The Joker Controversy rages on

   The new Joker film featuring Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker has sparked controversy. Some people are saying that the movie is too sympathetic towards the Joker and focuses on too much violence.

   The film is essentially the backstory of the Joker character. He is portrayed as a person suffering from mental illness who is denied medications and constantly bullied. The controversy lies in whether the film justifies violence as a result of mental illness, bullying, or unhappiness. 

     “I don’t believe the movie is trying to sympathize with the Joker, I believe the movie is being real,” said senior Ty Bodner. “It displays mental illness at its true form and how environments can really affect someone who struggles with such things.”

     Senior Jamauri Grice agrees.

  “I think it’s foolish and silly to be honest,” said Grice. “It is just a movie based on a comic book character.”

   Others feel there is some legitimacy in this controversy and understand why it is a big deal. 

   “Mental health is a topic that gets ignored too often and the Joker does an excellent job at showing the severity of mental illnesses if it were exposed to an extreme case of a chaotic society,” said Bodner.

   Bodner saw the movie the first week it was released and said he enjoyed it greatly, but added that it is for a mature audience.

   Senior Maria Munoz is more interested in the political aspects of the film than the violence.

   “Personally the controversy doesn’t affect how I see the movie mainly because the idea I see behind the Joker is political and how it focuses on how the government can lose control of any situation,” said Munoz.

   It seems the controversy may be helping the film rather than hurting it. With in the first two weeks after it’s release the film had already grossed over $600 million dollars. 

   “I enjoyed the movie a lot. I think it is one of the best movies DC has come up with. I was intrigued to the end. The movie kept me on edge the whole time and Joaquin Phoenix did and outstanding job at playing the role,” said Munoz.

   Despite all the controversy, people are still going to see the movie and are still giving it raving reviews. 

   “I feel as if I would really enjoy the movie it could be funny, give a nice indie vibe, and have tons of references for those super cool DC fans like me,” said Grice.

   Even with all the feedback from reviews, both positive and negative, the Joker movie appears to be standing strong and continues to top the charts. 

   “Because of how hyper-sensitive society is now, it was obvious this movie was going to receive backlash,” said Bodner.

   Ultimately, the Joker movie brought a discussion about topics that get overlooked daily to the headlines, whether or not people agreed or disagreed with how it was played.