Let’s start of with one thing: Joker the film is incredibly intelligent and an absolute masterpiece in terms of a cinematic creation. Joaquin Phoenix displays a phenomenal portrayal of a rich and complex character. Joker is able to portray an very complex character whilst being able to make him slightly relatable so you are at least able to understand parts of his motives.
Now that my opinion of the film is clear, what I want to highlight is the current portrayal of what society seems to be turning towards (generally in the western world). Joker, in my opinion, highlights a massive underlying issue of disenfranchisement, both politically and socially. Joker demonstrates the current climate that is being felt across most western cultures it seems and issues surrounding mental health.
Brexit and the election of Donald Trump was in large a culmination of issues but one issue that was shared between them was an idea of being felt misrepresented and disenfranchised. People have turned to more extreme measures politically then they have in the past few years due to feeling lost and no longer feeling attached or helped by those in positions of authority. Everybody at one point has felt lost when trying to understand politics whilst simultaneously having incredibly strong opinions about issues they either have no information or have the whole the picture.
The worst part of this entire mess is the word ‘society’. As a result of internet culture, the phrase “we live in a society” has become popularised, so much so that nobody no longer understands exactly what the term society is suggesting and is generally seen as escape rope when talking about general issues. As people feel the over analysing of societal habits has left them fatigued and irritated with the generalisation of issues. There are more explanations for the events of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, but I will be focusing on the idea of the general population becoming tired with the generalisation of issues and the lack of care aimed towards them.
For example, Joker follows the story of Arthur Fleck, who is struggling with a condition called Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) which means he suffers from uncontrollable fits of laughter. Two sequences in particular stand out: the first being Arthur speaking to his therapist who he feels doesn’t listen to him and later on in the film eventually the sessions are cancelled as the funding is no longer available. The other sequence is when Arthur is sat on a bus and interacts with a young child which eventually led to him having one of his laughing fits. The woman in the scene has the initial response of anger and then gets angrier once Arthur’s fit begins. Eventually Arthur is then able to hand his card explaining his condition over and her simple reaction is to read it, look in confusion with a suggestion of disgust and leave Arthur to deal with his condition to himself. Granted I understand there isn’t a lot the woman is capable of helping with but this simple moment demonstrates what the movie aims to highlight, which is that mental health and conditions such as PBA are still looked at from a distance and left abandoned in the mind of the general population. In the picture above, Arthur eventually makes his transition into his alter ego Joker which comes as a culmination of being turned away and mistreated by society.
The average Joe on the street no longer feels recognised by those who represent them and feels they have lost their voice therefore, feel very vulnerable and abandoned by the higher ups of society. Joker hits the nail on the head with the quote “The worst thing about having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t”. I can’t help but feel this is how society treats mental illness, however the Joker is not totally perfect as it seems to suggest that the turnover of mental illness is drastic and arguably slightly glorifies the anarchy that the Joker brings upon Gotham. So, my plea as a result of Joker is to use the feeling of disenfranchisement that currently exists amongst the population and make sure to register and go to vote. So please register to vote and aim to make some real change.
Register to vote at: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Pseudo Intelligence 