Tag: Inequality

Joker: an analysis of key themes

I went to see Joker with my wife the other day, and I’ve got to say — this is one of those rare films that blends great entertainment with important societal themes, supported by an outstanding performance by Joachim Phoenix as Joker. I’m not sure why the “the” is omitted — Joker rather than The Joker — but I’ll refer to the character as just Joker to align myself with the film.

One key theme throughout is the way that mental illness is treated in society. Arthur Fleck (who later morphs into Joker) has a mental condition that makes him laugh hysterically, even to the point of it being physically painful, when he is under duress. As a result, Arthur is ostracized by those around him, whether it be his boss and co-workers at the clown dispatching service where he works, the social worker who asks the same old questions each time they meet, the three Wayne Enterprises jerks he ends up killing, the late night talk show host played by Robert De Niro. The film makes no judgments over right or wrong, but leaves us feeling a certain amount of sympathy for Arthur despite the evil incarnate he will later become. An underlying message is that an unfortunate upbringing (nurture rather than nature) can produce an unhappy, unproductive, and “failed” adult, but the addition of a few unfortunate turn of events can transform that relatively innocuous adult into a complete monster.

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Inequality in Japan is very low despite what the Japanese media and politicians say

The Japanese media and politicians talk up rising income inequality in Japan and make it seem as if it’s a huge problem. While income inequality in Japan has indeed been rising in recent years — as it has in most other developed countries — this kind of rhetoric needs to be put in context. Doing so makes it obvious that income inequality is exceedingly low in Japan and the wealthy are taxed up the wazoo to keep it that way.

First, income inequality in Japan is actually very low compared to most other countries. The picture below (courtesy of Wikipedia) compares the Gini Index (a measure of income inequality) across many parts of the world. Japan has a very low Gini Index in this context, alongside countries in the Nordic region. On the other hand, inequality is highest in emerging markets, in particular Africa and South America. It’s interesting that even the U.S. — where the democratic presidential candidates are making inequality a key issue — has only moderate inequality in the global context.

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