The Joker: Unwarranted Hate

The Joker, released in 2019 directed by Todd Phillips is a masterpiece. However, this is not how many film critics perceive it. To me a film major this is astounding, because when I first saw the film I thought "wow this film is gonna get so much praise from critics because it wasn't another superhero film". I couldn't have been more wrong though, when the Joker was released is was thrashed by the public media, they hated it and many major news outlets published articles where they stated how bad the film truly was. Why though? why did the popular media have this mob mentality against Joker? was it because they didn't like Joaquin Phoenix? or maybe they didn't like Todd Phillips and the films he had previously made? Or maybe they just thought the Joker was only a side-character who needs Batman in order to thrive? or maybe they were upset that Jared Leto didn't get another chance to put on the face paint? But if I'm going to be completely honest, I don't think its anything I mentioned above, I believe the media didn't like this film because it was real in its portrayal of society. This portrayal of society however, is what makes Joker such an immaculate film, and so for critics and the popular media to thrash this film because it portrays society in a realistic way is absurd. Let it be known though, the Joker only started to receive hate after it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, in which after the premier, the film received a standing ovation. I wonder, if Joker never premiered at an 'artistic' film festival and if it never won a film festival prize... would it have gotten as much hate as it did? In my opinion I believe it wouldn't have. I believe that Joker was destined to get hate and harsh reviews from critics the second it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and I believe this because in the "Film World" there is this idea that Film Festivals are the pinnacle of art in the film world. If Joker was to just be released in a theatrical setting without the festival premiere then I believe the hate for this film and its substance would be substantially lower.

To me though, I believe the Joker is a tremendous film because of its realism. I also believe that Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of this 'Joker' is simply outstanding and worthy of so much praise. If I had to give my honest opinion, I believe that Joker will stand out in this generation of cinema as one of the most artistic and beautifully shot films.

9/10

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