Boots Riley Criticizes ‘Joker’; Calls Superhero Films “Cop Movies”

Boots Riley Joker

Sorry to Bother You director Boots Riley recently criticized Todd Phillips’ Joker and other superhero-related projects, calling them “cop movies.”

Ever since it hit theaters back in October, Joker took the popular culture by storm. The film received praise from critics and audiences alike, with much of the credit going to Joaquin Phoenix for his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime. Some critics have also commented on some of the film’s themes, including mental health, American politics and class warfare. While many have praised the film for its exploration into such topical themes, some have criticized Joker for not exploring those themes in a deeper way. Boots Riley is the latest to express his criticism of how the film explores its contemporary issues:

“Excellent performances and you know, I love Joaquin Phoenix and hope to work with him. But basically it wasn’t flipping the superhero story on its head; it was doing the same exact thing that they all do, which is ‘rebellion is crazy.’ That’s what they told you, that these people are rebelling and they have no real reason to.”

Boots Riley continued, bringing up Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises as an example of a film that he felt painted protestors in a negative light. Boots Riley compared the portrayal of protestors in that film to those who participated in the Occupy Wall Street protests in real life:

“That’s the same thing that ‘The Dark Knight’ tried to tell us. You know, ‘The Dark Knight,’ they made it more like Occupy after Occupy happened because they wanted to make this statement.”

Boots Riley expressed that he believes that superhero films like Joker and The Dark Knight are “cop movies” that portray those in impoverished communities as people who deserve to be where they are because of their own individual choices rather than the systemic issues that play a factor in the wealth gap. Boots Riley continued to explain his criticisms of how Joker portrayed those in poverty and those protesting against the rich:

“The ‘Joker’ movie reinforces that by telling you, not only are these folks there because of who they are, [but that] the poor folks are stupid and when they rebel, it’s because they’re angry, and actually, rich people had nothing to do with them being poor. In actuality, those that are rich got rich off of exploiting the workers.”

What do you make of Boots Riley’s criticisms of Joker, The Dark Knight Rises and other films in the superhero genre? Do you agree with his take on how those films portray issues of class warfare among other topical themes? Let us know in the comments section, and be sure to continue following us for all the latest news regarding the world of DC Comics on film.

Joker is in theaters now.

Source: IndieWire

Noah Villaverde

Noah Villaverde

Cinema lover. Saxophone player. Coffee consumer. Chronic complainer. Oh, I also write. #TeamHeroic