Spoiler alert: this article discusses the plot of a movie.
The Joker, directed by Todd Philips, was recently released in October of 2019. The movie stars actor Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. The film, which became a big hit soon after its release, became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time following its 4th weekend.
Plot
Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Arthur Fleck, is an aspiring comedian and party clown. Arthur Fleck suffers from a medical condition that causes him to, sometimes, laugh uncontrollably. Arthur Fleck and his mother were from the poorer part of Gotham City, and so, Arthur had to rely on social services for his medications, which were eventually forced to close down.
Ridiculed, bullied, neglected, and, eventually, fired, Arthur was pushed to his limit as a result of all the problems happening in his life. He turned into a criminal that went on a killing spree and murdered those who did him wrong.
Mental Health and The Joker
The movie does a great job in portraying the societal neglect that some mental health patients tend to experience, especially those who lack the funds to properly support themselves. Furthermore, Joaquin Phoenix did an amazing job portraying the suffering character of Arthur Fleck. The film truly highlights many problems related to the mental health community.
However, one inaccurate thing in the movie was the fact that Arthur Fleck’s violence and crime, in the film, could have been misinterpreted to be as a result of his mental illness. This may bring about the idea that mental illness causes violence, which is not the case. Those with mental illnesses are no more likely to be violent than those who are not mentally ill.
All in all, the Joker is a film that raises mental health awareness in regard to a very important and unfortunate societal problem that needs to be addressed.