"In a world where we have been given Bojack Horseman, Joker ain't doing nothing for the whites." you're right and you should say it

“Alan Moore doesn’t like you. Hang on to that, it’s important later.” 😂

What's also great about how Lindeloff created Watchmen is that he had a diverse writers room. Different perspectives and people with experience are important when creating a show that starts with one of the worst massacres of the U.S.'s history.

As a white woman I actually related a lot more to Watchmen than Joker, but for a really different reason than you describe (because I'm white). The aspect of it that really got me was the police chief being a white supremacist and how he still had this close relationship with Sister Night/Angela. White American's literally and figuratively have racist artifacts in their closets and intentionally obfuscate racism and racial harm perpetrated by our ancestors by sanitizing the retelling of our family histories. or even retelling our own stories and saying things like "I got here from nothing with no help."lol. Or how the chief of police claims to be some kind of "white-savior" while also being racists af, ooof. I think as a white person it makes me think about my relationship with my own intergenerational legacy of oppression and colonization, (in contrast with intergenerational trauma experienced by oppressed peoples) Basically, in conclusion, I think Watchmen could be "for" everyone unless you really really hate comic books or something.

I know it’s not a comic adaptation but the best portrayal of mental illness I’ve seen is still Crazy-Ex-Girlfriend. Seriously, I haven’t seen anything come close to that level of empathy and responsibility regarding mental health.

"You have to love comics to make a good comics hot take." Say it louder for the people in the back!

I thought HBO's Watchmen was much like Blade Runner 2049; a sequel that has no business being as GREAT as it was, with something profound to say and reminded me why I love storytelling.

Is just me or were there a lot of movies about class warfare and killing the rich last year? Us, Parasite, Knives Out, Ready or Not and Joker are just a few I can name off the top of my head. Now in 2020 were on the verge of a major cultural revolution.

“Ask your black friend” the way I screamed 😂 im so happy a show like Watchmen exists and I need more of it cause every episode was so good. The gay narratives and specifically the white gay not understanding the trauma and experience of a black bi man was spot on. Also, your Bojack reference. Every day im more of a stan.

I really think that the Joker shouldn't have a backstory. As a character he is a force of evil and destruction, he causes trauma, he is not the recipient of it. While Batman is driven by trauma and wanting to prevent other from suffering as he did, the Joker revels in ending and ruining lives. Batman does not want you to lose your loved ones, the Joker will gun down your loved ones and find the whole thing hilarious. So really, why should we be sympathetic to the Joker? Why should he be depicted as a victim or as relatable?

I was just happy that the joker was no longer Jared Leto.

Came for the commentary, stayed for Race Baiter Ginsberg.

Watchmen is one of those shows that come every few years do their thing perfectly and then end at the right time. The best kind imo. I had some minor nit picks (I wish the ending was more "revolutionary" like the original was) but overall I loved it. pd: I also had no idea about the Tulsa massacre before watching it.

Okay I know this video is old and I know it’s not the point, but I’ve just found your content and now I REALLY wanna hear your sucker punch hot takes! X3

