Joker is the best movie I’ve seen in theaters this year because it’s the most real one I’ve seen. It doesn’t shy away from the pain and hardships that come with mental illness and it does a wonderful job at humanizing the main character. I won’t discuss the plot of the movie here. I’m not sure I could do so in written form even if I tried. The best thing to do is see the movie if you haven’t already and then come back to this post. That way you’ll get to experience it for yourself and understand where I’m coming from with what I say here.
Despite how well it’s made, Joker is hard to watch at times. It’s uncomfortable, and even painful, in many places. Mental illness is the same way. Some people who live with a mental illness are in pain all the time. So, rather than get upset at some of the darker things depicted in the movie, why not take that energy and use it to help those who are hurting to not feel so bad? A great way to start is by truly listening to each other. I don’t know how someone else struggles unless they tell me. It’s easy to make assumptions about their life, but that doesn’t do anybody any favors. The more difficult, and more rewarding, thing to do is get to know them and learn how they see the world. Getting to know someone makes it much easier to be kind to them, especially if they start acting in unexpected ways; if they do that, they’re probably hurting and need some extra love and understanding.
Empathy is crucial here. Above all, we should avoid pushing people to their breaking point, especially when they’re already struggling. If we’re not willing to make their lives better, the least we can do is refrain from making them worse (such as treating them as if they’re bad people because of their struggles). Beyond that, we should think of ways to help people in need and then act on them. Steering clear of people who have fallen on hard times and may be dealing with a mental illness just makes their lives worse, as does locking them away in mental institutions and forgetting about them. And yet I still often look the other way when I see someone living on the street and I also usually turn them down if they ask me for something. I didn’t do that on my way home after I saw Joker, however. I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I had. I knew that I needed to start making changes in my own life right then and there, especially if I expect others to do the same. We can all examine our actions to see if they’re making things better or worse and change them accordingly.
The Ice Bucket Challenge raised a ton of money for ALS research. I want to start a viral challenge that will do the same for mental health. Since Joker is still in the public eye, I’m thinking of painting my face to look like a clown, donating to a quality mental health organization, and challenging several people I know to do the same within a certain amount of time. I can see this “Joker Challenge” doing a lot of good for mental health. I plan to start it sometime within the next week and I hope it catches on.
Joker has the attention of a lot of people right now, and many of those people are thinking and talking about mental health. If this is anything like past cultural phenomena, then it will be short-lived and whatever happens during this time will be mostly forgotten before the year is up. There is an opportunity here for everyone to do something great for mental health. Something that will forever change the lives of countless people who are either suffering from mental illness or know someone who is. Let’s not waste this opportunity. Let’s not allow this to be just another popular movie. Let’s make this the start of something great. Seriously, let’s do this. Not just talk about it, not just say “Wouldn’t it be great if…”, and not let it pass us by. Let’s actually do it.
