"Let's put a smile on that face," the Joker growled, armed with a knife, in the summer blockbuster The Dark Knight, right before he sliced open an enemy gangster. But U.K. record store HMV Group probably isn't smiling after a minor consumer revolt forced the chain to pull Joker buttons emblazoned with knives from store shelves.
Read reports in British tabloids the The Sun and The Daily Mail, which published pictures of the offending pins, and you'd think Warner Bros. was trying to recruit foot soldiers for Joker's war on whatever. But as usual, the brouhaha is practically an invented one. There are many more offensive items resting on toy shelves these days, and the Mail got some of its information wrong: It describes Joker's visage as bloodied, but everyone who has read a Batman comic or seen* Dark Knight* knows that the red on his lips is makeup, not plasma.
That said, HMV isn't taking any chances.
"The badges are part of a licensed range from the Dark Knight/Batman film franchise, and are stocked by numerous retailers," a spokesman told the* Mail*.
"Whilst we have not received any direct complaints regarding their sale, and whilst we do not believe that HMV should censor the choice that it makes available to its customers, we do recognize the particular sensitivities surrounding this issue at the present time, and will therefore instruct our stores to withdraw this item from sale pending a review."
To be fair, The Dark Knight was one of the most visceral superhero films in history, mostly because director Christopher Nolan embraced the hyperviolent noir of Frank Miller's graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns
and gave Heath Ledger's Joker free reign to sow all manner of bloody chaos. The movie pulled in more than half a billion dollars in box office nationwide, nailing pretty much every demographic under the sun in the process, including kids. There's little chance a Joker badge with knives on it is going to incite violence any more than a viewing of the film would.
But what's your take? Should kids be wearing Joker badges with knives on them? Is this a non-issue? Or is it a chance to make news about* Dark Knight* when there is little left to be said (except for maybe an Oscar for the late Ledger)? Post a comment and school Underwire on the kids.
Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
See also:
