The System: A cause of sociopathy?

The Joker by Todd Philips sheds light on the many causes, effects, and questions of living in a Neoliberal society. It is a film that has beautifully found ways to describe and explain the inexpressible feelings of constraints, frustrations, and struggles, that are only prevalent in people that were “unfortunate enough” to be born in poverty-ridden, low- and middle-class families, who end up being victims to the definition of a ‘perfect society’ and the ‘American dream’ - two things that are the dressings of capitalistic societies. Todd Philips conforms to Marx’s claims, in “Estranged Labour”, that capitalism estranges us from ourselves and other people (331) when he begins to depict his claims in the film. Joaquin Phoenix, as the main protagonist, has embodied these emotions, struggles and effects of this capitalistic society into Arthur Fleck, a victim - of the society, his family, himself – looking for his recognition and sanity among the insane. In the film he says, ‘Is it just me or is it getting crazier out here?’ (04:54) and in his journal he writes, ‘I don’t want to die with people just stepping over me, I want to be seen’ (06:25). According to Karl Marx, in “Estranged Labour”, ‘[e]very self-estrangement of man from himself and nature is manifested in the relationship he sets up between other men and himself and nature’ (Marx, 1844). Self-estrangement is ‘the alienation of man's essence, man's loss of objectivity and his loss of realness as self-discovery, manifestation of his nature, objectification and realization’ (Marx, 1844). It is when one feels estranged from others and society, when he realizes his deeds have no meaning or worth as a single entity, yet is worth beyond him, as a living entity. This alienation is the root of the development of Arthurs character in the film, where he is slowly losing his mind, trying to find meaning and recognition in a world that is too busy making meaning for itself as it stomps on another, like a hunting ground that preys on its kind to succeed. Arthur is the victim of this alienation (a cause of capitalism) and the film grounds on this Marxist concept to depict the consequences of neoliberalism in a capitalist society, disguised in Arthur fleck as a character that transforms into The Joker.

Joker In Psychiatric Power, Michel Foucault criticized the power of the modern capitalist state, including its prisons, asylums, law courts, police, and psychiatrists, and linked the establishments of “the asylum” as a tangible view of the establishment of capitalist societies. His goal was to work out how power worked and to change it in the direction of Marxist terms. One of the first works published by Foucault was ‘Madness and Civilization’, which addressed how mental illnesses were treated in the present and past in correlation to the attitudes behind the perception of it and its diagnosis, and how he wished to demolish present attitudes behind it, as he argued that things way back in the renaissance were far better for the mad than they subsequently became, and “Psychiatric Power” is an expansion on his ideas from the seminal. He suggested that the capitalist society focused on producing ‘disciplined workers’ that were ‘methodical, regular, reasonable’ (107) to make them more suited for mundane work of ‘alienated labour’ by establishing authorities and asylums to penalize irregular behaviour, that he referred to as ‘State apparatuses’ that meant to ‘adjust the multiplicity of individuals to the apparatus of production’ (110). Foucault emphasized the claim that over the years and through the capitalistic practice and development of capitalist institutes, the concept of these ‘state apparatuses’ are being used to normalize the new institutionalized functions, that produce ‘delinquents as the residues of society, colonized people as the residue of history and the mad as the residue of humanity’ (109), who were excluded as productive members of society, and deemed ‘abnormal’ by an objective, institutionalized definition. The proclaimed definition of ‘abnormal’ was given to ones that were unable to fulfill the normal expectations of the modern capitalist society, by being conforming, productive members of the community, and thus the Asylum being made the system that designated the unfit.

Jok er In the Joker, Arthurs character is a direct representation of Foucault’s claim and his perceived view of himself in society. The film revolves around depicting Arthur Fleck - an example of an ‘unfit, abnormal, irregular’ outcast – as the victim of this very society. He is a character that is in desperate need to belong, be recognized, and appreciated, despite his psychological condition, which is linked to his committal to an asylum and his disapproval in society, which makes it even difficult for him to fit into society’s mould. Arthur suffers from a psychological condition that makes it difficult for him to match his emotional arousals to his motor responses as normal people would. We are introduced to his psychology and its effects on him that displace him socially, in the scene where he is trying to make a child laugh. The boys’ mother rudely says ‘Can you please stop bothering my kid’ (07:50) to which he bursts out laughing, and embarrassed, hands her a card that explains his condition. This scene depicts two main points that we shall talk about further in this essay; Arthurs Psychology, the woman’s rude behaviour and the connection between the two. Sociopathy is different since it refers to a pattern of antisocial behaviours, that Arthur develops in the play, holding the link between his psychological condition and social interactions as the root of its development. In a scene before that, Arthur asks the social worker ‘is it just me or is it getting crazier out there’ (04:54) ’I think I felt better when I was locked up in the hospital” (06:46). Arthur is not sure if it is his ‘abnormality’ that makes him an outcast that leaves him vulnerable and exposed to societies wrath or if society is the ‘crazy’ element that has built unreasonable hierarchies, where you are expected to take steps to succeed but are also snatched those very rights. Is his sociopathy his strength or an ‘institutionalized abnormality’ that will forever define his worth? In Foucault’s words, the asylum has become a state apparatus, a means to penalize (and exclude) the irregular (from normal society), and there Arthur says, he (as an abnormal) felt happier because at least there he was ‘normal’. Arthurs psychological condition is what makes him stand-out, and as Foucault claims in “madness and civilization” if it were the renaissance, he would just be ‘different’, but a character living in a capitalist economy, he is labelled ‘abnormal’ and ‘the system’ is responsible for creating and reducing people as ‘abnormal’.

