“What Do You Get When You Cross a Mentally Ill Loner with a Society Who Abandons Him ..?”

Why “Joker” may be the most provocative film ever made about mental illness.

Introduction

The full quote as referenced in the title is the following: “What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society who abandons him and treats him like trash?”

As the scene plays out in full …

I use the word “provocative” in the sub-heading as, of course, not all mental illness is so extreme.

Nor is it particularly inclusive as a catch-all term, the unique plight of savants as a case in point whose rare skills many of us misunderstand and consider a “gift” as opposed to an “illness.”