{"id":6221,"date":"2016-07-30T21:26:35","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T15:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6221"},"modified":"2016-07-30T21:26:35","modified_gmt":"2016-07-30T15:56:35","slug":"joaquin-phoenix-oscar-speech-superhero-in-a-supervillains-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=6221","title":{"rendered":"Joaquin Phoenix: A Superhero Hiding In a Supervillain\u2019s Role"},"content":{"rendered":"\nA<\/span> few months ago, Todd Phillips directed what could aptly be called the Fight Club<\/a><\/em> of this generation \u2014 a film that would grow to be furiously popular among men of a certain age, but also generate enough controversy to keep the think-piece factory running for the next few months, at least.\n\nThere\u2019s a reason Joker<\/a><\/em> was nominated for an Oscar and Avengers: Endgame<\/a><\/em> wasn\u2019t: It was released at a time when America was grappling with a series of school shootings coupled with the rise of self-pitying \u201cincels<\/a>\u201d. Taking into account all this context, more than a few critics ended up finding the plot of the film too real, even as others wrote glowing reviews.\n\nPhoenix\u2019s Joker, a mentally-ill aspiring stand-up comedian<\/a>, is seen facing constant rejection because of his condition. He ends up having a meltdown and killing three businessmen in a train, before shooting a TV anchor on air. The twist: He\u2019s met with rousing support, and placards encouraging him to go on and \u201ckill the rich\u201d.\n\nWhile accolades have poured in for Phoenix\u2019s portrayal of Gotham\u2019s evilest supervillain \u2014 that laugh sticks in your heads for days \u2014 several critics pointed to a deeper problem<\/a> with the film\u2019s messaging, specifically how the younger generations may end up missing the point, and end up sympathising with the Joker.\n\n

Several critics pointed to a deeper problem with the Joker<\/em>\u2019s messaging, specifically how the younger generations may end up sympathising with the Joker.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\nAs one such critic puts it<\/a>, \u201cJoker<\/em>\u2019s artfully constructed trailer makes the movie look energising and fun, \u2018dark\u2019 in the way that appeals to misunderstood adolescents<\/a>. The Joker is one of the best-loved villains among fans of comic books and comic-book movies, maybe because moody teenagers\u2014and sometimes adults\u2014gravitate toward the \u2018laughing on the outside, crying on the inside\u2019 clown aesthetic.\u201d\n\nThis morning, however, there could be no misunderstanding Joaquin Phoenix\u2019s message, as he collected his Oscar for Best Actor. He may have won the award for playing the world\u2019s most watched supervillain, but the actor used his moment in the spotlight to \u2014\u00a0much like others have in the past \u2014 draw the audience\u2019s attention to very real issues<\/a>.\n\nOscar speeches are known to be rousing, and Phoenix didn\u2019t disappoint, initially taking a sombre tone as he spoke about social inequality<\/a> and his past transgressions before adopting a more hopeful tone when reminding us of the need to live with compassion and stop plundering the planet for personal gain. While his rendition of a deranged Joker set off alarm bells at the FBI and the US military headquarters \u2014\u00a0both warned\u00a0 of a potential security threat <\/a>before the screening of the film \u2014 Phoenix\u2019s speech could not have been more virtuous if he got the Dalai Lama to write it.\n\n\u201cWe go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and when she gives birth, we steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmisge of threetakable,\u201d the actor, who apparently turned vegan<\/a> at the age of 3<\/a> after a particularly emotional fishing expedition, said, before going on to emphasise the need for us to help \u201cguide each other toward redemption.\u201d\n\n

At most of these award functions, Phoenix\u2019s delivered similar impassioned speeches stressing on the importance of gender equality, queer rights, and indigenous rights.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\nIn the run up to the Oscars, Phoenix swept all major awards, winning best actor at the Baftas, the Critics\u2019 Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards, and best actor in a drama at the Golden Globes. At most of these functions, he\u2019s delivered similar impassioned speeches stressing on the importance of gender equality<\/a>, queer rights, and indigenous rights. At the BAFTAs, he went a step further, calling out<\/a> the British Academy for a lack of diversity, and pressing for the need to \u201cdismantle\u201d the \u201csystemic racism\u201d in the industry.\n\nSo even as the debate over Joker<\/em>\u2019s critical success may continue for a few more years \u2014 or at least until the next Batman film releases \u2014 it\u2019s slowly turning out that the real superhero was the man behind the Joker mask all along. The film may not stand the test of time, but in the face of an impending climate disaster<\/a>, Phoenix\u2019s message probably will: \u201cWhen we use love and compassion as our guiding principles, we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings.\u201d\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While his rendition of a deranged Joker set off alarm bells at the FBI and in military headquarters, Joaquin Phoenix\u2019s Oscar speech could not have been more virtuous if the Dalai Lama wrote it for him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":6222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[9380,5903,3953,9225,10254],"class_list":["post-6221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-joaquin-phoenix","tag-joker","tag-oscar","tag-oscars-2020","tag-supervillain"],"yoast_head":"\nJoaquin Phoenix: A Superhero Hiding In a Supervillain\u2019s Role<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While his rendition of a deranged Joker set off alarm bells at the FBI and in military headquarters, Joaquin Phoenix\u2019s Oscar speech could not have been more virtuous if the Dalai Lama wrote it for him.\" 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