“People will be trying to figure out what the cultural importance of that film is for years, maybe longer,” Darnell Hunt, UCLA dean of social sciences, tells TheWrap
Director Todd Phillips’ gritty art-house rumination on arguably the most iconic villain in comics history pirouetted its way into theaters last October and into a debate about the film’s violence and themes.
“Joker” was a polarizing film from the moment critics, journalists and the film community saw it during the Venice International Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation and the top award, the Golden Lion. But the praise was met with scathing criticism as concerns were raised about the possibility the film could stoke real-world violence. That was months before the rest of the world would get a chance to gauge for itself and, by then, authorities in some cities around the country had stepped up police patrols around theaters.
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It didn’t take long after hitting theaters for “Joker” to maniacally laugh all the way to the bank; setting an October record for the biggest box office opening, eventually amassing more than $1 billion worldwide and garnering 11 Oscar nominations.
Also Read: Director Todd Phillips on Making 'Joker': Art Is 'Meant to Be Complicated'
One could say “Joker” now sits as the premier example of art winning out. But looking back, as the filmmakers and Warner Bros. — the studio behind the film — staunchly defended it against the barrage of criticism, who could have bet that this art-house character study of a comic book character would reach this level of acclaim?
“‘Joker’s’ road to the Oscars was an unexpected one, and the eventual mass acceptance was maybe even more unexpected,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore, told TheWrap.
The film’s dark, depressing and violent moments are at times hard to watch. They plunge audiences into the world of a loner, rejected by society, someone who fits the profile we hear trotted out far too often in the aftermath of a mass shooting tragedy. But the film is also complicated, beautiful, riveting and one of the most talked about of 2019 and closely watched of the 2020 Oscar season.
Also Read: Director Todd Phillips: 'Joker' Sprang From Concern Over World Without Empathy
This 2019 iteration of the infamous Joker character makes for what might be the most unlikely blockbuster in recent memory. The film has exceeded all expectations despite its early biting criticism:
“The Real Threat of ‘Joker’ is Hiding in Plain Sight”
“Is ‘Joker’ a Dangerous Movie? Our Critics Have it Out”
“Why I Won’t be Seeing the New ‘Joker’ Movie”
That’s only a spattering of the headlines that met “Joker” at the box office for its opening weekend, reigniting memories of the 2012 mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
The families of victims of the Aurora shooting sent a letter to Warner Bros. ahead of ‘Joker’s’ release voicing their concerns. Even the U.S. Army warned of potential threats of violence related to the film’s release.
None of the critiques or concerns bore out. In fact, the film went on to gross more than any other R-rated film before it.
Also Read: Why 'Joker' Has Outperformed All Other R-Rated Films at the Box Office
“[Writers] Scott Silver and Todd Phillips, you tricked us,” star, and Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix said at the Critic’s Choice Awards, as he accepted the award for best actor. “You took a comic book character and used it to talk about childhood trauma and gun violence, isolation and mental health; and instead of inciting violence, you invited the audience in to see what it feels like when you’re one of the forgotten, and I deeply appreciate that.”
Were critics wrong? Did the media misinterpret audiences’ possible response and overreact?
“Advance media coverage of the film and its so-called ‘danger’ was mired in cardboard sociological stereotypes that have haunted discussion of cinema for generations,” said Stephen Prince, a professor at Virginia Tech’s school of performing arts. “American society is indeed prone to violence and mass shootings, but the causes of this, to the extent that they can be reliably identified, lie in factors that go well beyond the movies, which, in comparison, exert only a slight influence, if any at all.”
To be sure, that is the role of critics and media charged with being, in many respects, the arbiters of what is valuable while asking questions about the world’s moral and ethical obligations. Critics, whether they be film, music, literature, or culture at large, serve an important role in sparking and leading discussions relating to pop culture, according to UCLA dean of social sciences Darnell Hunt.
Also Read: What Is 'Joker' Trying to Say About Poverty and Mental Illness? (Podcast)
“Art and popular art, like film and TV influence the way we make sense of our relation to the rest of society,” Hunt told TheWrap. “Film critics, like many critics, serve an important function. They’re part of the atmosphere that I consider culture.”
To say that critics or the media were “wrong” in their judgment of “Joker” is perhaps to miss the point of criticism altogether. An important question was asked and a vital conversation was had.
“Isn’t it good to have these discussions?” Phillips said in a conversation with TheWrap ahead of the film’s opening weekend. “Isn’t it good to have these discussions about these movies, about violence? Why is that a bad thing if the movie does lead to a discourse about it?”
Also Read: 'Joker' Isn't Dangerous - Our Apathy Is (Guest Blog)
It’s also important not to simply let those conversations peter out, however exhausting and difficult they may be. With Hollywood’s biggest night a little more than a week away, it’s possible those conversations may pick back up.
Phoenix appears to have the race for best actor all but locked up. He won the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild award, and the Critics’ Choice award. There’s also the possibility that “Joker,” which received more nominations than any film this year, could completely clean up during the ceremony, including winning best picture or best director for Phillips.
Awarding a film already surrounded by questions and criticism as one of the year’s best films would likely only increase the debate about what the film says about society and how we relate to such a film.
“People will be trying to figure out what the cultural importance of that film is for years, maybe longer,” Hunt said. “We know it’s popular, but we don’t know why it’s popular. We don’t know, for example, if the big take away was that this film reaffirmed for audiences the pervasive nature of gun violence in our society, and be the opposite of what critics bemoaned the film for.”
Also Read: Joaquin Phoenix Defends 'Joker' as Examination of 'Malevolent Person'
Prince said that audiences connected so strongly to the film for many of the reasons Phoenix addressed in his Critics Choice acceptance speech.
