Therapist explains the Psychology of Joker

Comments · 354

• EA

  @earlgrey2130 · 2 years ago

  &quot;The worst thing about having a mental illness is that people expect you to act like you don&apos;t.&quot;<br><br>For that sentence alone this movie is one of the greatest works of art i&apos;ve ever seen..

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• MI

  @milkshakellie · 4 years ago

  i would love an origin story of batman that is like joker. A reveal that batman is also delusional and finds comfort in his actions with his code of “i don’t kill” to justify his actions

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• BL

  @BlueButtonFly · 4 years ago (edited)

  He isn&apos;t making excuses, he just doesn&apos;t care anymore. He has no ties to the world. Every attempt to fit in was sabotaged.

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• BU

  @buriedstpatrick · 4 years ago (edited)

  Absolutely loved this film. I never understood how it was viewed as some sort of justification for school shooters or right wing politics or other weird stuff like that. I really loved how it portrayed class struggle and how Arthur inadvertently becomes a symbol of the uprising by accident and rolls with it, partly because it benefits his ego, and partly because he doesn&apos;t understand what&apos;s actually going on outside of his own perspective. A perspective that never gets fixed due to failing systems not giving him the help he needs. It portrays this feedback loop of neglect really well in my opinion.

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• NA

  @natgrafton5138 · 4 years ago

  I&apos;m not gonna lie I read the dance in the bathroom as a calming act. When I&apos;m alone if my anxiety gets too intense I start into the most serene act I can think of, slow dance-like movements very similar to those in the bathroom dance scene. I think the feeling of power is just one aspect of that moment.

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• LO

  @loonie5468 · 4 years ago (edited)

  I really love the point of him dancing after killing the 3 guys in the subway being an expression of him feeling empowered, as opposed to disgusted, because that dancing is always an expression of him regaining an emotional sense of control (also done later right before him going on stage before Murray, when his jokes at his expense make him feel uneasy). An often unstated part of killing another human being, apart from the shock and horror during the first time one does so, is in that exact sense of giving someone power/control over another life through death that nothing else can. Alongside the negative feelings, that part has been stated to feel incredibly intoxicating and is likely a huge component of what makes serial killers not stop with just their first. But unlike with serial killers, who usually kill primarily for the sake of aggrandizing their own ego with that power, with Arthur Fleck this sense of power through killing is what gives him a quick way to control and use his mental illness, rather than let it use him.<br><br>In this way his world can become something more than just laughing helplessly out of control, and getting beaten up (as usual) in the subway...it can also lead to him regaining control through that killing and through distancing himself from it, as he would later say in this video: &quot;I used to think that my life was a tragedy. Now I realize that it was a comedy.&quot; While this does give him more control over himself than he had ever known before in his life in a much quicker way than any amount of therapy probably would, it&apos;s also what leads to him completely distancing himself from both, his own pain as well as consequently all human empathy he could feel towards others. It&apos;s probably why I find it a scarily believable way for how a &apos;supervillian&apos; like the Joker could come about - someone who felt that the only way he could continue existing in this world is to, internally, pervert personal tragedy into comedy and then share that madness with the rest of the world, which is what you see later in the comics.

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• CH

  @chloe-historyandgames · 3 years ago

  the fridge is both a cocoon and a coffin

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• IM

  @image30p · 4 years ago

  This was a fun analysis. I&apos;m not sure I can imagine TW constructing an entire adoption proceeding. But I can imagine that he had a relationship with Arthur&apos;s mom and then covered it up. That was too painful for her, so she retreated into delusion. A continuing relationship with him in which they share a son.

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• GR

  @greendaylove41 · 3 years ago

  I actually cried during this movie.. which I don&apos;t often do. This touched at a very sore spot for me. I once watched a movie/ documentary in psychology of criminals who needed to be on medication going around in circles by the system. They would be broken, go to jail/ prison, get out and have enough medication for only a month and then have to figure it out... and ultimately end up in jail/prison again. It such a heartbreaking circle that some people live in for the rest of their lives. This movie is a strong reminder that our system for mental health is broken. Treatment is for the rich.. and everyone else has to suffer.

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• SH

  @shizuwolf · 4 years ago

  And now I feel like I relate to this movie more than I &nbsp;did before

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• 56

  @56jasa · 4 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCiBCqaMydA&amp;t=709">11:49</a> ... says a lot about society.

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• JA

  @JaredWignall1138 · 4 years ago

  Very interesting discussion to be had for sure. I’m not really sold on there being a sequel for this film being made as I think the film itself is good as a stand-alone, but perhaps if done right we could see more things with Arthur that could perhaps explain his condition even better than what the first film has shown us. I’m glad you’ve made this video, keep up the great work!

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