Joker director Todd Phillips stirred the pot up something fierce when he made comments that basically amounted to “all this woke culture is killing comedy!” which is why he’s given up making comedic films about frat boys in favour of making… whatever category Joker falls into.
It’s a bit of a hot take from the visionary behind groundbreaking comedies like *checks notes* The Hangover trilogy and Old School, and Taika Waititi has now weighed in on the discussion in typical Taika Waititi fashion.
Rather than issue a seven-page statement written in Notes about the relationship between “woke culture” (which isn’t a thing) and comedy or filming a “10 reasons why Todd Phillips is wrong” YouTube video, Taika clapped back with a simple three-word joke on Twitter:
If Taika had a mic in his hand, I can imagine him dropping it the instant he mashed that “send” button.
It’s one thing to have thousands of internet folk sharing their opinions about whether Todd Phillips is onto something about “woke culture” killing comedy or whether he’s just another privileged white man having a whinge, but it’s another having a well-respected comedy director like Taika Waititi weighing in on the matter.
Todd’s complaint about “woke culture” killing comedy falls a bit considering all the laughs Taika has brought to audiences with What We Do In The Shadows and Thor: Ragnarok.
And then there’s Jojo Rabbit where Taika literally played Adolf Hitler, proving that risky, satirical comedy films can still be funny without offending people even with the “woke culture” Todd claims is gripping audiences right now.
Perhaps Todd can take a leaf out of Taika’s book here because the New Zealander has proven it is possible to be woke, funny AND a good director, and you can do it without really trying or having a whinge.