Nothing Funnier Than Thinking Joker’s Social Commentary Should Have Given It the Edge Over Parasite

(image: CJ Entertainment )

Parasite is a movie that has more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel, but with those twists and turns come very poignant conversation points about the rich, how we view those who are less well off, and how all of that can lead to a blood bath of a birthday party.

Pair that with the themes present in Joker, and the two films, while creatively very different, touch on similar topics. So, color me surprised when Joker fans took to Twitter to share their anger over Parasite beating out Joker for Best Picture at the Oscars by … pointing to the importance of its themes.

It comes in the form of … well, the uninformed. A lot of the yelling exists because some people didn’t see Parasite and think that, by extension, no one saw Parasite, which just isn’t true. While, yes, Joker made more money domestically, Parasite still made $157 million dollars worldwide (and $35.5 million in the United States), which is extremely impressive for a foreign-language film.

So why, then, are Joker fans mad when Joker did take home two Academy Awards last night? Because it isn’t the top dog. Unfortunately, not everyone gets their way at award shows, but trash talking Parasite, a movie the complainers did not see that more than deserves the Oscars it took home and more, because Joker didn’t win? It’s not a good look, guys.

And yet, Twitter is filled with angry Joker fans screaming about their lack of wherewithal to actually watch the other nominated films or fake planning a riot because it lost, so … great.

And my personal favorite:

Maybe watch Parasite before you make a fool of yourself.

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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