Critical Investigation Document
Q: To what extent are on-screen Hollywood villains, such as ‘The Dark Knight’s’ 'Joker', having an impact on the audience?
Total words: 2,338
[1] Batman shooting info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Aurora_shooting
During the release of Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated and final take on the Batman movie, fans have been eagerly waiting for the film’s release. However, when the film had launched in Aurora, an incident took place regarding a male shooting people in the theatre who were watching the new Batman film. The man, known as James Holmes was arrested, and when Police wanted to know the reasons for the shooting, James simply stated ‘I am the Joker’. He even went to the extent to mimic the characters comic book portrayal by booby-trapping his room, if some and to enter it the bomb would go off.
[2] Documentary of the batman shootings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeQgz9uDhqY
This documentary is the coverage of the Aurora shootings and the in depth investigation of what lead to this event from taking place. I could use evidence from the documentary to show the fear and emotions that people were having towards this event and drawing up a link between he on screen Joker portrayal, as the accused had been stated to have been mimicking the characters on screen doings in reality- this being one of them.
[3] American clown sightings article: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/05/clown-sightings-south-carolina-alabama
A famous craze has been scouring the globe, as people dressed like clowns. Some have led to believe that the sightings are influenced partly by the Joker iconic appearance. A recent film called ‘Suicide Squad’ had the appearance of ‘the new Joker’ which held the iconic characters comic book portrayal as a cynical villain.
[4] Barrie Gunter: The effects of video games on children: the myth unmasked (1998)
This book is about the effect
that video games have on children who play them. Although, my argument isn’t to
do with video games, it is linked with the media having an impact on audiences.
I could use this as proof that characters on multi-media platforms such as
games, are causing audience/players to be influenced to do something (may be a
good/bad deed). I would like to write a small section regarding this as I am
showing wider knowledge of other industries that can have the same impact as cinema
does.
[5] Kirsh Olczak- https://www.geneseo.edu/~kirsh/vita/kirsh%20olczak.pdf
(2002)
This document is about
the comparison that violent comic books have compared with non-violent comic
books. This is similar to the games link. Although, this isn’t a reference to
films, however the reference to the film’s original source material. As I am talking
about ‘The Dark Knight’ it origin of story is from the comic book adaptation
produced by DC comics. Therefore, if there is seen to be graphic content on
screen, there may be graphic content seen within the comic book. And I would
like to show that print has a part to take when such controversial texts are
being noticed by the public.
[6] Looper staff-
This article draws the conclusion
that the ‘Joker’ character has had on the actors who played them. And use valid
evidence to show the effects of such a character would have on an actor. This
site will come useful as it shows the impact that the Joker has had on each and
every one of their individual lives. I could use this as a reference that the
character has had more than one impact on a person other than Heath Ledger.
[7] Maximillien de Lafayette- Hollywood's Earth Shattering Scandals:
The infamous, villains, nymphomaniacs and shady character in motion pictures.
8th Edition.
This book reveals the truth behind actors and actresses off
set from a movie production. Their on screen portrayals are what blinds the
aud8ience into thinking that is their real life portrayals; however the reality
is hidden off screen. The book shows cases from famous faces in Hollywood who
have suffered from traumatic experiences of drugs relationship problems. I
could use this as a way to show how; the on screen character may take a toll on
the actor’s life, or even create a disruption in their lives. For example,
Heath Ledger locked himself in a room (hotel room) to fully dive in to the
Joker role, this made Ledger’s real life self very different compared to before
portraying the Joker.
[8] Gina Misiroglu- The
Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood
This book is about the iconic
villains in all texts such as comics, and it explored their creator’s mind-set
and end goal in which they would want the character to be portrayed. I could
use this text as it could show the intentions that the Joker creator (Bill
Finger) wanted the character to come across. He may have wanted the reader to
be scared and frightened of his character.
