The first respondents made it to the scene in 90 seconds and found the guns on the floor of the theater. Fifteen minutes after the shooting started, Holmes was arrested. He appeared to be calm and quiet during the arrest. According to two federal officials, Holmes claimed that he was the Joker and blamed society for making him mentally unstable and an outcast. When Holmes was being transported to the closest jail, he told officers that he had booby trapped his living space with explosives. Police and bomb squad later found out that this was true and confirmed it to the public. This leads people to believe that a full movie of this character could result in chaotic behavior, which is the nature of this iconic character.

Because of the buzz and dramatic news regarding the topic, many people were scared to go out and feel safe in a theater playing this movie. While some of the students here at Lafayette experienced this fear, there were others that braved the experience. Lafayette soccer player Zachary Barbarji was one of these students. He stated, “Dude, I am not being scared of anything, even The Joker. …I believe that people made way too much a deal over this movie, I actually believed that it helped mental health awareness in the long run as more people could understand how they are treated in a society and how they could respond.”

Lafayette senior Matthew Robillard, agreed saying, “I thought that it was unnecessary for the media to report on, as this would have only hype the movie up more and make more people go see it. I also wasn’t really afraid of going to the theater, as it was filled of security. The shooting in Colorado was years ago and it was very exaggerated. There has been plenty of movies with The Joker and there was no buzz in the media.”

The movie theaters here in Williamsburg are doing a great job at making sure everyone feels safe. When I went to go see the movie, there was much more security than I had expected. They made sure no one wore a costume to scare guests, and had strict rules in order to view the show. This movie is on track to make a billion dollars in the box office thanks to the safety that our local officers are providing to make sure people are safe in their seats. The mental health represented in this movie is perfected by Joaquin Phoenix.

In conclusion, the buzz is giving this phenomenal film more and more money in the long run. Joker is a massive success as it has made over $500 million in the box office out of its $45 million budget. There are predictions that this movie could win many Oscars which would come to no surprise as The Joker is no stranger to The Oscars as Heath Ledger won a Oscar for portraying him for best supporting actor in movie. This movie has potential to be the movie of the year, beating the odds of “Avengers: Endgame” and “The Lion King.”