“How can we remember our ignorance, which our growth requires, when we are using our knowledge all the time?”
I am fascinated by the way that our culture has shifted argumentation, over the last few years in particular. I believe that the recent release of the movie Joker illustrates this reality perfectly. It amazes me how quickly we are to either prop up or tear down something before it is even released based on our leanings one way or another. I find this hard to understand, but the more I am learning about the changes occurring in day to day life, it seems that we value someone coming up with the first opinion rather than one that is more considered.
Joker is a complicated movie. I saw it. I feel like I can say this. I found it riveting in some places and cheap in others. At its core, I saw it as a film about a deranged man turning into a villain with no real purpose other than madness. He does not fit in, struggles to know the norms of this society, and finds humor in the brash pain that he takes part in and that is happening around him.
The discourse around this film has centered upon its praise and the violence that is depicted and some might say glorified throughout the film. I will say that I did not get this feeling. It is a hard film to watch, but I do not think it is glorified. I also think it is hard to play judge, jury, and executioner when it comes to art and its place in culture. Our ability to grapple with tough experiences is in some way dependent upon art and how it is conveyed to us.
I think as we pull further away from hard situations we have less to gain from our ignorance. We do not have all of the answers. I do not know if this movie was trying to say anything. I am no film expert. However, it grapples with hard issues, some that our culture does not have the gumption to even begin to talk about. I respect that.
Our disagreements as a nation have left us wanting for moments to experience something together because there are so many options. In doing so, I believe we have lost the ability to perceive, challenge, and wrestle with a cultural phenomenon beneficially. We live in a world where we all feel like experts, like our opinions matter and hold genuine weight in the lives of others and maybe they do. However, social media has shifted the power in this direction.
I would just challenge you to take a step back and think about the information you receive. Wrestle with it. You can take my opinions for what they are or not. Ultimately, that is all that it is, opinion and I hope that one day soon we will be able to debate without fear again.