Month: March 2020

The film Joker spurred a significant amount of backlash regarding it’s rather sympathetic portrayal of a mentally ill social outcast who takes out his own perceived injustices out on society in a violent manner. This occurrence on the surface simply appears to be one of many politically correct backlashes against controversial that are a dime a dozen in any given generation. However, a more thorough examination reveals that the subject can serve as a window into how American society views the mentally ill at large along with the underlying reason for why they do in such a manner.

A relatively recent phenomena has drastically altered how the public views the mentally ill in a rather negative manner. Mass shootings have become increasingly prevalent since the Columbine shooting in 1999; and with that, so has a particular profile. A white, lonely, and mentally ill man has become the first picture that comes to mind when one hears about a mass shooting; considering that for a variety of reasons this is the usual profile of a mass shooter that is displayed by the media. With that, a new level of fear has been associated with those who fit this profile. Furthermore, because of this fear; the treatment of the mentally hill has become an often debated subject within politics. If the gratuitous violence wasn’t enough, a front and center national debate over whether every mentally ill male is a ticking time bomb only further stokes public paranoia. Meanwhile, these shootings continue on to the present day with alarming frequency. As of the writing of this date, there have been 419 mass shootings in the U.S. in this year alone. All of these factors illustrate that publicity regarding the mentally ill has been almost exclusively negative.

Then came Joker, the movie was objectively a success by grossing over 333 million dollars. However, with that success, came an increased amount of scrutiny. This culminated in a vocal contingent of people claiming that the film overly sympathized with the stereotype that is responsible for a number of mass murders. The plot of the movie can be summarized by stating that a mentally ill loner who originally has nothing but good intentions; gets continuously harassed and rejected by society that he desperately yearns to join. This rejection helps to transform his eagerness into resentment towards society which in turn causes him to transform into the supervillain known as the Joker. The character even commits murder multiple times during this metamorphisis. The key detail to be mindful of, is that despite him ultimately turning into an objective villain; the film makes sure to note that he is not the only one to blame for his destructive behavior. At every turn, the Joker’s attempt to integrate into society are not only rejected but rejected aggressively. His act of making a child laugh causes the mother to verbally berate him; his act of physically meeting a man who he believes to be his father results in him getting punched in the face; and his act of taking his boss’ advice to carry a gun to protect himself results in him losing his job. There is also an already famous scene where he openly expresses his disdain for his therapist who clearly does not actually care about his mental health issues. In case that isn’t clear enough, one of his “jokes” before murdering a man is “what do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you fucking deserve!”. In response, some critics stated the movie was normalizing and even inspiring others in the character’s position to replicate similar behavior. Unfortunately, what some are failing to interpret is the film’s true underlying meaning. They are not calling for an acceptance of unabashed violence against society by the mentally ill. Instead, they are calling for a re-examination of an American health system that although has come a long way, still has much further to go. Those who criticize this film in that manner are instead making an insightful statement on America’s partial regressing in it’s attitudes towards the mentally ill; rather than any ill with the film itself.

 

By now, we’re all very much aware of the Coronavirus as it has gone to impact practically every aspect of our daily lives. However, what I would like to focus in particular in this blog is the effect it has had on the sports world. Normally, sports act as an easy distraction from the trials and tribulations of every day. Unfortunately the Coronavirus has even robbed that from us; in extremely dramatic fashion as well

Merely over a week ago, despite the growing threat of the virus the NBA was continuing to conduct it’s 2019-2020 season. Although there were some unprecedented measures that were implemented such as the Golden State Warriors preparing to play games with no fans. Little did every team know, soon nobody would be playing games at all. Meanwhile, in the days before a game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz, one of the Jazz’s best players; back to back Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert was exhibiting flu like symptoms. However, tests came back negative for strep throat and the flu. Despite this, Gobert was feeling well enough to play but an order came down from the league office itself for him to be tested for Covid-19 before he would be allowed to play. This was only known to Gobert, the Jazz General Manager, medical staff, Owner, and the leauge office. In the meantime, the contest between the two teams was expected to continue. That is, until literally moments before tip-off the results came back positive. This lead to a dramatic sequence in which a lead medical staffer rushed out onto the court to alert officials of the news. The result was an immediate suspension of the season and a quarantine and testing of both teams. This led to the other Jazz star, Donavan Mitchell, also testing positive.

The domino effect from this series of events was swift. Not only did the NBA cancel the rest of the games that had yet to start that night, but it also completely cancelled the season of it’s minor leauge affiliate known as the G-leauge. The NHL also suspended it’s own season just a day later. Furthermore, the MLB pushed back spring training and isn’t ruling out delaying opening day. It was clear that a positive test result for a premier American sports athlete sent shockwaves throughout the rest of the sports world. Since then, much of the sports world has been on pause besides the NFL whose season doesn’t begin until around late August or early September. Sports social media accounts have been relegated to posting throwback moments since everything has come to a standstill. Of course, human lives are the number one priority but I thought it would be interesting to breakdown something that is truly unprecedented in  sports history.

For my final post before spring break I figured I’d do an offshoot of my civic blog topic. That is, politics. Especially in light of the recent Super Tuesday events where Joe Biden surprisingly won 10 of the 14 states that were voting for the Democratic nominee. I say surprisingly because the overwhelming consensus that Bernie Sanders would win virtually all states outside south whose moderate liberals align more with Biden. In fact, the state of Texas was even considered a toss up between the two. Instead, not only did Biden sweep the south including Texas but he also notched shocking wins in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Maine. While sanders did accomplish a strong win in California, beyond that, his night was wildly disapointing with Biden now the clear favorite to win the nomination. This stands in stark contrast to the perception in the days before Super Tuesday with Sanders being a tentative favorite.

This leads me to a particular belief that spurred me to blog on this topic. Those who may follow politics may have heard of the concept of a “silent majority” that was crucial in President Trump’s own surprising win in the 2016 presidential election. Specifically, it’s the concept that there are many people who do not want to publically reveal their support for a particular candidate for fear of social backlash. I think we may be seeing this phenomena once more in the Democratic primary. Poll numbers favored Bernie in the majority of states that were voting Tuesday night. Furthermore, from a personal perspective I can say that in my immediate surroundings and on social media I see overwhelming support for Bernie Sanders. Yet, as previously mentioned not only did Biden win states he was expected to but he also won states deep into what was considered Sander’s strongholds. Therefore, I believe that especially as college students we are particularly naïve to this “silent majority” and be more aware of what is going on beyond our personal intellectual bubbles. I say especially as college students simply because of the fact that we are more likely to use social media and be around other young people. That matters considering that the silent majority is likely heavily constituted of people who are over the age of 45 and therefore not living in a college town. Of course, there is surely other factors at play for Biden exceeding expectations but I do believe this concept plays a real factor.