The film, Prince said, provided “a striking and vivid portrait of alienation and disaffection — an emotional and psychological predicament that seems now to be an enduring part of the zeitgeist.”
“The film spoke to its audience in emotional terms that seemed true and deeply connected to present reality and did so using very popular narrative formulas,” Prince continued. “It’s good to see a movie strike a strongly resonant chord with audiences — it reaffirms the importance of cinema as a medium of art and expression and not just as a money-making machine.”
12 Best Superhero Movies of the Decade, From 'Avengers' to 'Black Panther' to 'Joker' (Photos)
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The past decade was defined by the rise of movies based on comics, and specifically superhero comics, as Hollywood's biggest success story. But while it's hard to remember now, before "The Avengers" firmly established the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a pop culture phenomenon in 2012, hugely successful movies about costumed heroes were considered outliers, not inevitabilities. And that's not even getting into the fact that as the 2010s began, the idea that audiences would flock to films that not only have shared continuities but require them to make sense was considered laughable.
Well, no one is laughing now (except Disney's accountants, probably). TheWrap takes a look at the 12 best superhero movies of the past decade.
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12. "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"
Fans of the foundational comic book series, which debuted in 2004, may not see this as groundbreaking material; everyone else will. It's a ballsy mashup of imagery and rules of the universe that borrow from video games, TV sitcoms, Saturday morning cartoons, rock 'n' roll, anime, sci-fi/fantasy and yes, comic books.
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11. "Man of Steel"
Christopher Nolan's realistic approach to superhero sagas and Zack Snyder's experience creating visually stunning action sequences made Clark Kent's return to the big-screen forget Bryan Singer's dismal 2006 "Superman Returns."
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10. "Deadpool"
"Deadpool" is one of those movies that's all the more successful for how easily it could have gone so very wrong. It's suffused with an arch, self-aware wit -- its titular hero violates the fourth wall more than Groucho Marx, Bugs Bunny and Ambush Bug put together -- yet it takes its romance and revenge storylines just seriously enough to keep us engaged.
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9. "Thor: Ragnarok"
New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi added his personal touch to the "Thor" franchise with this film, and made it fun and entertaining -- and the visual effects are never too much. The film should be lauded for its portrayal of women, as well as main characters, Thor and Loki. Even Hulk is hilarious in the film, and the character and plot arcs work in the third installment of the "Thor" franchise.
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8. "Guardians of the Galaxy"
Take the Dirty Dozen, subtract the Magnificent Seven, and you'll roughly get the membership of "Guardians of the Galaxy," a surprisingly winning space-faring adventure with a group of Marvel Comics characters led by Chris Pratt in a breakout action-lead performance.
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7. "Wonder Woman"
Gal Gadot's turn as Princess Diana of Themyscira was a refreshing standout amidst the sludge of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," and she's as good if not better headlining her own solo adventure. It's a film that not only improves upon many of the seemingly built-in shortcomings of superhero movies, but also mixes smarts, sentiment and adrenaline in the best Hollywood style. This is a superior popcorn movie, no matter what the genre.
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6. "Joker"
"Joker" become the first movie with an R rating to gross $1 billion at the box office. That alone is enough to immortalize it in the comic book movie canon. But when compared to some of the big DC and Marvel tentpoles that have defined the movie ecosystem over the past few years, it's amazing how Gotham City's most infamous villain has beaten the superheroes at their own game.
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5. "The Avengers"
Marvel Studios built it's cinematic universe over four years and five movies which culminated in the critically acclaimed and crowd pleasing 2012 release of "The Avengers." At the time a radical idea, Kevin Feige's master stroke put all the heroes from the previous Marvel Phase One movies into one big team up movie which conquered the world to the tune of $1.5 billion dollars at the box office.
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4. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
The Russo brothers, who made their entrance to the MCU directing "Winter Soldier" before taking the reigns on "Civil War" and, eventually, 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War," really impressed with "Winter Soldier." It's a classic spy thriller with a superhero twist. And Robert Redford as the bad guy is a really nice touch. But what really pushes it to greatness is the way it just gets it. It gets people. It gets the world. It pushes the idea that you gotta do what you gotta do even when you know it's not gonna work out.
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3. "Black Panther"
With beautiful cinematography and stunning costume design, "Black Panther" lives up to our expectations. And another thing the film does well: Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger is a fully fleshed-out villain for whom you also feel compassion at times.
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2. "Logan"
James Mangold's small-scale western is a game changer for the entire superhero genre, daring to defy pretty much standard by which you expect these movies to operate. It's just a great movie by any normal standard.
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1. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
The best superhero movies, and movies in general, are the ones that are truly most human. And "Spider-Verse," despite being animated, despite the wacky cast of Spider-People, despite the outlandish premise, is as real as movies get.
Best of/Worst of 2019: “Wonder Woman” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” rank among the decade’s finest superhero movies
The past decade was defined by the rise of movies based on comics, and specifically superhero comics, as Hollywood's biggest success story. But while it's hard to remember now, before "The Avengers" firmly established the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a pop culture phenomenon in 2012, hugely successful movies about costumed heroes were considered outliers, not inevitabilities. And that's not even getting into the fact that as the 2010s began, the idea that audiences would flock to films that not only have shared continuities but require them to make sense was considered laughable.
Well, no one is laughing now (except Disney's accountants, probably). TheWrap takes a look at the 12 best superhero movies of the past decade.
Trey Williams
Film Reporter covering the biz • trey.williams@thewrap.com • Twitter: @trey3williams