I wish that Joker had better addressed the issues that revolve around the intersections of disability, abelism, and racism. But I also wish more people would focus on what was put into the movie, mainly how misunderstandings like that shown with the unnamed black woman on the bus help isolate disenfranchised people and set them against each other. In it we see Arthur's character trying to make the woman's son smile, she then misinterprets Arthur's actions as harassment and tell him to stop. He then starts to laugh uncontrollably, which she takes further offense to, and he tries to deescalate the situation giving her a card explaining is illness. To which she responds with facial expression showing different things including shame, frustration, and discomfort, and then sits in silence without apologizing to Arthur. We can assume that this women has had to deal with harassment and racism in her own life, and that is why she is so defensive towards Arthur. She has been hurt too often by strangers and does not want that hurt to be inflicted on her child. But her actions inadvertently end up hurting Arthur, another disadvantages and vulnerable person, despite her noble and understandable intentions of protecting her child. And instead of seeing her take responsibility for her mistake, we see her sit in silence because perhaps she can not fully comprehend the complexity of the situation she is in. Her being a abled black woman, who has done some level of harm to a disabled white man. This reminded me a lot of my own experiences as a child. I am autistic, and a white male based on the standards of the society I live in. I had countless issues growing up dealing with harassment and abuse by others. One thing I did to cope with that though was to study African American history, and learn how other people in the past dealt with abuse for no good reason and still found ways to overcome mistreatment and do good in the world. One of my heroes being George Washington Carver since I was 11 years old. Sadly, even though I shard the issues of being abused for the way I was born and the way I socialized in common with other kids who were members of ethnic minorities, that did not create any sense of comradeship between us. Often I had to deal with the same levels of psychological abuse from white kids as I did from non-white kids. And to be honest this felt like a betrayal when we should have been helping to defend and support eachother. This is a pattern that I am sad to see repeated in current social activists groups. That even though many social justice activists try to fight against racism, sexism, and other bigotries that are themselves rooted in ablism, they still perpetuate ableist beliefs. Thus making disabled people feel unwelcome, and harming the very causess they fight for. And in some cases even helping to push people towards far-right ideologies, something I dealt with personally. I hope more people can read into this issue, as it was portrayed to a limited extent in Joker, and in the full complexity that it requires in real life, and hopefully understand that no matter what form of prejudice you deal with, that we are all in this together #BlackLivesMatter #DisabledLivesMatter #BlackDisabledLivesMatter

As a Black-DACS it was refreshing and exciting to see Watchmen take on something like the legacy of racism in America and how black people have had to survive through it as well as the mention of giving us our “40 acres and a mule” in such a mainstream way. This show and this show alone is the only reason why I’m still giving HBO a chance after the travesty of Game of Thrones, after season four, and almost green lighting the White Supremacist fantasy that would’ve been a show called “Confederacy.”

I really like you, and I'm so glad you're making your videos. I'm a black female nerd and grew up being one and am so excited to support you.

I loved both and I'm a mentally ill woman. As always, I love your critique. Keep up the good work!

2:12 Man, I just watched a video by Jim Sterling about how people in the gaming industry are so afraid to seem political while stil making clear political statements in games (the game in question was a Tom clancy game, yes I'm serious) and he made the same jokes you did, which is not me trying to accuse you as a copycat, I just thought it was funny parallel and it made me really realize how nerd culture really tries to (and fails) to be apolitical

And, the ironic thing is that Joaquim Phoenix had just made a movie (I was never really here) with a mentally ill character which inherently felt much more engaging and thoughtful and subtle (despite all the violence)

I fucking love this, and I laughed every time you said "Alan Moore doesn't like you". I need that on a T-shirt.

As someone who has first nations ancestry (I don't claim to be first nations, due to being mixed and not culturally living as a first nations person, but certainly have members of my family who are) I think that reparations are critically important to righting the wrongs to the people we have wronged as a society. This certainly includes those who were enslaved. Without an investment into righting the wrongs of the horrors perpatrated to certain groups, we cannot truly move forward without as a society.

Joker being Scorsese fan fiction... I would never think of that description

Living for the hot chocolate pause haha! Re: shines a light on mental illness. Big yikes. Just that one clip you showed of Joker gave me :/ teas. I personally found Rue's characterization on Euphoria, and Camille Preaker's in Sharp Objects to be INCREDIBLY resonating, tragic and accurate portrayals of mental illness. Even Girl, Interrupted -which isn't without flaws- still profoundly impacts me and has since I was a young teenager.

Finally got around to watching this and I'm glad I did. Really help me in getting my own feelings solidified and two a point where I can actually talk about them. Sometime's it's hard coming into a video knowing there won't be all the bright, flashy, neon lights and costumes to keep my attention ala some of the other stuff I watch that has an educational aspect to it in addition to whatever else it's doing, but there's something really cathartic about just being able to decompress and spill out your ideas as opposed to coming in for the entertainment of the existential.

