them aren't the hero some of them are everyday villains who wallow in hypocrisy and moral superiority and that message internalized by inadequate and self-absorbed media critics then leads to questions about this artistic works right to even exist with transparent arguments against the film desperately clutching at straws to avoid saying that the real reason they want it gone and despise it so very much is because they know it shows them for what they truly are there is a common defense that when someone commits a terrible Act it is no one's fault other than their own this is parodied far and wide typically in response to questions of internalized guilt in the aftermath of tragedy at the risk of crossing a line here and drawing criticism for the position this holistic idea that the only one responsible is the perpetrator themselves it is wrong there is an element of responsibility and sometimes a direct causality link assignable to those that interacted with that individual and drove them to such an extreme for Joker there are several of these key moments but chief among them the ridicule he receives as a direct result of the TV show host Murray and his decision to play arthur's material as he struggles to overcome his harrowing disability while doing a stand-up routine purely for the purpose of degrading him there is the co-worker who thinks he is helping by giving Arthur a gun or the stock traders who attack him for his compulsive laughter all of these individuals share blame none of them are necessarily the singular reason that Arthur fully transforms but to dodge the accountability and pretend that Arthur is an amoral unrelatable and wholly isolated perpetrator who is not partially motivated after being subjected to the cruelty of society around him is a pathetic and weak attempt at distancing oneself from the reality that actions do have consequences Arthur holds on to some of control through social programs and therapy but those programs have their funding cut and the underlying narrative is not just a cinematic display of a villain being a villain it's a contemplation of society its programs and even the individuals within it and how they fail one another honestly they do which can result in those that struggle losing their last thread of hope the idea that we fail one another resonates with the media most of all who are now failing the public with increasing severity and intention each and every day articles trying to paint the film as an insult raining Manuel are an affront to journalism and artistic expression the film has no predominantly negative themes revolving around romantic interests or sex it is not an endorsement or promotion of violence is a daring portrayal of societal degradation media articles are reaching as far as they possibly can to paint the movie in a negative light whatever that may be and the ultimate vindication for their unrelenting narrative where they preach that the movie is worrying might cause violence or is troubling and controversial would be a tragic event as a direct result of Joker which would then allow them to ignore the crystal clear image of their own failure that is being reflected right back at them there are worse movies in every conceivable metric when compared directly to Joker but those movies don't force certain ideologically shallow and disingenuous people to watch a reasonably plausible road map of where their own behavior might lead when it is directed at someone too close to the edge it makes no effort to excuse Arthur's behavior and is quite clear that there is a darkness behind him and it's totally beyond what could be understood or ever condoned but it is also truthfully examining what happens when we treat each other poorly and the media can't stand that media has a shaping effect on society as we know it that is an undeniable truth and as such a film that skillfully highlights failure in that crafted structure means that in an inextricable way it is showing that the architects behind it made mistakes when confronted by the mirrored truth of one's own shortcomings you can either accept them and move on or try to break the mirror and it's very clear what approach is being taken now the movie is brilliant as I said earlier personally I prefer Heath Ledger's performance but Joaquin Phoenix is a compelling and talented actor who deserves every ounce of praise that the movie will undoubtedly win him media critics trying to create a tragedy out of nowhere by artificially focusing on things the film does not even say are desperate to avoid looking in the mirror as the film's sky rockets through the box office charts they may even be forced to understand that people are more interested in thought-provoking and compelling renditions rather than pandering hollow empty garbage that allows journalists and Twitter warriors to continue a shallow and pretentious existence of manufactured outrage that holds no mirror and contains no message that's it for today though if you want to support there are links down below merch patreon Twitter etc but that's long enough already I'll cut it there and stop rambling as always thank you all for watching and have a nice night [Music]

Channel: Upper Echelon Gamers

Views: 2,003,098

Rating: 4.9051566 out of 5

Keywords: Joker, Joker movie, the joker, joker review, heath ledger, joaquin phoenix, joker origin, joker 2019, joker discussion, joker plot, joker awards, joker and batman, DC comics, DC universe, upper echelon gamers, media articles, joker articles, joker media, jorunalists, modern media, modern society, joker commentary, society commentary, mental health, elitism, gotham city, batman origin, batman villains, joker villain, todd phillips

Id: Kp1pUImNaz0

Length: 14min 32sec (872 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 09 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/DoctorBeatMaker]

Very good video analysis. The media just don't like it when any of their perceived flaws are put out into the open like that. The movie's themes and topics in regards to mental health neglect, the impact of a rotten society and just general all-around mean-spirited mockery of others for popularity can lead to others showing their dark side is being ignored in favor of more generalities like "incel violence" and whatnot because it takes attention away from what the movie is actually about.

And it's sad...

I mean, just one example, but I've seen hundreds/thousands of commenters talking about how they didn't even know PBA existed as a real-life neurological condition until after they saw the movie. And that's wonderful that the movie has shed some light on a very real, but unknown condition people suffer from. But good luck finding more than maybe a couple dozen of articles talking about it - there's a thousand times more articles warning people about how immensely violent Joker is.

[u/teaqualizer]

Interesting but it seems like this guy has an axe to grind against the media. The media aren't threatened by Joker or in any way interested in whether or not it "fails". They're simply interested in clicks. Sensationalism tied to a popular movie is an easy way to get clicks. I'd much rather have a press that's free to sensationalize than a press that's heavily regulated. It's definitely the lesser of two weivels.