A member of the Venice jury that gave “Joker” the top prize was Mary Harron, best known as the director of “American Psycho.” In an interview published earlier today, Harron spoke to Vulture about the 20th anniversary of her controversial Christian Bale-starring drama and explained the reasons why the Venice jury decided to give “Joker” the Golden Lion. Harron is no stranger to controversy as even upon the release of “American Psycho” in the spring of 2000, she and the film were attacked by notable feminists for its violence against women. Harron continued, “The same conversation happens over and over every so often with a film that is upsetting or disturbing, which is a part of what movies are and do. Then everything settles down. It’s crazy to me that everyone talks about ‘American Psycho’ in such reverent terms.” Here is what I had to say about the Joker backlash back in October of 2019: “Why are critics complaining that this could spark violence by way of “incels”? Because they can’t handle the truth. What is the truth? That “Joker” is a film mirroring our own society, and it dares us to look at ourselves in the mirror. The parallels to today’s world are there — societal alienation has never felt more current than it does today. Joker, AKA Arthur Fleck’s situation could attest to 21st-century anxieties; his descent into madness is immaculately horrifying because it feels all too relevant and anchored up by present-day realities and tensions. The film comes out at a time when the country feels at a crossroads between civility and chaos. Many critics are calling the film dangerous in its, supposed, call to arms and revolution, but the fact that this movie is actually sparking panic in people must mean that it has hit a societal nerve, which renders it an indelible statement of current-day socio-political anxieties.” Contribute Hire me
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