The movie Joker recently hit the theatres in the past weeks with opening weekend occurring during the 4th. The box office collected an astounding revenue of 96 million dollars, making it the biggest opening weekend ever for an October release, beating Warner Bros estimation of 93.5 million dollars. Even with rotten tomatoes capping at 69% and the overall audience score capping at 89%, there were still some mixed reviews regarding certain negative aspects of the movie as well as some positive aspects. 

“I felt as if the movie was trying to spotlight hopelessness and the mental health crisis facing many people inhabiting the inner cities of America,” said Mr. Rogers, a business teacher at Ralston Valley Highschool. This was a common insight made on the movie as well as the fact that the movie was just pure dark, which is also why there were unspoken gun threats made around opening weekend, due to the previous crimes of James Holmes, the criminal who massacred a theatre during the opening weekend of the Dark Knight Rises. 

“I was not aware of the threats, but these threats are everywhere, so I am not surprised.” said Tyler Azarro, a student at Ralston Valley, who also thought this movie was “Very dark, but provided a serious look on what life can be like being someone like the Joker, and also has an impact of how people respond to a crisis.” Many people were unaware of these threats, and thankfully no attacks occurred during opening weekend, or at all during a viewing, but many people had the same opinion saying that the movie was “dark” or “disturbing”. 

With all this being said, Sam O’Shea, a student at Ralston Valley, said that he “Would recommend that other people see it, depending on an individual’s perspective on films and life, as well as mental illness.” Although the movie was noted as dark and unsettling, it had very high ratings, and all of the people interviewed saw it as a good movie and a good example of what life is like in poverty or living with mental illness. 

Joker was depicted as he usually is, a mentally unstable, power-hungry maniac who will stop at nothing to make a name for himself in an effort to not be seen as an outcast. His own mother was diagnosed as delusional, which caused her to lie to him about his upbringing, which was a big factor in the decisions Joker decided to make regarding his life and ethics. Joker challenges his morals as he continues to kill, again and again, making his final kill on live television, shocking the whole city of Gotham and driving protesters into a revolt/anarchy against the government. That’s just a snapshot of what the movie really was, but that in itself is unsettling.