Long before the first reviews were published, Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix’s upcoming film Joker began generating plenty of excitement and worry among critics, commenters, and others on social media. Many are concerned that the movie’s allegedly sympathetic depiction of an ostracized character who goes on to commit violent atrocities will inspire copycats — especially the families of the Aurora, Colorado theaters shooting victims. The same day Variety published a letter to Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff written by the victim’s parents, Warner Bros. responded.
“Gun violence in our society is a critical issue,” the statement begins, “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.”
Whether or not the studio’s official statement will quell the families’ fears and concerns remains to be seen. After all, Joker won’t hit theaters for another week and a half. What’s more, that fact that star Joaquin Phoenix walked out of a recent interview that questioned him about such concerns doesn’t bode well for this particular “discourse.”
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
