Arthur Fleck, played by Joaquin Phoenix in Joker version of 2019, has several psychological disorders. They include psychotic illness, bipolarity, hallucinations, depression, and pseudobulbar affect. The last one is relatively rare and is characterized by uncontrollable laughter or crying (Hakimi & Maurer, 2019). Arthur tends to experience fits when feeling under psychological pressure, which frequently happens throughout the film. One of the famous scenes is him scaring a child with inappropriate laughter while riding a bus. The character carries a paper describing his condition since he is not capable of explaining his behavior during the episodes. Pseudobulbar affect does not reflect an individual’s emotional state and can be a sign of other neurological disorders, such as sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, or traumatic brain injury (Hakimi & Maurer, 2019). Arthur’s behavior reflects the medical description of this disorder rather accurately. The character eventually accepts it as a part of his personality and refuses to control it. Joker is a psychological thriller and could be the right choice for those trying to understand the people who do not fit into modern society’s norms.
Response to a Post about the Buddha’s Little Finger by V. Pelevin
The author describes Pyotr Pustota as the main character of the book Buddha’s Little Finger, regarded by the psychiatric hospital doctors as a person with schizophrenia who experiences life in the illusionary world. The work seems to put human actions in perspective as they may be viewed differently by those performing them and other society members. Pustota truly believes that he exists at the beginning of the twentieth century, while the specialists perceive the revolutionary events he describes as a hallucination. Schizophrenia may take various forms, both dangerous and harmless, and Pyotr’s case seems to be a curious one to study.
Response to a Post about Movie Prison Break
The author of this post describes T-bag, one of the characters of Prison Break, as a dangerous bipolar prisoner. In the scene of escape, the situation is stressful, so he shows anxiety and aggression when things do not proceed smoothly. On the one hand, the unpredictable circumstances would cause any person to feel nervous and perform non-typical actions. On the other hand, T-bag’s reaction must be so outstandingly inadequate that the viewer saw it as unusually aggressive. It is a sign that the prisoner is psychologically unstable and may be dangerous for the people around him. The case also shows that mental disorders can coexist and synergize in the same person.
Reference
Hakimi, M., & Maurer, C. W. (2019). Pseudobulbar affect in Parkinsonian disorders: A review. Journal of Movement Disorders, 12(1), 14−21. Web.