What started as Oscar chatter about a comic book film starring Joaquin Phoenix, the buzz for “Joker” has been continuously growing since the summer. However, the positive word-of-mouth has morphed into caution, as the subject matter of the film has led to some fans being worried about potential violence. And it’s not just fans that are concerned, as new memos from the U.S. military show that the government is being cautious about the film, as well.
Recently, two official military memos have been circulating around social media (via io9) that warn soldiers about potential violence that could happen during a screening of “Joker” next week. The letters warn of “incels” that could use the film’s release as an opportunity for another violent incident, similar to the mass murder in Aurora in 2012 during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.” This seems to be tied to the concerns that “Joker,” which provides an origin story for the famed Batman villain, might inspire certain folks to commit atrocities because the film paints a sympathetic picture of the titular madman.
If you’re not familiar with the term “incel,” it comes from the combination of words in the term “involuntarily celibate.” The word is used by some to describe the type of person that is not able to relate to people (and potential sexual partners) and would potentially be violent if pushed. This is relevant to “Joker” because early reports from critics who have seen the film at various festivals say the main character seems to be an example of an “incel” that turns to a life of violence.
One of the portions of the memo that seems to be picking up steam on social media warns soldiers to “Run if you can. If you’re stuck, hide (also known as ‘sheltering in place’), and stay quiet. If a shooter finds you, fight with whatever you can.”
As you might expect, a notice like this being discovered before a film is set to be released isn’t exactly the type of publicity that Warner Bros. wants for its comic book movie. However, according to the military, even though this notice seems scary, it is fairly routine for a memo to get passed around if there’s a specific threat.
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“We do this routinely because the safety and security of our workforce is paramount. We want our workforce to be prepared and diligent on personal safety both inside the workplace and out,” said an Army spokesperson.
What makes this even more noteworthy is the fact that just yesterday, WB issued a statement about the controversy surrounding the film. This was in response to an open letter to CEO Ann Sarnoff, which implored the executive to use the power of the studio to help fight the issue of gun violence in the U.S.
The statement from WB said that the film supports various charities and causes surrounding the issue, but will not do anything to censor or stop “Joker” from being released. “At the same time, Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues. Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero,” read the statement.
No specific theater or location was named in the memos that have circulated, so it’ll be interesting to see how this may or may not affect the box office for “Joker,” when it hits theaters on October 4.