The fears about “Joker” were compounded by memories of a 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colorado. A gunman, his hair dyed red and calling himself the Joker, broke into a sold-out midnight showing “The Dark Knight Rises,” dropped several smoke bombs, and opened fire with multiple guns. He killed 12 people and injured 58. The shooter was apprehended and sentenced to life in prison without parole. His apartment contained extensive bomb-making equipment. Chillingly, the shooter’s only motive seemed to be an ineffable sense of nihilism. “The message is,” he wrote, “there is no message.” He merely wanted people dead.

That nihilism was feared by potential audiences of “Joker,” a Movie about an actual terrorist and supervillain, the kind who regularly commits fictional acts of Violence not unlike the real violence listed above. Many feared a repeat of the 2012 shooting, or something even worse. The Joker, many seemed to feel at the time, was a hero to violently-minded, disenfranchised men, and the opening of the “Joker” movie would validate said people and inspire them to commit acts of violence.

Phillips, meanwhile, didn’t understand the kerfuffle. Indeed, anyone who sees “Joker” can see that it does not endorse acts of violence or terrorism, nor does it validate hate. Indeed, it’s clearly about the failure of the mental health system mixed in with some bleak, R-rated, comic book violence. It’s so bleak, in fact, that it’s almost hard to take seriously as a drama. He told The Hollywood Reporter:

“To us, the movie was always about childhood trauma, about lack of love and the loss of empathy. How do you make a guy like Arthur? Where does he come from?”

To the filmmakers, this was all overblown.