The Mary Sue: As the Joker press tour continues, director Todd Phillips’ rants about woke culture killing comedy ia proving to be just one of this movie’s offscreen controversies. There are so many, it’s hard to believe the movie has only been out in wide release for less than a week. This latest tidbit from the press tour centers on star Joaquin Phoenix, and his preparation for the role–mainly how it required him to lose a great deal of weight, which he speaks about in an incredibly harmful way.
16 comments:
When you hear about actors losing weight for a role or changing their bodies for a character it isn't the craziest story to hit the tabloids but it is a concerning topic. Yes, actors' jobs are to become different characters or people and a part of that is the physical aspect so having to train or change your body in some way isn't that uncommon (especially for big stars that play a wide variety of characters). Production deadlines are very tight and can put actors in the worst spot - right role wrong body. That honestly seems like a pretty mentally (and possibly physically) damaging situation. I like that the author of this article is calling out how unhealthy this behavior is. Not only is it damaging to the person whose body has changed drastically but it is damaging for those affected by the aftermath of the discussion. What are people supposed to think after seeing an actor praised for losing a ton of weight or feeling "reborn" or new? There is a culture of diets and losing weight that is damaging for so many people! Weight loss, gain, maintenance is a life long journey and it has to be planned out properly (your body isn't built to loose 1/3 of its weight in only a few months). Fat and muscle are not the only things your body is built of. I get it, cinema is an industry and a counter industry is a story outside of the film but wow is it toxic!
Yeah, Joaquin's attitude towards this is fully toxic. I think that it doesn't makes sense why an actor has to lose weight for a role in the first place, and the fact that he had to lose like,,, that many you ads in a few months is very concerning. I think that Hollywood so often ignores the real facts about the types of struggles their consumers are going through. It is no secret that America has a lot of mental health and eating disorder type issues. The fact that they kinda ignore that and send Phoenix out to interviews spouting things about how empowering losing a substantial amount of weight is and how it made his life better, knowing full well that someone with a eating disorder could be triggered by that behavior is kinda ridiculous. I think sometimes, Hollywood just needs to be more aware and make sure they aren't doing things like this. Disappointing.
Yeah, Joaquin, these comments ain’t it. While the topic of weight gain and weight loss in Hollywood is certainly a complex topic (and - at its roots - a pretty large problem regarding mental health in the entertainment industry), this behaviour is especially concerning. Phoenix describes the control that you have while limiting food intake as a sort of intoxicating feeling. As someone who has struggled with eating disorders in the past, I can confirm the elation that you feel when you hit that goal weight. And then you get tired. And moody. And you feel like a hollow body floating around from place to place. And it is absolutely consuming. I saw “Joker” last weekend and really liked it. I especially thought that Joaquin Phoenix’s acting was beautiful; especially the physical control he had over his body in some of the scenes. This control, however, should not have to come from a false sense of confidence or cleanliness revolving around his weight.
Hollywood seems to glorify what it interprets as doing the impossible and having so much devotion to the role. To me, this is an aspect of the same problem as when Jared Leto supposedly stayed in charecture for the entire filming of Suicide Squad or Natalie Portman learning of ballet for Black Swan. There is this idea that movie stars are superior because of this ability to transform themselves in a way that “normal” people can not. I agree that this idea is toxic, especially around body and weight transformations. As the article says, damaging your body is not dedication to the craft of acting and it is not the way to find the physicality of a character. Not only is this idea damaging to artists, but it’s damaging to everyday people who look up to these celebrities. This article does the exact right thing; calling out toxic behavior and putting it into context.
There are so many unnecessary reasons why actors need to lose weight for a role. I really don't think that the movie would have been any less impactful had the actor maintained the weight he had before. I don't think that anyone, and this goes as a general fact of life, has the authority to tell someone to lose weight to adhere to an image. That is what prompts comments such as these that obviously indicate an eating disorder.
There are some actors who believe that losing weight better fits the image of their character, but their decision to do so is just that: their decision. I read an article in which Ben Platt discusses his weight loss for Dear Evan Hansen. He said that in developing his character of Evan, he realized that his anxious personality would have led him to eat small portions of food. To benefit his image of his character, he decided to cut foods out of his diet, which also helped his overall health as a performer.