Doing a movie about the making of the Joker as a character is worse than "we don't care", it's that no matter how good the backstory is, it's never going to be as good as the mystery. Part of what made Heath Ledger's Joker work so well was the ambiguity. The conflicting stories about how he got his scars are emblematic of a respect for that ambiguity and its power, and it works so well. The Joker doesn't need an origin story, in fact such a story is actively deleterious to the character. Phoenix acted his butt off in that movie, he's almost always a reliably great performer, but he's holding together an otherwise very shaky production. It reminds me of Suicide Squad, Will Smith and Margo Robbie working so hard to tie a mess together, and then you get the worst Joker in history (after that movie I rewatched Fight Club just to see Jared Leto get his face beat in for catharsis).

"stop elevating douchebaggery" yes! That's the reason why I can't watch Archer or Rick & Morty...

I wanted to like Joker. I liked the class struggle aspect in it and the prol rioting. I really like Joaquin Phoenix as an actor. But I agree with Melina on most of her criticisms, otherwise. Ultimately it was hollow. It presented the aesthetic of mental illness and class struggle without the substance; without the work. That being said, I thought we got a glimpse of the 'Real Joker,' the sadistic murder evil batman foil, in the final hospital scene. Also, Watchmen is such a fantastic show and I cannot recommend it enough!

i watched watchmen when hbo put it on their website for free recently and it blew my fucking mind. i'd never read the comic so i went in completely blind, but i deeply adored it. aside from the political commentary and nuanced characters, it was just a fucking good show. it was super engaging, incredibly compelling, and the biggest thing that surprised me was how real it felt. even though this was a world with weird alien squids, super heroes, and a fucked up presidential term system, it felt like i could walk into the world and live in it. conversations sounded human. people had realistic reactions to things. the whole world felt lived in and genuine and it was so cool to experience. people weren't good, people weren't bad, they're just doing what they think is right and that's so refreshing to see in media. additionally, the worldbuilding and plotting of the show was amazing. as someone with no prior knowledge, i loved being thrown into the world and piecing together the differences between it and our reality from context clues. they gave us all the info that was necessary for the plot, but weren't gate-keepy about it or gave too much exposition. it was nice to be treated like someone with critical thinking skills, and being able to use those. every episode something would happen that would blow my mind and go, "THAT'S THE THING FROM THAT OTHER EPISODE!!!" in a way that made me feel like i was actively engaging with the narrative, which is just good storytelling. i read the watchmen comic after, and it still felt amazing how real and topical it was, despite being written 30 years ago. with that context too, i want to watch the series again. laurie was one of my favorite characters in the show and getting to see her younger self struggle with her identity was so interesting. ozymandias' origins were compelling and made sense, and the new characters threw a different context onto the whole thing. i was worried that reading the comic would just be rehashing the same plot points or character arcs from the show, but the characters were so well written that they had different arcs depending on which version you engaged with, and one would deepen the impact of the other. i really hope you do make a watchmen video. i've been looking for video essays about the series since watching it and haven't found very many takes other than "rorshach's a white supremacist??!?" so the concept of you making a video on it is super exciting.

The algorithm gods blessed me with this video and introduced me to your channel. I have mental illness as well, and it's really refreshing/inspiring to see you putting out content that's killing it. I'm not sure what you go through, but it definitely gives me hope that I can do something creative. ALSO! Your Watchmen v Joker analysis was on POINT. When so much of the internet went crazy over Joker, but shitted on Watchmen, I was left crazy confused. You put the issues I had with Joker into words that I couldn't formulate myself, so I'll be using this video to reply to friends who don't understand where I'm coming from. Doubly so with Watchmen. Much love!

It is highly likely this is the most well thought out and thought provoking, critique of comic book-related media I've watched. You made me a subscriber on the first video of yours I've ever watched. Thanks!

Tim Burton in 1989 - uses Killing Joke as one of the main texts that inform his Joker. 2019 - Todd Philips revolutionised comic book movies by using Killing Joke as one of the main texts that inform his Joker.

This is the first video of yours I was ever recommended of yours, I'm so glad I was because I really love media analysis especially comics analysis and it's nice to get a different perspective for once!

