The prediction of violent incidents associated with movies like Joker has been achieved. It is reality, not fantasy.
I did it in 2012. I foresaw the violence directly linked to The Dark Knight Rises, opening on July 20, 2012. Down to the date.
The day before, I wrote:
Will any events take place on July 20, 2012, of any import?The 2011 Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July or as 22/7, were two sequential lone wolf domestic terrorist attacks by Anders Behring Breivik against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League summer camp, in which 77 people (mostly youth) were killed, and 319 injured.
Dates of movie releases have had strange links.
The day of neo-Nazi Breivik's massacre in Norway (July 22, 2011) was the day of the release of the film Captain America (July 22, 2011), with the first scene taking place in Norway, to the sound of Nazis' rapid fire machine gunning. A bizarre coincidence, to say the least.
...What will happen on July 20, 2012?
The past is a good predictor of the future.
My ability to do what I do, based on human behavior even caused Dangerous Minds to write the article on September 17, 2012 entitled: "The Copycat Effect: Meet the Man Who Predicted the Aurora Shooting."
(See also my other behavioral predictions.)
But 2012 is not 2019, and today, an odd bit of revisionist history is setting in. Seven years later, the media is trying to forget the reality of the copycat effect.
In the days following the massacre, Holmes was compared to the Joker character because he sported bright dyed hair and, according to a now-debunked report at the time, called himself "the Joker" as he was being arrested. [Daniel] Oates, [Aurora’s chief of police at the time,] maintains "there is no evidence" Holmes ever said that.” ~ as noted in "Aurora Shooting Victims Voice Fears Over 'Joker' in Letter to Warner Bros.
On July 20, 2012, I wrote "Eyewitnesses reported the assailant appeared to be wearing a gas mask, body armor, similar to how the film's villain Bane did too. Witnesses say the suspect was dressed all in black, with a riot helmet, goggles, and a gas mask."
James Holmes, 2012.
Heath Ledger as Joker in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and James Holmes (2012).
Joker in The Dark Knight (2008), Heath Ledger
Many of us have warned of the potential for theater attacks in the wake of the opening of Joker (Phillips, 2019). Now media reports talk of the U.S. Military issuing warnings to troops about incel violence at Joker screenings (see here and here).
I am not certain it will happen on the opening day in 2019, because, literally, I feel people are getting the message (10-4). The weekend through October 5th and 6th could be especially dangerous.
Finally, that the awareness that the Incel Effect has significance in certain mass shootings is a hopeful preventive sign. For more insights, see: "Into The Valley of Virgin Violence: The Incel Effect." See more on the Incel Effect here and here.
Since the beginning of 2019, I have been warning readers that Joker was going to make a large violent impact. Now next week, the date will be upon us.
The date the movie opens in America is October 4. Or in police code, stated as 10-4.
10-4 is one of the so-called ten-codes, or radio signals, invented by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International. The ten-codes are credited to Illinois State Police Communications Director Charles Hopper who created them between 1937–40 for use in radio communications among cops.
10-4 is an affirmative signal: it means quite literally “OK.” It translates, "I understand your transmission."
Daniel Oates, Aurora's chief of police at the time, who retired in June after nearly 39 years in law enforcement, says he believes the timing of Joker is poor, noting three mass shootings in the past three months: at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California, where three people were killed on July 28; the massacre in El Paso, Texas, where 22 people were killed on Aug. 3; and then the following day the shootings in Dayton, Ohio, where nine people were killed.
Aurora, Colorado is not screening the new Joker.
Landmark Theaters has prohibited moviegoers from wearing Joker costumes during its run, and the Los Angeles Police Department will increase police visibility at area theaters, though it has "not received any specific threat."
The military's interventions have been active.
Team,Posts on social media have made reference to involuntary celibate (“incel”) extremists replicating the 2012 theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, at screenings of the Joker movie at nationwide theaters. This presents a potential risk to DOD personnel and family members, though there are no known specific credible threats to the opening of the Joker on 4 October.Incels are individuals who express frustration from perceived disadvantages to starting intimate relationships. Incel extremists idolize violent individuals like the Aurora movie theater shooter. They also idolize the Joker character, the violent clown from the Batman series, admiring his depiction as a man who must pretend to be happy, but eventually fights back against his bullies.When entering theaters, identify two escape routes, remain aware of your surroundings, and remember the phrase “run, hide, fight.” Run if you can. If you’re stuck, hide (also referred to as “sheltering in place”), and stay quiet. If a shooter finds you, fight with whatever you can.** this is a condensed version of an HQ Army Materiel Command, G-3, Protection Division Security message **
This memo was also circulated:
Philip K. Dick foresaw the year 2054 in his 1956 scifi short story, "The Minority Report."
We have not exactly come to the age of "precrime," where specialized police departments apprehend criminals based on the foreknowledge provided by psychics called "precogs." But the use of behavioral analysts and the information foretelling threats of violent behavior is leading to the arrest of people with criminal intent and prevention of crimes.
We should observe closely, which way will it go over the weekend of October 4-6, 2019. Be alert.
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On September 29, 2019, I posted on Twitter the following "footnote" about the release of Joker in India.