Even Phoenix himself called it a disorder. And eating disorders are surely not something to be glorified and romanticized. Especially when somebody so influential and Joaquin begins speaking positively and calls starving himself “empowering”. I understand Phoenix is known for method acting , but I would argue that losing 52 pounds in such a short amount of time which damages your physical and mental health is taking it too far. We should not be praising Joaquin for hurting his body. It is worrisome because his comments promote starving yourself; this could give the wrong message to viewers and fans of phoenix, and there is a possibility that somebody takes his comments and inacts them. Joaquin should be more aware of how what he says has the potential of actually impacting people, and that the way he is viewing his “method acting” is quite toxic. There is a history of Joker actors taking method acting to an extreme, such as damaging themselves or others in the process. For Heath Ledger, it had long term negative effects on his mental health. Is it truly worth it?
Yikes! This is not healthy! Joaquin Phoenix’s talent is undeniable and he is an actor I utterly adore, however, he has been known to be a bit strange sometimes during interviews. These comments on his weight loss are extremely toxic to say. “Joker” has recently been the center of everyone’s attention, so to have it’s lead actor say something so damaging in an interview is upsetting and alarming. It seems to be a trend of Joker actors to participate in weird behaviors. Jared Leto sends rats to his coworkers and Joaquin Phoenix says he feels empowered by an unhealthy weight loss. The character is a crazy one, but that does not mean that the actors who portray him need to act crazy too. Comments like these are ones that should not be made and shows how interview answers must be thought out before being said, because the impact that it could have on the public is drastic.
I've gotten used to hearing that actors who lose weight for roles (specifically, lose enough weight that it becomes incredibly dangerous) have some sort of health advisor assigned to them. For this very reason. I even remember Anne Hathaway being asked how she lost weight for Les Mis, only to give a very vague answer as to how because she didn't want anyone to emulate her. It's hard, and I think it's admirable that such brilliant actors go through this amount of dedication for their roles, but Joaquin Phoenix has entered a very dangerous mindset because of it. I wish Hollywood did a better job at making sure the mental and physical health of their actors aren't at risk when they go through such intense processes for a role. Weight loss needs to be a long, patient process, and just the nature of the movie industry and fast turnaround often doesn't allow for that. It's disheartening that Phoenix finds himself empowered by an unhealthy means of losing weight and is projecting that to the public. I think this is so harmful, not just to him, but others who may become inspired by his unhealthy journey.
Male beauty standards are definitely a very relevant problem in the film industry. One movie starring Joaquin Phoenix that I really like is called “Ladder 49” and it’s about an urban firefighter and his life. They hired Phoenix back in 2001 because they knew he’d be willing to fully jump into the role. He completed all of Baltimore City’s firefighter training to become an actual firefighter for the role. That seems like a good type of commitment, but it does show his ability to delve as far into the role as the director wants, but this is a harmful extreme. I remember reading about Hugh Jackman in Wolverine and how they would dehydrate him for two days before filming so his skin shrunk down and his veins popped out more. This is definitely a big problem for the film industry and I hope that the directors of the movies take it upon themselves to not fall into this hurtful stereotype and harm their actors.
Eating disorders aren't funny and isn't something that should be a joke. When Joaquin Phoenix made the comments about how he reached his goal of a dangerously low weight and how he felt "empowered" being able to "control [himself] in that way," it just doesn't send the right messages. There is a challenge that can be made that it was necessary or beneficial that he did this for a role. But I think that still considered being an eating disorder. Especially how he was so proud of himself, it's almost like sharing that others should lose weight just to be more in control. People like Christian Bale also change their weight dramatically for the purpose of roles. I understand that. you can't have a character being portrayed when their weight doesn't match the specific actor. This could lead to getting a different actor who follows more of that weight limit, but even if that weight limit is too dangerous for anyone, should they just have to revert to CGI?
-Pablo Anton
Yeah, just another reason why I have no interest in this film. Losing weight is not ‘empowering’ to some. To say that completely slaps the people in the face who suffer from eating disorders. None of us feel ‘empowered’ when we skip many meals because we are afraid of the extra calories. He also completely…fetishizes? Eating disorders. The way he describes it is sickening. I do not know anyone who is happy that they have or have had an eating disorder. It is problematic for someone currently in the limelight to be putting these views out there. There are people who will hear this and start to mimic his actions and hurt themselves in the process to achieve an ‘ideal’ body. I wish Hollywood would get its act together and realize how harmful these views are. I do not think they will because they just seem focused on getting the right look for all of their actors.