[9] Aurora cinema shooting BBC article:
This BBC article shows the traumatic aftermath that the
shooting had had on the citizens of Aurora. It also goes in to detail, of what
the accused killer had done in preparation to leading up to the event. I could
use this, as evidence to show that the Joker has actually had an impact on
viewer, as the killer stated in court “I am the Joker”. He even went to the
extent of booby-trapping his room.
[10]
News link (Gun sales
going up after theatre shootings):
This article shows the rise in the number of guns and weaponry going up in America after the shooting of Aurora. This can also act as evidence as I could use statistics, to back-up the point that people in America have been influenced by this act made by James Holmes.
[11] News link (Heath Ledger death conspiracy):
This website is about the Joker’s impact on Heath Ledgers life. It states that the role he was doing had influenced him to go into depression and do drugs which tragically lead him to his death. I could use this article to show how the character had influenced the actor and how this may have an impact on the audience members who view this character as ‘the greatest’.
[12] News link (Ledger’s notebook conspiracy):
[13] News link (Obama’s reaction to the shootings):
This BBC article shows the shear reaction that Obama had towards the Aurora shooting, and his determination to crack down on tightening gun laws in the US. It shows how the impact of gun violence has led to the government trying to put something into place.
[14] Amazon review- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Batman-Killing-Joke-Special-Ed/dp/1401216676/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476173266&sr=8-1&keywords=the+killing+joke+comic
Author: R.Rampton (Amazon review) Quote~ “Fantastic artwork and dark thrills are going to make this a winner on Christmas day, i know it. Only problem... I was sorely tempted to keep it for myself!”
This review from Amazon about a graphic novel dedicated to
the origin story of Joker shows how its dark atmosphere and r-rated theme
creates a positive impact on the reader. Normally, people associate this tone
with adult content, and comics are to do with children. However, to read this
text, they seem to accept it, it could be possible that they are also accepting
the events that go on in that novel.
[15] Jared Leto’s psychopathic off-screen acting:
In this article it shows how the newest addition to actors playing the Joker, has been suspiciously been acting somewhat awkward to cast members as well as in real life. Jared Leto who is going to play the new Joker in 2016’s Suicide Squad, has dedicated all his time in to playing the Joker. Some much so, when he’s off screen he wants people (cast members, director and crew) to call him Mr J (which is a short abbreviation to Joker). It shows how the character he was playing has taken grips of his life and he is acting scary on set.
[16] A tweet from a highly acclaimed person regarding Ledger’s death:
William
H. Macy- Quote~
“My heart goes out to his family and his kid. I don’t know,
you know, people have demons. Sometimes it’s hard to see them”
This is a tweet from an iconic person within the media who
has written a tweet sending his condolences to Ledgers family members, but also
expressing his views on the situation. Towards the end of his tweet he
reinforces the fact that there was a darker side the Ledger, and that people
were blinded by this fact. It goes to show, how people who didn’t even know the
actor, believe that there is a different side to the story than before.
[17] Do fictional characters on screen have an impact on audience members?
This is an article created by Thalia R. Goldstein who
has created an in depth article about the impact that fictional character have
on audience members. I believe that this article is very vital for my critical
investigation as it is arguing a similar point to what my critical
investigation is based off of. I could use a lot of quotes from this article
alone as it has more of a direct link to what my investigation is to do with.
[18] Wikipedia document on the ‘Mass Media’-
Similar to the previous link, this is a wiki article about
the influence of mass media. Although it isn’t a ‘direct’ link to my critical
investigation, I need to show the audience side as well and this article is
very audience heavy which can aid me in that field.
[19] Joker influences in real life-
whatculture.com/comics/9-horrifying-real-crimes-inspired-joker
I could talk about, how there is proof that characters such as the Joker
have had an actual impact on audience members, as this article shows 9 crimes
that have been influenced by the on screen character to commit crimes.
Although, it doesn’t work for every audience member, I am talking about the
fact that there is a possibility that an audience member will be influenced to
re-enact the characters portrayal on screen in real life.