Joker In “Estranged labour”, Karl Marx criticized capitalism, and its nature, as a philosophical concept that alienated workers from their labour and divided society into two classes: ‘the property owners and the property-less workers’. Marx claimed that “workers” in a capitalist society not only were made to feel alienated from certain luxuries and needs in the world because of their status in society but also alienated and estranged from their labour. Marx suggests that the root of this alienation is the worker's relation and view of the product of his work, as alien and hostile to himself. ‘The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, the more his production increases in power and size. The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates. The devaluation of the world of men is in direct proportion to the increasing value of the world of things. Labor produces not only commodities; it produces itself and the worker as a commodity – and this at the same rate at which it produces commodities in general.’ (Marx, 1844) Here Marx says the more life and labour the worker puts in the object he produces, the more alienated he is from it. He helps create the commodity, that does not belong to him and the more commodities he produces, the more he increases his value in a field to be turned into a bigger commodity to the capitalist regime than his hands produced, an unfortunate reality and concept that claims your win for your loss – the Alienation of Labour.

Joker In the joker, Arthur Fleck's sociopathy is used as a metaphor for the sociopathy of the neoliberal society, questioning the film's plot in its reference to Foucault and Marx ‘If Arthurs sociopathy has made him the victim of society, does societies sociopathy (the endless desire to belong beyond morals) make it the victim of neoliberalism or has the concept of neoliberalism produced a sociopathic society?’. Society is a term used to describe human collectiveness, interaction, and network. People in society live together under preexistent laws that define them, their values and their worth. Successfully following and abiding by the system, satisfying the class/ classes above you and being able to also fulfill your needs consecutively guarantees your success in this stratified structure. However, if you are unable to fulfill these requirements as a member, you are deemed a failure, unworthy and reduced. This is capitalism in Marx's words as he distinguishes the structures of society into the two classes while one alienates the other from his labour to profit out of him, the other alienates himself from his labour to find means to survive and this war in class, the need for achievement and self-actualization that is expected to be gained but then also taken away is the victimization of the society to capitalism – a root to mass sociopathy, that is enraged when members go out of their way and morals to achieve means of survival at a satisfactory level. Arthur's sociopathy is a reflection of this concept. He is an individual that is treated unfairly at his job, in relationships and society. He has tried desperately to measure up to society's expectations; be a good son, spread joy, be self-sufficient and be dedicated to his job in hopes that one day he shall achieve his dreams as a stand-up comedian, despite his abnormality. But every day becomes hard for him to ‘put on a happy face’; when the lady on the bus insults him when he tries to make the boy laugh when his boss threatens him by devaluing his concerns, his friends betraying and calling him ‘weird’ and his mother hiding his past from him, all these steps to Arthurs development into the sociopath - The joker. In Arthurs case, society is what he repels against, but if we metaphorize Arthur fleck as a society against capitalism, we can say the same issues are at hand. The first murder scene depicts this metaphor well; the wall street boys can be seen as an example of the capitalistic neoliberal system, Arthur a representative of a society that is frustrated by the system and the displaced violence as the sociopathic response. As per Marx, the ‘property owners’ survives on the labour of the ‘propertyless workers. In a normal society, every man is expected to have a good education, a good job and a family, whose needs and wants are fulfilled- The American Dream. However, to be able to afford the top of the cycle, one needs capitalistic resources. These resources are attained by selling your skills to bigger institutions that profit off you in exchange for a living wage. However, if you do not have a skill, or do not meet the requirements to survive under these preexistent laws, as Foucault states, you belong in an asylum or prison. Based on these claims and the message Todd Philips aimed to convey, suggests that sociopathy, either individual or socially prevalent, has developed its roots as an effect of ‘The System’, its preexistent laws and perfect mould that everyone is expected to fit in.

References:

Foucault, M. (1961). Madness and Civilization.

Foucault, M. (1973-1974). Psychiatric Power.

Marx, K. (1844). Estranged Labour. In K. Marx, Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844.

Philips, T. (Director). (2019). The Joker [Motion Picture].