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As Grand View’s Student Activities Council offered its monthly ‘Free Movie Night’ earlier this month, students lined up for the premiere of “Joker,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, a film which has attracted a large amount of controversy. Several students who attended admitted to spending time searching for potential exits and flinching every time someone stood to go to the restroom. The reason: a multitude of rumors plastered in the media and the memory of past events had many scared there would be a repeat of what had happened in Aurora, Colorado, seven years ago. 

On July 20, 2012, a shooter entered a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” at a theatre in Aurora and opened fire; 12 people were killed and 70 injured. After perpetrator James Holmes spent hours talking with a psychiatrist, it was concluded that he suffered from severe mental illness and schizotypal personality disorder. Soon after the event, a rumor spread that Holmes referred to himself as ‘the Joker’.

The GV students’ concerns were valid; Joker has gained much criticism for its gruesome scenes that depict violent responses from the main character, Arthur Fleck. Fleck is lonely, impoverished and struggles with psychosis as well as a mental disorder. His circumstances make it difficult for him to catch a break in Gotham City. It’s when Fleck defends himself and kills a man that things begin to go downhill quickly. Through this and later killings, Fleck finally feels a sense of justice for the things that’ve happened to him, and the movie spirals out of control, becoming increasingly violent until ending with the entire city of Gotham in an uprising. 

Anxiety and fear are common reactions at the name of the film and bring up unwanted memories of the Aurora shooting. Not only that, but its dark themes and disturbing imagery stay with viewers long after the credits start to roll. The film also shines a spotlight on mental illness, a timely and important topic, but at what cost?

According to the American Psychological Association, “Research has found that exposure to media violence can desensitize people to violence in the real world and that, for some people, watching violence in the media becomes enjoyable and does not result in the anxious arousal that would be expected from seeing such imagery.”

One of the major concerns surrounding the film and others like it is that it encourages people to respond to injustices with violence and that’s it’s OK to do so. 

David Trumble, a story artist and animator for Netflix, has some calculated thoughts on the subject. 

 “There’s a lot of contributing factors,” said Trumble. “I think that movies have historically always had violence in them, but now in such an interconnected culture, with social media, and now with streaming platforms, we have never been more at risk for the wrong age groups being able to get their hands-on violent movies.” 

When asked about the graphic nature of the film, GV student Amara Taylor said she feels that a character like the Joker requires some amount of violence for him to be depicted properly. 

Trumble said there’s wisdom in the way filmmakers should go about portraying violence. 

“I actually did a sequence for the film I’m working with right now with Netflix where the director changed a violent action scene and he changed the camera to only show the scene on the shadow on the wall, Trumble said. “It was an artistic way to show something graphic.”

On the other hand, GV student Vanessa Scott believes the responsibility to use discernment when watching movies is on the viewer. 

“If you know that there are problems in the movie and you can’t handle it, you shouldn’t go see it,” she said.  

The violence isn’t the only topic within Joker that viewers have been commenting on.

According to Center for Disease Control Prevention, “Published studies report that about 25 percent of all U.S. adults have a mental illness and that nearly 50 percent of U.S. adults will develop at least one mental illness during their lifetime.” 

Recently there’s been a significant uptick in mental health awareness in the United States when it comes to more common disorders like depression and anxiety. The more serious disorders like the ones displayed in Joker still aren’t commonly spoken of, and many have little education on them.

One of the concerns surrounding the film is the misinterpretation of these illnesses.

As someone who struggles with mental health, GV student John Ross feels the movie as a whole is a danger. “It (Joker) shows a lot of graphic content, and for people with mental illness, to see that come alive could be a trigger for them or cause an unwanted response,” said Ross.

Not only are there concerns that the film affects viewers individually, but also society’s conceptions on severe mental health disorders as a whole.

 “My perspective on mental health is that it can be oversimplified and combined in movies,” said Scott. As seen in previous popular films like ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ mental health can often be misrepresented, which then contributes to popular stereotypes. Many experts are arguing that this occurs in Joker as well.

On the other hand, Taylor said she feels that Joker addresses the topic of mental health effectively and that it helps people be more open to different ways of viewing mental health.

As far as safety in public goes, Ross, Scott and Taylor all admit that there is more potential now than ever for an event like the Aurora shooting to occur. At the beginning of the month ABC News reported that there have been at least 21 deadly mass shootings in the U.S. so far in 2019. To this point, none of these shootings has been connected to “Joker.”

“Joker” weaves multiple touchy subjects into its story line like childhood abuse, mental health, gun violence, bullying and broken healthcare systems — issues that can affect everyone in one way or another. Ultimately, the film has achieved its goal of making people think about these important topics and sparking conversation.

So, what do you think? Does “Joker” open doors for conversation about mental health or is it using mental health as a way to glorify and encourage violent behavior?