[20] Man dressed as Batman to fight clown craze:
[21] News-paper article on IT (film remake) and its influence on the killer clown craze influence:
London Evening Standard (broadsheet) - Page 5
This article is about the recent craze that the world (first America)
had faced with which was known as ‘The Killer Clown craze’. This was an event
at spread across the world where people would dress like a clown and scare
people in public. This has seen to be influenced by the recent release of the
new ‘IT’ remake, where this craze had originally originated from. This is another
form of research which I could use to back up my critical investigation title
as it links very much to what I am arguing.
[22] Man dressed as batman to fight crime (Bromley Batman):
This is another vital research link that is about a man dressed as batman
and goes out fighting crime. The reason why I chose this article for my footnotes,
is because it also linked to my critical investigation title, of Hollywood
characters influencing the audience to put what they see on screen in to
reality. I want to show the alternative side to my argument, that it’s not only
negative things that the audience are influenced by; but the good as well. I
want to talk about how there are people who inspire to be the heroes they see
on screen and want to deter those who do wrong. That is what the article is about;
it’s about a man who is serving justice similar to the on screen adaptation of
the character.
[23] Book text (1):
This academic book is a collection of essay’s that that explore how children are affected by multi-media strategies as well as their consuming culture towards media texts. I believe this to be a vital text as it can show how certain segments of audience members react to what they see on screen and throughout the media.
[24] Book text (2):
This acemedic book is about the impact Hollywood movies have on a non-American audience. This is of great value to my investigation as it can help with the audience section of my argument. I can discuss the difference that films have depending on different audiences in different regions of the wold. I can talk about how different cultures can portray a movie in a different way to an American film. In addition, I want to see what does these films do to these audiences, does it create any pattern? Or is there a completely different representation to the audience?
[25] Book text (3):
https://wordery.com/audience-and-empathy-film-as-a-uniquely-evocative-medium-timothy-mcglinchey-9783668228757?currency=GBP>rck=VllwWnlyZlNhS1FUOFQ0R0tzSzNNWk9xUWM1SDZXMmFqeDl1ZG5iQzhBR1pCTmdwQ1R0L2kzSDQxRTNUVjFueWFRZEZMWlhvNDZRakQxMGFJc3A1UkE9PQ&gclid=CPD4sq_F188CFRa3GwodNmEC7g
This is a rather interesting academic text, that discusses films ability to tap in to the viewers mind and create emotions withing them. The reason why I show interest in this text is because films have a very unusual, yet, amazing way of trying to interact with the audience, and to express different emotions to them at once. An example is, the Joker's interrogation which is famously known for the actors realistic portrayal and horror like performance during this scene. It is said that this is one of the most iconic scenes in film history as it really taps in to the mindset of the viewer and makes then feel awkward and frightened upon the Joker.
This is a rather interesting academic text, that discusses films ability to tap in to the viewers mind and create emotions withing them. The reason why I show interest in this text is because films have a very unusual, yet, amazing way of trying to interact with the audience, and to express different emotions to them at once. An example is, the Joker's interrogation which is famously known for the actors realistic portrayal and horror like performance during this scene. It is said that this is one of the most iconic scenes in film history as it really taps in to the mindset of the viewer and makes then feel awkward and frightened upon the Joker.
[26]
Article about Jared Leto
sending gifts to fellow cast members of Suicide Squad:
This article
is about how a fellow Suicide Squad cast member “Viola Davis” was freaked out
after receiving a gift from Jared Leto. Inside the gift box was a dead pig
which got Davis scared and worried about Jared Leto. This would be great use as
evidence in my critical investigation as I could talk about proof yet again
that the character has had on another actor. It even shows the reaction that an
actual member of the cast has felt towards his actions of a psychopath.
[27] Media Magazine regarding Dark Knight
Trilogy (MM44, Page 37)
[28] Media Magazine regarding villains in
films (MM57, Page 19)
