[D66] ‘Joker’ tells the truth about mental illness and its long overdue

[A.OUT]

‘Joker’ tells the truth about mental illness and its long overdue
By
Julie Anne Pattee
thestar.com
3 min
View Original

“What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society who
abandons him and treats him like crap? — What you deserve.”

These chilling lines, delivered by actor Joaquin Phoenix in the new film
“Joker,” made me burst into a smile so big and so bright I’m sure
everyone in the theatre was warmed by its glow.

The man on my left was chewing popcorn with his mouth open and slurping
his drink like an attention seeking 5-year-old. The couple to my right
was cuddling in a way that made me feel more single than usual, and the
sole of one of my boots had torn off, making me stressed about my walk
home. But none of this mattered anymore.

Finally, here was the much-needed righteous indignation that had been
conspicuously absent from any recent film about madness I’ve seen. Here
was a movie that said, loudly and clearly, exactly what needs to be
said, which is: screw the just-go-get-help discourse that’s been
dominating our discussions about mental illness. Because things are not
all right. The system is really broken.

This was a movie that was making me feel understood, and I didn’t
realize how much I needed that.

When the words “Observation Room,” appeared in big, bold letters on the
wall of the hospital room where the Joker bangs his head, in gestures
suggestive of autistic stimming, I almost wanted to break into the
chorus of “hallelujah.”

Although we are outraged over their use with prisoners, no one seems to
care that isolation rooms, commonly called observation rooms, are still
a standard part of treatment for mental illness in many Canadian
hospitals, although they are inhumane and studies have repeatedly shown
they can make mental illness worse.

There’s a poster hanging in the Joker’s social worker’s office that
reads: “It’s normal to feel trapped.”

Is it really?

Or is it just normal for people like me?

No one really listens to him or cares about what happens him. He can’t
get his medication adjusted, and eventually, his barely effective
services get cut. All stuff many people would describe as a normal part
of being a mental health patient.

Before I saw the film, I worried it would make a false association
between mental illness and violence. The myth that mentally ill people
are dangerous threats to society is one of the most harmful stereotypes
out there. Studies have repeatedly shown the rates of violence are about
the same in the general population as they are with mental health patients.

But what the movie does quite brilliantly is make it clear that contrary
to popular belief, anger and violence are not symptoms of any mental
illness. Rather, they are normal reactions to a lifetime spent being
treated like an outcast, ignored, taken advantage of, disbelieved,
bullied and abused.

The film shows you what it’s like to live in this world when you are
different.

When your social skills, emotional reactions and/or behaviour are
severely impaired, you’re marked off as someone who is destined for the
bottom of the heap. Your disability essentially means that you can’t
play the game, so you will never be able to manoeuvre past all the
people who see you as easy prey.

One of the Joker’s most troublesome afflictions is a condition that
causes him break into uncontrollable laughter. His odd behaviour is only
a problem because people think he’s faking it or using it as an excuse.
Being misunderstood and disbelieved is something people who live with
mental and/or neurological disorders, often described as “invisible
illnesses,” experience every. single. day.

It’s a very strange and very wonderful feeling to see your life
reflected on the big screen for the very first time. I walked home in my
broken shoe, making loud flapping noises and knowing I was bothering all
the normal people around me. But it just didn’t seem to matter so much
anymore.