The “Joker” film hit the nail on the head. I hope people will realize how much we constantly torment people with mental illness. We teased them in our schools, outcast them as adults, and constantly avoid interactions because we know they are different. We deprive them of counsel, medication, and aid to pay for those simply because we don’t prioritize mental health. Why do we act surprise when they lash out in extreme fashion??.. Society has a level of culpability that we refuse to reflect on. Everyone immediately blames the tools used (guns) but we never address the reasons why an individual would commit these hideous acts. After watching this movie it helped me reflect on many things. One is how much we all play a role in people’s lives from our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, to strangers we interact with each day. Too often we criticize people who struggle with these types of illness and are quick to label them as “crazy”, “weird ” or “the loner”. It’s those labels why people are afraid to seek or ask for help, they know the response the world gives.
Depression is an illness and it should be treated as such. People often think that the reason someone is depressed is due to their current life circumstances and it will get better with time, but it doesn’t because it has nothing to do with that. It’s like trying to heal the flu with hugs. But how can we seek help when it cost more to see a therapist than it is to go to dinner?..
The system is backwards, pushing political agendas overs people’s well-being. Instead of focusing on laws and politics, we need to focus on bettering our mental healthcare and provide benefits for those who need help. With the US being in the top 2 (based of a couple studies I read) most diagnosed depression and anxiety cases in the world. 13% of people over the age of 12 in the US are on some sort of anti-depression or anti anxiety medication. Keep in mind it’s only a number base on those who can afford or actually seek help who are getting treated. That’s over 42,000,000 people!
I was reading a message written by Josh Brolin on the Joker and I quote ” An example of dangerous compassion would be to say, make a film made about the fragility of the human psyche, make it so raw , so brutal, so balletic, that by the time you leave the theater you not only don’t want to hurt anything but you desperately want an answer and a solution to the violence and mental health issues that have spun out of control around us.”
It was an uncomfortable masterpiece, a beautiful tragedy, which shook me yet felt like freedom to see him run free. I don’t think we’ve ever had a movie portrayed mental illness and implications (both social or physical) this precise.
The Joker is not a movie for kids, it’s a movie for adults so they understand the consequences of how we treat everyone starting with our childhood affects our lives. Let’s try to be better, let’s raised our kids to be nice and know how important/ the difference it can make by being so to those around us.
Mental illness is real. Don’t be afraid or ashamed, we’re all dealing with things. I hope we can find better ways to address these issues and talking about it is certainly the first step to bring awareness.
Stay Golden World
Stay Golden World 