So let's get the obvious out of the way first:
YOWZA!!!! Maybe the greatest Star Wars trailer in all of history. But ahhhh... will the movie deliver the goods come next month? No other way to be honest about it: some days I find myself loving The Last Jedi and others, I find it sorely lacking. There's just more that could have been done with the sense of pacing and time. And spending that much time looking for one guy in a casino on the other side of the galaxy (which makes NO sense given the Resistance fleet's situation) should have been excised completely from the script. But, it is what it is. And this far along in the game I've gotta be loyal to the end. The tickets for opening night of The Rise Of Skywalker were already in virtual hand two hours before the trailer premiered. Bought 'em sight unseen. Because, well... Star Wars.
That trailer marks a personal first for me. Never before have I done a reaction video. This may be the only time it happens. So here's what occurred as I watched The Rise Of Skywalker trailer:
Now let's talk about that other film the buzz has been about...
Since catching it the first night I have seen Joker three times. And if there is any better film so far this year it has thus far evaded my gray matter. Do the Oscars even matter anymore? If they do then Joaquin Phoenix should have a lock on Best Actor with his portrayal of Arthur Fleck. And the film itself deserves the top prize for dang near every known quantity of modern cinematography. But I need to talk about the mental illness aspect...
Some of you already know that my profession is in the mental health field. Mainly, my role is that of peer support advocate. I do my best to assist people with diagnosed mental disorders in leading more productive and meaningful lives. And I do it from the perspective of one who has long had a diagnosed mental disorder: myself. Since last time this blog was posted on I've become a trained and certified specialist in the field. And in the lead-up to Joker it was wondered aloud by colleagues whether this was a film that I should be seeing. I can see their point. Indeed, I see now more than ever that their concerns were not only warranted but prescient. There were some scenes in Joker that were like watching a biopic of my own life (but that's all that I'll divulge on that). It wasn't so much the manic-depression that stood to be triggered as it was the complex PTSD.
It astonishes me that the triggers were there but they weren't pulled. But as recently as a year ago, they would have been. And I like to think that it says a lot about how far I've come as a person. Maybe that indicates something about how much more the bipolar disorder and PTSD have come to be managed. 'Course, I can't take all the credit. God put many people into my life who have encouraged me along the way. Maybe my faith in Him is getting to come back, too (again, not something I'll go into for now).
The second time seeing Joker was to better digest it as a film for its own sake. Within a few more days the movie had been seen by several others around our offices of the mental health department. Joker has evoked more discussion in our field than a film is apt to do for any industry (well, except for how I heard that the techs at NASA were having a giggle-fit while seeing Armageddon). And I decided that maybe with all of the conversation about mental illness as it's portrayed in this movie, that maybe I should catch it again. And I did. And some thoughts have been percolating about it.
So here it is: Joker is not a movie about mental illness. At least not mental illness as is medically understood.
Let's look at Arthur Fleck with an objective eye. He's a traumatized individual, and more than he understands at first. But the one and only true psychiatric condition he's been diagnosed with is his uncontrollable laughter. Including laughing at the most inappropriate times. It makes a wreck of his life and is ruining his dream of being a stand-up comedian. However, strip away those issues... and Arthur Fleck is basically a nice guy with no mental illness of his own.
So what does he have? Psuedobulbar effect is a behavioral disorder. Not a mental illness. There is a difference between the two. In general, mental illness can be treated. Not so much a behavioral disorder and in that regard Arthur Fleck's situation could be much worse. He could be a full-blown psychopath. That he cares for his mother and for others apparently should be thorough disqualification of his having psychopathy. Neither does he seem to demonstrate narcissistic personality problems. The delusions he has? Most certainly mental illness... but those only began to come about after his circumstances began to deteriorate. Left on his own, Arthur Fleck would likely have had a shot at a fairly normal and productive life.
Except that he was born and raised in Gotham City. By someone who wasn't the best of mothers. And he has a behavioral issue that brands stigma upon him by a town without pity. And then one night he takes a ride on a train...
No, Arthur Fleck has no mental illness. He makes some mistakes, but none that would really ruin anyone else for life. His is a behavioral disorder that otherwise has no bearing on his personality. Which, could be argued that he's a guy with a basically good heart. And then one bad night pulls all the triggers and he's set down the path to true madness. Again, not really his own doing.
What is Joker about, then? I see its moral as being much the one of Frank Capra's Lost Horizon: "Be kind to one another."
It's not mental illness per se that gives birth to the Joker in Todd Phillips' film. It's just one bad day followed by a slew of other bad days, and it might be enough to destroy almost anyone (as Alan Moore explored in the classic Batman graphic novel The Killing Joke). It's the toxic buildup of man's inhumanity to man, dropped upon one man who otherwise has no skin in that game. And he utterly cracks.
With enough pressure, it might happen to almost anyone. So no, this iteration of the Joker (one of many, since the Joker loves his past being multiple choice) isn't the spawn of mental illness. He's not even the creation of society at large. But he is the product of the worst of that society when good people choose to be indifferent and unwilling to be intolerant of true cruelty.
As I said earlier, Joker has led to a lot of conversation throughout the professional mental health field. No doubt it will for quite awhile to come. I can easily see Joker being shown and discussed in high school and college classrooms for the next twenty years, at least. So many spheres of thought that this film encompasses: psychology, sociology, law, ethics...
Joker is a masterpiece in every sense. And I look forward to adding it to my Blu-ray collection (which may be coming as early as next month, if rumors about those profit-savvy Warner Brothers rushing it out before Christmas hold water).
Anyhoo, all two of this blog's faithful readers might be wondering: "Chris, where you been dude?"
Mainly it's been the job I've had for seven months now. The past few especially have been loaded with training and certification exams. There is also the matter of how it's a new program we've been getting off the ground. It's been an adjustment, especially mentally: juggling professional obligations with maintaining my own mind. The past number of weeks have borne some radically positive fruit in that regard. But across the board, results are being seen. And there is a lot of personal satisfaction to be drawn from that... and also an honor and a privilege to be working alongside such amazing people.
So, go see Joker if you haven't already. Brace yourself for a whole new era when Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker bows and we have saga rumors never more. Watch this space for more posts soon!
And, be kind to one another.
