The true appeal of the new 'Joker' movie lies in its invidious validation of the white-male resentment that helped bring President Trump to power, writes Jeff Yang for CNNOpinion
Jeff Yang is a frequent contributor to CNN Opinion, a featured writer for Quartz and other publications, and the co-host of the podcast"They Call Us Bruce." He co-wrote Jackie Chan's best-selling autobiography,"I Am Jackie Chan" and is the editor of three graphic novels:"Secret Identities,""Shattered" and the forthcoming"New Frontiers." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. Read more opinion on CNN.
"Joker," the Todd Phillips movie that reimagines the origins of Batman's killer-clown nemesis, opened this weekend to record-setting box office -- fueled by deft marketing and some of the most polarizing critical reaction of any mass-market film in decades. Further fueling the hype around the movie: A shocking Golden Lion win at the Venice International Film Festival and a joint bulletin from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security warning about online threats of mass shootings at"Joker" screenings.Jeff Yang Set in a very thinly disguised New York City, Phillips's version of the Joker story has as its protagonist Arthur Fleck, a middle-aged, working-class man who lives with his invalid mother.
Aurora victim's family upset over 'Joker' storyline 01:09It doesn't quite seem like coincidence that Fleck and his mother reside in a run-down building that seems otherwise occupied by nonwhite tenants , or that the movie opens with an attack on Fleck by black and Latinx youth, referred to by one of Fleck's fellow white-male clowns as"savages" and"animals." This man subsequently offers Fleck a gun --"Gotta protect yourself," he says.
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