Tail-end of Eric Kain‘s “People Are Upset Over Joker’s 11 Oscar Nominations — Here’s Why They’re Wrong,” posted yesterday (1.14) on Forbes:

“Sure, Joker isn’t a perfect film. But to say that it celebrates toxic masculinity is to misunderstand it not only completely, but willfully. And that’s not how it works, people. An honest critique assesses a film based on its merits, not on the biases you seek to fill in the blanks with.

“Oh, and if you doubt my bonafides on this, read my colleague Mark Hughes’s take from when this film first came out. Mark is about as liberal as they come, and he also insists that the movie is the furthest thing from ‘toxic’.

“I really do think it’s a shame that more women weren’t nominated this year and it’s honestly galling that Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman to ever win an Academy Award for Best Director. That’s a big red flag, frankly, and I won’t argue with anyone who says the Oscars are a joke. Clearly there are some deep-seeded issues with the Academy Awards and some serious soul-searching needs to happen.

“That being said, this is also a reflection of the industry, which has been playing catch-up when it comes to female directors for some time now.

“But the controversy over Joker’s nominations is misguided and frankly distracts from bigger, more important issues. If you don’t like the movie, fine. That’s completely fine — we all have our own tastes. Just don’t make it something that it’s not.

“P.S. I wonder what these same folk would say about American Psycho or Taxi Driver, two films that are cut from the same cloth and quite powerful examinations of similar issues.”