I was so confused what you meant about Watchmen, but you meant the show. I loved it and it's kind of sad we're not getting more of that. Not sure if you saw the video Jenny Nicholson did about Joker, but she got some recordings of audio in the theater where several men were cheering at the scene of Joker you showed here, so it for sure shows how a certain group liked the movie. Legit thought the show runner of Watchmen was done by someone black.

I love this commentary so much. I've been trying to figure out for months what bothered me so much about Joker, and couldn't quite put my finger on it, at least not as succinctly and eloquently as you did.

"I have thought about getting a Dr manhattan tattoo, but I just don't want anyone to ever interact with me about it" - story of my life 😂 Great video!

An absolutely god like video essay you should be damn proud of this video and now I’m bout to binge your entire backlog

Where has this channel been my whole life! KZfaq took their damn time but glad this popped up on my TL

Really interesting to see your perspective... I enjoyed the Joker but I find myself agreeing with pretty much all of your points. I agree that origin stories for the conventional Joker are a boring concept. If Phoenix's Joker ends up fighting Batman, that would ruin it tbh. As a Hong Konger, the movie hit a bit different over here. The racial politics and mental health issues weren't picked up on as much by the HK audience, imo, but the protesting and frustration with the system resonated a lot. iirc it landed in HK the same week as our mask ban, so it felt very topical. I haven't caught Watchmen yet but I love that it's pushing the franchise forwards instead of rehashing it. From what I have seen it feels like a very natural evolution of Watchmens politics. It is fascinating that Watchmen has spawned two strains of fan, one that understands the nuance of the work and one that unironically thinks Rorschach is the damn hero LMAO. Subbed.

I think this video is a brilliant critique and analysis of both works, and I definitely subbed on sight after watching a couple minutes. I agree that my biggest problem w/ Joker is the fact that it doesn't know how to handle the themes that it's juggling (specifically the mental illness aspect), but I will say (and I don't know if this is just my interpretation or if it was legitimately what Phillips and Phoenix aimed for), but I think the movie is actively trying to trick its audience into thinking that Arthur deserves sympathy, despite the fact that the entire movie is framed from Arthur's perspective and that his actions are actually inexcusable. The way I read into it was that since the movie actively shows you that Arthur is rewriting events to favor himself (hallucinating his date with Zazie's character, his fantasies of going on Live with Murray), that the overall emphasis on him deserving empathy is just another trick by him to justify his rage and violence. It's essentially The Joker's One Bad Day pathos from The Killing Joke. That was the one aspect of the movie I felt like was cleverly handled (probably unintentionally), and that's why I didn't mind seeing the Wayne murders again in Joker, because it almost works as a response to Arthur's argument: we know that trauma doesn't inherently breed evil because Batman was born in trauma. Maybe I'm reading too far into this because the movie's other themes are treated like a first grade book report, but that's kinda what I came away with in regards to Arthur's character.

Im so glad i clicked on this link. Excellent analysis and commentary. Hilariously brilliant. Subscribed.

howwww am I JUST discovering your channel.... you are THE moment

I LOVE THIS VIDEO! You are coming at us with so many brilliant points AHH!!!!

I recently binged the whole Watchmen series over the weekend that it was free on Hulu, and I saw Joker when it came out in theaters. I think both are great. Watchmen is just damn good, both as a creative extrapolation of the original graphic novel and just as an interesting standalone story with eerily timely parallels to recent events. As for Joker, I disagree with you for a number of reasons. You didn't like it; everyone has different tastes. I wouldn't really say I "liked" it either in the same way that I didn't "like" Requiem for a Dream, but I could accept that they are good for what they are. What I take issue with is the framing of your criticism. It seemed that you watched this movie as though it was an origin story about The Joker. On the surface, this makes sense because that is how it was billed. But it's really a story about A JOKER, not necessarily THE JOKER. The whole fact that the story is set in Gotham City was a pretext to sell a movie to a movie studio and to get peoples' butts in the seats to watch a film about social stratification and nihilism. Now I agree the framework of the film is nothing spectacular. The movie completely hangs on the performance of Phoenix, but that was enough for me because he's pretty captivating. I also think the side plot of the mother was more complicated than you think. You took at face value that she had been lying to Arthur that Wayne was his father, when I don't think the film wants you to know definitively one way or the other. Perhaps she was lying or delusional, or perhaps Wayne used his wealth and power to "make it go away", making it appear that she was lying by having her committed and forging the records. Additionally I don't think that Arthur needs to be taken as a stand-in for people with mental health issues in general. He's one very troubled man who tries to reach out for help in a world that, at best, ignores him, and frequently continues to crush his spirit. You can argue that seeing a portrait like that could lead people to conclude that mentally illness equals danger, and maybe that's fair, but that wasn't my takeaway so much as an indictment of a society that leaves the weak to twist in the wind until it comes back to bite everyone in the end. Cruelty begets cruelty and nobody wins.

