From railing against the Joker movie to defending Elizabeth Warren’s lies, here are the best of the worst of the Media(D)’s headlines this week.
There were two main stories that the Partisan Press was hitting pretty hard this week — the attempt to discredit the much-hyped and blockbuster hit, Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix that was directed by Todd Phillips who moved from his normal genre of comedy because he was tired of “woke” culture, the second was fierce defense of the lie that Elizabeth Warren told about getting fired from her first job because she was pregnant.
Sunday, October 6
Forbes notes that Melinda Gates is pledging $1 Billion to promote “gender equality.”
One of the things that Melinda Gates is hoping to fix is the debunked “gender pay gap” that is can be explained entirely by the work choices that men and women make.
Does Melinda Gates have her own fortune that she made through her own work or is she pledging the money that her husband made?
Yeah, it’s her husband’s cash.
Oh, the irony!
Melinda Gates is pledging $1 billion to promote gender equality https://t.co/ipyk9Ciibj pic.twitter.com/1EaSELrWM5
— Forbes (@Forbes) October 6, 2019
The push to stigmatize the new Joker movie began before it even hit the theaters. Concerns were raised that the depiction of the Joker as a sympathetic character would inspire people to commit horrendous crimes.
One take on CNN is typical — the resentful “white men” like Arthur Fleck, who eventually becomes the Joker, is the kind of person that voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
(Jeff Yang clearly doesn’t understand either the Joker or Trump supporters.)
The true appeal of the new "Joker" movie lies in its invidious validation of the white-male resentment that helped bring President Trump to power, writes Jeff Yang for @CNNOpinion https://t.co/WcLJUAJ7Zb
— CNN (@CNN) October 6, 2019
Monday, October 7
Supporting President Trump is “selling out” and “trading principle for power” says Frank Bruni of the New York Times.
The wonder of the Trump era — and one of the saddest, scariest themes of the impeachment inquiry — is the teeming crowd of sellouts and suck-ups who traded principle for power and are tripling down on that transaction, writes @FrankBruni https://t.co/5r2lfGbc2i
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) October 7, 2019
If the Joker himself isn’t enough to make the movie problematic, maybe noting that one song used in the film was by a convicted sex offender will keep the masses away.
"Rock and Roll Part 2," a song by convicted child sex offender Gary Glitter, plays for about two minutes as Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the Joker, dances down a flight of stairs https://t.co/VOPAJwK7MN
— CNN (@CNN) October 7, 2019
The Daily Beast published a piece that is concerned about the overwhelming support President Trump has from members of the military and what side they would take if there is another civil war.
"The support for Trump among a large segment of the military is downright cult-like. None of this makes sense. Trump is everything they should despise: draft dodger, adulterer, flabby, lazy, unread, a tabloid joke for decades, and TV reality show star." https://t.co/YbnpFCJkqr
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) October 7, 2019
Tuesday, October 8
The New York Times reported that one online forum has people posting photos of their arms to prove their race because their political and social views were not sufficiently progressive. The unpopular views were considered the opinions of “white” people, so users were posting proof that they were not actually white.
Moderators of Black People Twitter, an online forum, asked participants to submit a photo to prove they were not white. Many black users came to believe that white users were pretending to be black to give their unpopular opinions more credibility. https://t.co/vQTf23FGyj
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 8, 2019
Randy Laist of the New York Times is of the opinion that the 90s sitcom Seinfeld ushered in the Trump era. Sure it did.
Millennials, writes Randy Laist, "are correct to fault Generation X with fetishizing a worldview that is politically impotent, that represents a dead-end philosophically and aesthetically, and that is steeped in white, male, upper-class privilege" https://t.co/Xc7Qgr9SIT
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) October 8, 2019
The demonization of the Joker movie, which has a brilliant performance by Joaquin Phoenix, is so troubling that it should be denied Academy Awards.
Really? When did that change? In 1992, Silence of the Lambs, which was just as troubling, won Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
"I don't think the Academy should honor a film with such controversial elements." Oscar voters weigh in on #Joker: https://t.co/EJ7JtyYENr
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 8, 2019
Wednesday, October 9
The real story about Elizabeth Warren lying about that time that she was fired for being pregnant is that conservatives have “latched on to” these things called facts.
Conservatives have latched on to the changes in Warren's account or her leaving a job during a pregnancy as another example of a "made up" story, along with the now infamous claim to Native American ancestry. https://t.co/792dHekQ1w
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 9, 2019
No, wait.
The real story about Elizabeth Warren not being fired for her pregnancy is that other women were fired for being pregnant around that time. It’s the greater story that is relevant, not the actual facts about Warren’s own personal experience.
Conservatives claim Elizabeth Warren lied about pregnancy firing. Women reality checked them on social media. https://t.co/oQwcv4NVZK
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 10, 2019
Don’t watch the Joker because it stigmatizes mental illness.
Wait, didn’t they just say that it glamourized the Joker so much that it could inspire copycats? Which is it?
Does #Joker's reliance on tropes overshadow its valid critiques on disability culture? https://t.co/1jCl3bn89P pic.twitter.com/6cVtToIzOD
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 9, 2019
Thursday, October 10
A horrid opinion piece in USA Today suggests that in order for the NBA to further appease China, Rocket’s GM Daryl Morey should resign for his pro-democracy tweet. How absurd!
Another of those hot takes on the Joker claiming that it reinforces negative stereotypes about mental illness and violence.
Does #Joker reinforce negative and inaccurate stereotypes about mental illness and the nexus between mental illness and violence? https://t.co/CskjzRtvHq
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 11, 2019
Vox reports that it should be ok for people to knowingly infect someone with HIV because it can now be treated.
Twenty-six states impose criminal penalties for knowingly exposing someone to HIV. But these laws make people with the virus vulnerable to stigma and abuse. https://t.co/mu3NzkIQBC
— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 10, 2019
Friday, October 11
Newsweek is triggered that Greta Thunberg was denied the Nobel Peace Prize and it instead went to Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia for ending the conflict with Eritrea and promoting peace.
Newsweek believes that the decision was a political one because the prize committee is run by Norway, a country that exports oil and gas.
Greta Thunberg snubbed for Nobel Peace Prize by committee run by Norway, one of the world's biggest oil and natural gas exporters https://t.co/DUl8FFVtul
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) October 11, 2019
This writer believes Elizabeth Warren’s story because pregnancy discrimination in the 1970s was real — she knows because she asked her mom.
Elizabeth Warren's pregnancy discrimination story is legit. I asked my mom. https://t.co/DCwMpn9K2H
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) October 11, 2019
Saturday, October 12
Forbes suggests women travel to Pakistan — alone.
This seems like bad advice.
https://twitter.com/Forbes/status/1182996846496702465?s=20
The New York Times says that James Comey has found a new lease on life working hard in the anti-Trump Resistance. He is committed to getting the President removed from office in the next 13 months.
Is this news? Isn’t that what he has he been doing for the past 3 1/2 years?
"I feel stuck." James Comey says he's working to end the Trump presidency. And yes, he knows many people might think he caused it. https://t.co/ojRi0l8y8d
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 12, 2019
All of this B.S. and they still wonder why we call them “fake news.”
