Causes Of Mental Health Struggles As Portrayed In The Joker
Mental health struggles are running rampant in today's society. It is an ongoing plague that has been left virtually untreated for a long time. Joker brilliantly depicts what mental health deterioration can do to people in the long term and also discusses the causes and effects. Throughout the movie, the main character's, Arthur Fleck's, deteriorating mental health is influenced by several factors which shows how people succumb to the same mental health struggles in real life.
The article by Miguel Ramirez states, “The film is meant to highlight the fact that society ignores and disassociates from the need for more mental health awareness” (Ramirez) and “Arthur Fleck is cut off from his social worker and no longer has a source to talk to about his mental issues.” (Ramirez) In modern society, the scarcity of mental health awareness and aid contributes to the deterioration of mental health. Much like in the movie, mental health resources are cut from the budget of American society every year leading to people bottling up their issues and building up stress.
In “Review: ‘Joker’ holds a mirror up to society”, Christian J. Cancilla asks the question, “Is he a monster or a hero to those abandoned by the wealthy and powerful of the city?” (Cancilla) Cancilla is suggesting that Fleck’s personality and public persona is a result of the socioeconomic segregation in society and that he relates to those abandoned by the wealthy. In society, we can also see that there are people who develop mental and psychological health issues due to their economic position in society. Minimum wage workers for example typically have more stress than people who are in an economically better situation and this stress would induce the deterioration of mental health.
Another perspective to the cause of deteriorating mental health is mentioned in the article “‘Joker’ exposes the broken class system that creates its own monsters” written by Chauncey K. Robinson. He states, “He struggles with earning a living, taking care of his sick mother, and functioning in a world where he is often ostracized and marginalized.” (Robinson), in regards to Fleck. He is also a victim of emotional pressure or stress as he has a close family member suffering from a severe illness while he is also a victim of bullying and ostracism.