Excellent video, I'm so glad I found your channel. I absolutely loved Watchmen, and it's nice to hear the ways the series succeeded summed up so well here.

As a huge Ditko Fan I really appreciate the time focused on Ditko in your video- subscribed 😄

I learn so much from watching your videos! Thx :)

Thank you for this intelligent insight. I really enjoyed this video and I’m happy I found your channel. I will also be watching She Ra finally at your recommendation from other videos.

Awesome video. I appreciate your relatable perspective towards one of my favorite comic books! It's also refreshing to hear my feelings conveyed so perfectly among a sea of naysayers and opposing opinions. Perfectly succinct commentary! Thanks for sharing.

YEEEES Someone who said how the use of Superman in the text made the origin of Hooded Justice probably the most tragic and beautiful that a comic adaptation could ever do

Thanks for that great analysis of and background information on the original "Watchmen" by Alan Moore as well as Zack Snyder's bland adaptation of it. Also thank you very much for providing enough information regarding the "Watchmen" sequel TV series for me to want to check it out now. Your video is ace!

Taking a minute to let you know, i appreciate that you list your sources! Thank you queen, carry on :)

your videos are friggin awesome, just started watching you a couple of days ago :D

This was the first video of yours that I have see you do. Wonderful! Look forward to more.

Great stuff! Thank you. So glad I stumbled upon your page. Would love your take on the entire HBO series.

Thank you for putting all these ideas on both these pieces of media on blast. I know it's probably derivative, but even through all the promotional material for Joker, I just got a lot of Kai from American Horror Story: Cult vibes. Thanks for the video! ALSO? Someone also enjoys and loves Suckerpunch that's coolio.

Just found your page today, this is the critique I wanted!

I've read comics since the early '70s and welcome your voice. We need more voices.

You won me over in the first minute. This was fantastic. I want everyone to watch Watchmen, but keep suggesting they should read the book first, but I am unsure whether that is coming from a place of story continuity purism or if it is actually necessary. What do you think, should everyone who still hasn’t read it do that first, or should they just watch the show immediately so we can have the conversation that is ripe for our time and read the book later?

You often stimulate and challenge my ideas in a way that does not feel confrontational. I feel like you respect your audience in a visible, genuine way that makes me want to listen to understand, and not listen to respond. Thanks for the Brain Meal.

So happy that bit about Watchmen being review bombed has aged poorly!! Watchmen won so many Emmys, and was the most nominated of that year. 18 months later, I think Watchmen has aged way better and speaks way more to our current situation.

I honestly, haven't seen either piece, but I enjoy watching you nerd out.

I've never seen a phrase get people heated more than "this media isn't for you"

I am late to this channel and LOVE it... this video is dope and I will let you know if I will use it in my classroom.

I don't have a lot of context for Watchmen, because I'm a comics noob, but you explained this so well and I'm suuuuper interested in both the comic and the show now.

I just found your channel, and i love you already. Keep doing what you're doing 👍❤

I loved this video. I'd be really interested to hear what you have to say about Hannibal (the TV show).

I only recently watched the joker but all I really knew about it was what my uncle said. My uncle has struggled with mental health and addiction all his life and worked as a film critic. He said that "for him" it was the most accurate portrayal of how he and many of the people he councils now felt at their worst and most externally angry moment. I thought the film got better as it got on overall it was very middle of the road for me but it was hilarious to watch my mum lose complete interest in 10 minutes and my dad try and explain why it was high art and say he was disappointed in me for not getting it.

