What has been called painful, magnificent, and disturbingly violent is one cinematic experience you are likely not to forget. Joker, directed by Todd Philips and starring Joaquin Phoenix as the man himself, danced into theaters on October 4th to an intriguing mix of backlash and praise. Earning itself reviews calling for its removal amid great acclaim, and even winning the Golden Lion award, Joker provides an intense commentary on mental illness and economic inequality. As a fan of the Dark Knight, I was not disappointed in the rich origin story of Batman’s most notorious villain. In addition to important social commentary, Joker was an enjoyable psychological thriller that takes fans on a roller coaster you do not even realize you are on until the floor drops out from under you and leaves you reeling for days to come!
“The worst part of having a mental illness is people expecting you to behave as if you don’t,” Arthur Fleck, otherwise known as The Joker, writes in his joke journal as he struggles to gather enough material for a stand-up show. Joker highlights a link between violence and a lack of treatment for mental illness. Arthur Fleck is shown going to a dingy, broom closet-sized office to see a social worker who is implied to be overworked and underpaid, even after he is diagnosed and had a psychotic break that landed him in a treatment facility. In his sessions, Arthur Fleck says things like he just does not want to feel so bad anymore, that he has never felt happy a day in his life, and that he feels like he has never been seen. He knows he has a mental illness and is almost begging for help. At one point, he blatantly confronts his social worker, saying “you don’t listen, do you?” However, the social worker never gets the chance to redeem herself. In that same session, she tells him that they cut the funding to her program and in a fit of frustration, she tells her clinically depressed, mentally ill patient that no one cares about people like him or her. Cut off from treatment and medication, and with his dismal socioeconomic status and laughing disorder, Fleck is the perfect victim for abuse. After a series of unfortunate events, Fleck accidentally becomes the face of a political movement, drawing attention to unequal treatment based on socioeconomic status. People riot in the streets dressed like him and praise his actions without knowing the context. “People are starting to notice,” Fleck says.
The Joker is a product of his environment – an environment that is very possible in modern society. That is the main concern of this film and what has gained it such controversial reviews–mental illness is just as physical and debilitating as handicaps you can see, but it is stigmatized and ignored until it is too late. Additionally, the poverty Fleck experiences and the political instability of Gotham City is what gives rise to The Joker. This is emphasized in his final joke: “What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you f**kin’ deserve!”
