‘Joker’ Fans Launch Petition To Have Popular Meme Included in Film

The Joker origin movie has definitely captured some attention after debuting that first look at Joaquin Phoenix in his Joker makeup, and now it seems that that DC fans have some wishes for the character that they want fulfilled.

A petition has been launched on Change.org, calling for Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker to include reference to a popular Internet meme in his dialogue – and as of writing this, it’s speeding towards it’s final goal of 15,000 signatures!

The petition is officially titled “Make Joaquin Phoenix say ‘We live in a society’ in the new Joker film,” which (in case you aren’t up on the latest trends in memes) is a reference to the “Gamer Joker” trend, which is described as such over on Know Your Meme:

“Gamer Joker, also known as Gamers Rise Up and We Live in a Society, is an image macro series featuring depictions of the DC Comics supervillain Joker accompanied by intentionally edgy or cringeworthy captions…“

However, the “Gamer Joker” trend is often merged with another trend, the “We Live In a Society” trend, which involves the following:

“We Live In a Society is a series images that compare two similar things, one popular and the other under acknowledged but complex, using photoshopped social media reactions. The image is also captioned by the phrase “We live in a society,” implying that the cultural conception and opinion is wrong.“

This call may on the one hand seem like gamer and geek culture trying to impose their respective and/or mutual interests onto a comic book movie, but it’s actually not the worst idea that’s ever come from fan circles. The meme leaves wide room for interpretation and application, and could result in a truly great moment of ‘Joker humor,’ which would be one-part witty observation, and two-parts demented delight. Along with the petition request, fans are already going in on theories for how “We Live In A Society” could be worked into Joker, with the scenarios ranging from the political, to the mainstream, to mockery of comic book culture itself.

Will 15K be enough to sway someone like Hangover Todd Phillips to allow fan-requested content into what is already, clearly, his singular vision for a Joker origin film? He definitely doesn’t seem like the type to pander to fan passions, but a good idea is a good idea, and this petition (and the media coverage of it) will at least help bang the gong, letting Phillips and co. know that the desire is out there.

…Who knows? Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix may have a great deal of fun putting their own spin on this meme – or taking it down a peg.

Joker will be in theaters on October 4, 2019.