One long video and I love your channel now. Looking at the rest of your channel and I know what I will be catching up on in the coming weeks... months maybe lol Edit: months, definitely months. Lol great catalog. Edit2: the catalog is actually massive, I'm never going to "catch up" cause that is a herculean task, but so is having a channel like this. I'm wondering why tf KZfaq took so long to show me this channel.

That was really entertaining. Good analysis of both. Thanks!

This. Is. Fantastic. Thank you! I can’t wait to see more content from you!!!

im recently following your channel and im loving every single bit of it.

i love this video, it makes me wanna watch the hbo watchmen series. tbh i just love your videos

To me the problem with a prequel like The Joker is that it's a simple Point-A-to-Point-B story. More interesting would be if he'd gone in a different direction and left us to wonder what was the connection between the end of the movie and the beginning of, say The Dark Knight

5 mins in and im a subscriber. Great analysis! Thank you

great video I was very much left wanting to hear more of your thoughts on Watchmen. You seem very busy but I would love a deep by you, I can hope.

I can’t believe that the words that finally pushed me to sign up for your Patreon were “Also, I like Sucker Punch! So, I get liking bad films.” Between Buffy, DS9, Sucker Punch, Black Canary and She Ra I know I’m in great hands.

I literally have so much fatigue that I have to watch fluff to get by... I want to watch both of these but I cant handle that much hurt and dispare in my entertainment. I'm glad I can get your perspective on them though and love hearing your opinions.

Your passion is amazing! I love this video!

Really enjoyed your video. I'm a huge Watchmen fan and after watching that first HBO episode, was totally onboard for it! I was also VERY open to the idea that this was NOT going to be a show that many of the mainstream were going to fall in love with the way I had because it did something that is very unpopular in America right now, and that is openly talk about race and portray "American Masculinity" in a way other than the savior of western civilization. I've always found it funny how we're totally okay with using stereotypical villains from other countries (Bad guy Nazis are totally safe!), but bring up the KKK and you get an almost rabid denial that not only is it a falsehood, but that such an evil thing could NEVER really happen in the good ole USA and to even portray such a thing is so antithetical to America that for you to even entertain such notions means you need to turn in your I love America card (Pretty ironic when there's that thing called the first amendment, not unlike the whole Colin Kapernick kneeling thing, but that's a whole other issue- or is it???). Alas I have digressed. Suffice it to say that I think Moore's Watchmen is the best thing mainstream comics has produced to date. HBO's follow up series (I so wish folks would stop calling it a comic adaptation because then we'd get past the whole, "But where's the original characters?"), in my humble opinion, stands right along side Moore's masterwork and may well one of the best things HBO has produced as well. Bravo to both DC Comics for The Watchmen and bravo to HBO for The Watchmen. Who watches the Watchmen? Me. I watch the Watchmen.

I enjoyed the Joker movie like somebody can enjoy go to the movies on a sunday, but I really like your points and analysis. Also I don't know much about comics, I used to buy X-Men comics when I was a kid but that's about it. I like your videos cause they show me different perspectives and I find that very helpful in general. This is maybe not the greatest comment but I just wanted to show more suport than just giving the thumb up. Thanks.

You make very good points to support your opinion. I'm only half way through Watchmen but I'll keep an eye out for the greater nuances and differences.

How have I never heard of you before!? Great commentary!

All I can say is bravo this is an amazing analysis and opinion piece 🙏🏾

Lindelof's Watchmen is the adaptation I wanted from Snyder. It updates the story for the times we live in and digs into this country's wicked past. Joker was a joke, imo. It was Todd Phillips giving the finger to comics fans by not giving us a crafty or cunning protagonist. It was Scorsese for dummies and couldn't even commit to an ideal or theme. Like Arthur Fleck the film was hapless and stood for nothing in particular. The only reason it got made and was stunningly profitable was the Joker name.

