Over the last few weeks, the debate surrounding whether or not films and TV series can inspire real-life violence has been raging yet again, thanks to the forthcoming “Joker.” However, this isn’t a new argument, and it’s not a discussion that will get worked out this year. In fact, decades before “Joker,” Juliette Lewis went through a similar situation with her 1994 film, “Natural Born Killers.”
Speaking to EW, the actress explained how the media circus that surrounded the release of Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers” was unlike anything she ever experienced before. And this has led Lewis to have some very strong views on the nature of violence in cinema.
“It was wild,” revealed the actress. “As actors, when we were selling the film, I never had experienced the level of animosity and aggression or disdain from journalists. They were so so mad at us! Like, we were at fault! And I went, Wow, this is Oliver’s ability to antagonize who he wanted to light a fire under.”
She added, “I feel there are relevance in the statements of the film and it’s also ugly in that these characters are vomiting out ugly behavior and then there’s humor within it. Anyway, I feel like it has a place. But when you started getting the stories of where you blame [the film for crimes] — I don’t go to criminals to get their excuses.”
If you take the context of “Natural Born Killers” out of the statement and replace it with “Joker,” you could almost see someone from the upcoming WB film saying the exact same thing. However, back in 1994, there wasn’t social media or the prevalence of the 24-hour news cycle, so even though Lewis experienced a lot of uncomfortable situations, it probably pales in comparison to what WB is going through now with its comic book film.
Even though it’s silly to blame films and TV for inciting violence, there has been debate over the legacy of “Natural Born Killers.” Perhaps the most damning evidence is the report that the Columbine killers used “NBK” as the codename for their massacre, based on the Stone film. And the two kids were apparently big fans of the film. However, as Lewis said, to say that ‘Killers’ inspired violence is giving criminals an excuse. And she doesn’t believe that’s the way to go.