About a month ago, my Intro to Media class asked us to do a research paper of something in media and use the 5 step critical process to describe it. Over the next few blog posts I will be showing my finds during this research paper.

Abstract:

On October 4, 2019, director Todd Phillips introduced the world to actor Joaquin Phoenix’s adaptation of the iconic clown prince of crime, Joker. The film’s key elements of music, performances, location, cinematography, and costume design/makeup helped guide it to the title as the highest grossing rated R movie of all time. With the success that came with the movie, also came controversy with its displayed themes of abuse, corruption, and mental illness causing some to feel as if the film was too violent while others thought it was just. This paper will cover in terms of the Five Step Critical Process of the film’s creation, how it was on screen, and the impact that resulted from it to make it the success that it was.  

Keywords: Joker, elements, music, controversy, abuse, corruption, mental illness 

Introduction:

Joker was released into theaters on October 4, 2019, with a runtime of 122 minutes (about 2 hours). The film had one of the best teams a film could have to help lead it to hitting one of the greatest achievements a movie can do. The film had various elements discussed in this paper as well as its excellent media coverage to help get the success it so graciously deserved. This paper will go into detail using the Five Step Critical Process to establish all the essential need-to-know information and more about how and why the film was the hit that it was.