Watchmen was ASTOUNDING. After the Snyder movie, I had really low expectations, but having Regina King on board gave me hope. I was not prepared to have my mind blown! I don’t think any sequel has ever been so successful at FEELING like a sequel, but expanding the universe AND revealing more about the past?! This show/miniseries now sits atop my favorite shows of all time: The Wire, Six Feet Under, Batman TAS, Simpsons, Breaking Bad. Btw, I think you need to make some RBG merch! A shirt, a mug, brass knuckles...

Highly agree on generational trauma. I pass for just Euro blood but have Indigenous and Jewish mixed in (Ojiicree and Ashkenazi). I can trace alot of problems back to residential schools with my Papa/Mom/myself. And Papa was last one to attend one of those horrible places. But it damaged him too much to raise mom, he left in 76. She was legally declared white, had an alcoholic step dad that beat her and became a run away and addict. Then that lack of parental example lead to her messing up and losing both my brother and I. And that resulted in my being a 00s CAS scoop baby at 7. Spent almost a year in care then Gramma got me out and raised me. And in care they used food to punish me so was a meager 40lbs at 7 when Gramma took me in. And she even had to fight the CAS to get me.

I came across your channel today, I am loving everything I've seen so far. I hope this mean you're in for a subscriber increase.

One of the best videos ive seen in a long time.. Thank you

This was a really good video! I love when the youtube algorithm actually works!

I didn't know anything about the new adaptation of watchmen and I'm excited to watch it now.

Melina, you're perspective is so refreshing and spot on! Watchmen, even though not endorsed by Moore, was wonderful. An insightful and imaginative narrative that went outside the box by bringing it to the heart and soul of our bitterly disturbed country. It struck a buried nerve. Also in agreement. I didn't get past the first 20 minutes of Joker, mainly because how methodically it went after triggering stereotypes. It felt so painfully contrived, like being forced to watch a sitcom with a laugh-track, sans any jokes that are actually funny. The Joker (to me) is supposed to be charismatic and mysterious. He is the Icon of Chaos to Batman's Order. Your comment on film writers & directors not having a comics background or an appreciation of the storylines and context is what's wrong with Hollywood's portrayal of the medium. Brilliant!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love the watchmen and was surprised it didn't get more traction.

You hit the nail on the head so many times. Hard subscribe

I loved "Joker" but I thought your diss of it was hilarious and iconoclastic, coming from a New York geek with depression! I haven't seen the Watchmen series, yet but it sounds good. I liked the graphic novel. I agree that it takes a comic book buff to make a good comic book movie or cable series. It also helps that they not be an Objectivist, lol. I liked "Sucker Punch" too, but think the director should have gone with the fantasy scenes instead of the asylum and dance hall plots.

Just found your channel and I'm thoroughly enjoying your reviews. 100% agree on The Joker. Didn't see it and don't plan to. I never needed to know this character's backstory and I don't want to see anything that casts him in a sympathetic light. He is a monster and he should stay that way. LOVED Watchman. Wow! I was grateful to see the honesty in portraying the history of race in America and the absolute cruelty and horror in the actions by one group to another. I agree with the creator, if we are not talking about race in 2019 it is irresponsible. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos.

First time viewer, absolutely loved the critique. 💜

I agree with your assessment of how poorly they portrayed mental illness being a motivator for violence. The one portion of their depiction that resonated with me to a startling degree however was him coming off of his medication. I find that very often coming off of meds is portrayed as either "instant raving lunatic" or "you're free now and a whole person!". I find both of them equally distasteful and they perpetuate a lot of misinformation about psychiatric meds in general. What I think hit me hard was when he stopped taking them he felt "good". This is an experience I often have had when jumping off of meds. The oft forgotten part though, is that it's very temporary and you slowly start to slide back into you unwanted state and it is painful, uncomfortable and anxiety inducing. You start to get scared all the time about your own facilities and either end up back on them or in a very dark place. Joker was one of the only films I can think of that really put this up in lights. Sure it feels good, but it is going to get very bad, very soon.

I am always here to dunk on Joker (2019). Praise for the Watchmen show is a welcome bonus