Viewers have mixed feelings about Todd Phillips’s psychological thriller, ‘Joker.” While the film is dark and deranged, there is the undeniable truth behind the message of Joker that goes deeper than the supervillain’s “smile”.

***Major Spoilers Ahead. Please read at your discretion***

There are plenty of historical events that parallels the life of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Pheonix) and his descent into madness. Starting with the subtle timeline with Gotham’s Sanitation crisis as garbage flows the streets. Reflective of the “Garbage Pile Up” of 1981 in New York City. Placing Arthur’s (Joker) timeline in the ’80s alongside true events that will later mirror his reality.

Like the mental health crisis that we have faced for decades, where Government-funded services are faded out or cut. Leaving countless people suffering from mental illness without medical benefits and access to medication. Leading to homelessness, improper treatment, revolving doors of temporary institutionalization, and lack of empathy in services for the mental health field. An issue Arthur faces when funding for his psychiatrist and medications are cut by the Government with no explanation. Without his medications we watch the slow descent of Arthur’s mental illness mimicked by his Pseudobulbar affect condition and his disillusion of what is real and what is not.

Reflective in the killings of The Wall Street Three, by Arthur after an assault on the subway. The murders spark a revolution amongst the downtrodden and impoverished people of Gotham as they believe the murders were justified. If this sounds familiar, you may have recalled the controversial case of the “Subway Vigilante,” Bernhard Goetz.

Following an assault in 1981, Goetz was infuriated by the lack of prosecution of the three assailants. He decided to start carrying a gun for protection. In 1984, four teenagers approached Goetz again, but this time Goetz shot all four, permanently paralyzing one of them, Darrell Cabey. The case made him a folk hero to some New Yorkers who believed his actions were justified.

Lastly, we can’t forget the uprising of the people in Gotham in the final act of the film. After Thomas Wayne declared those that justified the killing of The Wallstreet Three as clowns themselves. The billionaire doctor and Mayoral candidate immediately had a target on his back. Caught amongst the chaos on the streets of Gotham after Joker’s talk show debut on the Murray Franklin Show. The Wayne family tries to escape the crowd, leaving through an alleyway (we know where is going right?). Unfortunately, there are pursued by a “clown in a mask” and are killed.

Mirroring historical events like the French Revolution and Russian Revolution, where the people revolted against the royal family, killing them. Echoing the controversial statement by Marie Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake,” of the wealthy’s disconnect or care for the poor. Mimicked in Joker’s “clown” persona becoming a face of revolution in Gotham.