Oooo this is uncomfortable. To be honest, I am still excited to see this film, and I do still admire the work that Joaquin Phoenix does, as I think he is a really talented actor. However, this is not the first time I've heard or read a blatantly offensive comment he's made. For me, this brings up the whole issue on whether or not you can respect a person's work without respecting them as a person, but that is besides the point and an entirely different discussion. In this instance, it feels icky to say that I can kind of see what he's trying to say, and yet I think he says all of the wrong words in order to convey what he means. If he had to bulk up and gain a lot of muscle for The Joker, I think he would have made the same comments about it feeling empowering to have such control over your body. However, this is not the situation, and the fact that the movie required this of him is in and of itself manipulative and harming. Editors and CGI artists are so incredibly talented these days, and weight loss can be conveyed in any number of ways. The fact that he blatantly called it a disorder, and then praised what it had done for him psychologically, is definitely a symptom of a larger issue in Hollywood, and hopefully a point where actors will start standing up against for the roles they choose.
The trends of weight gain/loss in Hollywood are very interesting to me. I am usually of the opinion that these transformations greatly enhance the story being told through the physicality of the actor. What does worry me, however, is how drastic and how quick these transformations take place. There is no way that they can be healthy. Take Christian Bale for example. Within a very short period of time, he lost an incredible amount of weight to be in The Machinist film and very quickly did a 180 and bulked up to play Batman in the Dark Knight films. Joaquin Phoenix's turn doing this is concerning as well and his comments are not reflective how how damaging and dangerous these drastic changes can be. The film greatly benefits from the physicality of his performance, but his handing of his drastic weight loss in terms of his comments are not great.
Hmm!! A celebrity promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. But is it? I struggle with weight. I would love to lose around 30 lbs and get back down to under 200. I don’t have a personal trainer, dietician, private chef, private home gym, access to the best doctors in the world, and so forth like many celebrities do. They have time to devote to working out for 8ish hours a day. The TV show the Biggest Loser never showed you the day to day mundane stuff. They never showed that the contestants were eating specific foods or spending all day every day in the gym. They also didn’t show what happens when you plateau in your weight loss. America has a fascination with fast food and rapid weight loss. Two things that counteract each other. Many Americans can’t afford to eat healthy and because they are too busy working to support their families (and taking the kids to McDonalds because it’s fast and cheap), they don’t focus on things like healthy eating, exercise and so forth. So I tend to roll my eyes when I see celebrities talk about their weight loss “journey” and their “struggles”. Good for them, not so good for the people that look up to them. Celebrities are not icons and should not be used as a guidebook for a successful life. We don’t always see behind the camera.
Joaquin’s comments about his weight loss journey for the Joker are highly problematic. He openly identifies his weight loss journey as a disorder, but then is continuing to talk about it like it is a good thing, which glamorizes eating disorders that so many people struggle with. In the entertainment industry, there is a stigma that everyone has to die for their work and go through deep mental and emotional abuse to actually get “real art”, which is so far from true, but Joaquin’s statements further play into this culture. I personally also think it speaks to the lengths that some actors go to to immerse themselves in their characters, and how detrimental that truly is. When you look at all the people that have played the Joker character before Joaquin, you see a string of people who went so method into the roles that it manifested into their personal lives, yet we still praise them for their incredible portrayal of the role. But, at what expense was that performance? Mental sanity? Stability? Physical, mental, and emotional health? Mental illnesses (eating disorders included) are not something to glamorize or joke about in any way. We should not be praising someone who is feeding into the toxic cycle that is allowing for stigmas surrounding eating disorders to still exist.
I love this article. It is no secret that Hollywood has a history of promoting unhealthy body types in women and in men. In recent years especially, there has been a lot more media coverage of men losing a dramatic amount of weight for roles. Aside from Joaquin Phoenix’s recent weight loss for his role in the new Joker film, a major example was Matthew McConaughey’s role in Dallas Buyers Club where he lost 50 pounds in 3 months. This role won him Best Actor in 2014. This example is sadly not the only case where an actor or actress has lost an unhealthy amount of weight for a role and won an award. This is one of the sad realities that Hollywood produces year after year. Even Phoenix addressed it himself that his weight loss was resembling eating disorders. Eating disorders are one of the top killers when it comes to mental illness and should not be joked about. This is not the image that Hollywood should have ever started promoting nor should they continue promoting this. Actors and actresses should not be pushing their bodies to the limits for a role nor should they be awarded, therefore positively reinforced, for this behavior.
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