Joaquin Phoenix: The Most Intriguing Man

So over the weekend, I kicked it with a few friends and we just watched a bunch of documentaries, and I had the opportunity to watch Joaquin Phoenix and his brother in-law Casey Affleck’s “film.” Now…I’m not sure how many of you have heard of this movie but, its filmed by Casey Affleck like a documentary about Joaquin Phoenix leaving the acting profession and instead….starting his rap career. Sounds normal enough right?

HAHA you are dead WRONG.

Joaquin is overweight…a hopeless drug addict…self indulgent…grimey…a talentless rapper…desperate…user of prostitutes…and just straight up grimey. The Joaquin Phoenix we knew and loved from Walk the Line with Reese Witherspoon, no longer exists.
So after the film…feeling very disturbed and very skeptical because this stuff was almost TOO ridiculous to be true, I watched the special features like I always do.
Turns out…it was aritifical. NORMAL Joaquin, Johnny Cash actor Joaquin returns to Letterman and tells him it was all a hoax…it was a social experiment to assess consumer’s relationship with media and perception. …is that a joke?
This man gained roughly 30 pounds of weight, had sex with a prostitut, pretty much RUINED his career forever, embarrassed himself in front of crowds of people with his rappin, got in a fist figh, and did drugs on screen, for the whole world to see……ALL for a social experiment? I’m all for pushing the bounds of artistic expression, but I’m sorry that’s just absurd folks.

I honestly believe Joaquin and Casey's claims, that they had the entire thing planned out. But 1. what message is that still getting across and 2. and at what cost did Joaquin prove what most people already know, that the media is generally lying to some degree, normalyl a high one, at that.
He is seemingly shedding light on ridiculous Hollywood behavior that does indeed happen, and saying that even if its not real, you can act crudely, and wont REALLY get in trouble, and then you can say it was all fake and show how jaded and messed up the media and the people of the nation can be.

It also shows how obsessed this culture is with criticizing and analyzing other people. It was almost disgusting how easily other actors, people on youtube, people with blogs, (not me though, don't get that twisted) and everyone else with a tv had a comment to make about the debacle that was Joaquin Phoenix’s rapping career. I get the fact that hollywood and entertainment is built around people making up in their heads the lives, these people lead and are allowed to judge them because thats part of the job, but honestly, when does that go to far?
It’s goes too far when people start forgetting Joaquin, just like you, and me,  are flawed and do stupid…really stupid things sometimes. It goes too far when an actor makes a “mockumentary” and an acting job 100 percent becomes his reality, whether he’s ready to admit that or not. Regardless of how entertainment culture is set up in this nation…the line between reality and a mere character are often blurred and that my friends…is when all goes wrong.