Russell's Teapot issue 4

further after Thomas Wayne publicly announced all ‘lower-class’ citizens were “clowns.” Arthur’s
journey as the Joker climaxed when he stood against the teasing and bulling from Murray
Franklin – the talk show host who he murdered live.
Despite the extent of Arthur’s struggling being clear, he is repeatedly failed by the system
created to help him. Arthur had previously been psychiatrically hospitalised, which led to
him receiving a mixture of different medications. Arthur also has therapy
sessions with a state funded service which encourages him to keep a
journal of his thoughts and feelings. The service provided does not
fit his needs and they fail to notice several passages in his notebook
which could be seen as ‘cries for help.’ There were magazine
clippings of girls with their heads cut out of the photo,
disturbing drawings and even phrases such as “I just
hope my death make more cents than my life.” and “The
worst part of having a mental illness is people expect
you to behave as if you don’t.” These clear warning signs
were ignored which stopped Arthur getting the help
he needed, which could have prevented the deaths of
many. Not only were the warning signs ignored when
in therapy, the funding was eventually completely
cut which resulted in Arthur being unable to get the
medication he needed.
Although there is no excuse for Arthur Fleck’s
murders and violence, there was an explanation.
It is thought Arthur suffered with an Involuntary
Emotional Expression Disorder called the Pseudobulbar
Affect (PBA). Medical researchers describe
the symptoms of this disorder as periods of
time when a person is unable to control their facial
muscles which can appear to others to be episodes
of intense laughing of crying. This could also explain
why his emotions are ‘all over the place’ and
his reactions are disproportionate to
the action. His mental illness also
separates Arthur from society due
the stigma surrounding it. Arthur
was severely abused and neglected
during his childhood, leading him
to constant suffering and him developing
a sense of a ruthless and
depressing universe.
By Anna Clery and Molly Wicking
~ Artwork by Cynthia Ding