The new Joker movie is so "dark" people are actually walking out

7 October 2019, 17:36

By Jazmin Duribe

Some say the movie should come with a "trigger warning".

There's been a lot of talk about the latest Joker movie, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, who would later become the iconic Batman villain. The DC Comics movie was released on Friday (4 Oct) and has already grossed $234 million (£188 million) worldwide, making it a box office hit.

READ MORE: Robert Pattinson is playing the next Batman and the internet is divided

Joker looks at how Arthur Fleck became the evil clown intent on revenge because of a series of unfortunate events that impacted his mental health, causing him to spiral into violence.

Unsurprisingly, the movie has not been without controversy. There have been growing concerns that the movie is too "violent", glorifies revenge killing and might encourage gun violence. It has also had some backlash for upholding the stigma that mental health issues make people become more violent, when in fact people with mental health issues are more at risk of being victims of violence.

Apparently, police in the US were considering patrolling cinemas to keep audiences safe, especially after gunman James Holmes opened fire at a Colorado cinema during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, killing 12 people and injuring 70.

Apparently, people have even walked out of the movie and said it should be "banned" because of the violent scenes.

In response, Joker director Todd Phillips defended the film during the New York Film Festival on Wednesday night (2 Oct).

He said: "Isn't it a good thing to take away the cartoon element about violence that we've become so immune to? I was a little surprised when it turns into that direction, that it's irresponsible.

"Because, to me, it's very responsible to make it feel real and make it have weight and implications."

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