Over the last few months, the films that constantly are brought up when discussing “Joker” are “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy.” However, since the discussion about “Joker” devolved from plot specifics and went into a cultural debate about violence in film, Oliver Stone’s movie “Natural Born Killers” has been brought into the spotlight yet again.
And speaking at a recent event (via IndieWire), Stone was asked about the violence in his thriller and how it might compare to the violence and controversy that surrounds Todd Phillips’ “Joker.” However, it appears that a detailed discussion is impossible, as Stone hasn’t seen “Joker,” but he does comment on the controversy, nonetheless.
“It sounds interesting… like maybe it’s going to be about an orange-colored president,” the filmmaker said. “We’re living in the age of the Joker. In terms of sensationalism and violence, I imagine that it treads on those themes [of ‘Natural Born Killers’].”
He acknowledged the popularity of “Mindhunter” and similar crime series, and added, “You see it everywhere. I’m not saying that’s what I want to see. But the future is murder.”
As for the violence in his own film, “Natural Born Killers,” Stone said that he never intended for the killing to be seen as realistic.
“[‘Natural Born Killers’’] violence was satiric,” he said. “I had a history of making films with realistic violence, and I thought it was clearly not literal, but metaphoric, over-the-top, not even close to real. Rodney Dangerfield drowns in a fish tank!”
We’ll have to see if the long-term discussion about “Joker” reaches the same status as Stone’s classic film. We’ve already seen how the debate has finally quieted a bit since “Joker” debuted in theaters and the people who were embroiled in the arguments actually saw the film. It’s likely that Stone’s film will still hold the title as the media’s favorite target when it comes to violence in film.