A Reconnoitre of The Fascination with Psychosis in Literature and Film - A Study in Archetypes

Literature and art in all their forms have done well in representing man’s mental disorders and afflictions in various ways, consecutively resulting in educating its consumers, moving its connoisseurs and inspiring future authors. “Psychosis” is a mental disorder, wherein reality is distorted, and “madness” denotes insanity, dementia; rash or irrational conduct.  In this paper, these terms will be treated as such but, with an essential connotation toward heroism and eccentricity- both of which are character attributes that are of typical intrigue to readers. The aim of this study is to recognize, explore and expose the presence of a certain kind of fascination that the characters in literature and films embodying or representing certain kinds of madness have upon individuals. Recently, Todd Phillips’s Joker (2019), a movie featuring mental illness witnessed an extraordinary box-office turnout. Upon examination, it can be established that this ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­appeal or inclination towards eccentric characters bordering on madness is not a recent phenomenon but an ongoing trend since the Greek plays of Euripides (c.315 BC) and Seneca, the younger (1 BC). The theory of Archetypes is employed to streamline the recurrence of characters embodying psychosis, and have an appeal among the targeted consumers.


Introduction
Much madness is divinest sense To a discerning eye; Much sense the starkest madness.

(Emily Dickinson, 'Much Madness is Divinest Sense')
In ancient Greece, renowned philosopher and the pioneer of Literary Criticism, Plato, in book 10 of his famous Republic banished all poets from his ideal republic. His verdict was primarily based on the conception that first, art is mimetic (thrice removed from reality) and therefore, deviates from the truth, and second, that poets breed immorality and emotional incompetence. The former argument is based on metaphysical grounds while the latter on ethical grounds. For the sake of this discussion, we consider the latter i.e., Plato's ethical concerns regarding imitative art. For Plato, the study of morals was basic and he therefore, wanted all art to be governed by morals and logic, not passion. His arguments have resurfaced SMART MOVES JOURNAL IJELLH ONLINE ISSN: 2582-3574 PRINT ISSN: 2582 Vol. 8, Issue 1, January 2020 231 DOI: https://doi.org/10. 24113/ijellh.v8i1.10356 www.ijellh.com many times throughout history and have subsequently been defended by critics and artists alike, the most famous being Aristotle and Philip Sidney in his An Apology for Poetrie (1595). His ethical argument, that poetry and art elicit immoral reactions from men and cause them to act irrationally, can largely be applied even todayregardless of the linguistic, national or cultural affiliation of the work of art or literature in question. However, straying from the tendency of quoting, rephrasing and hence, echoing the very same, long-standing Aristotelian counterarguments we attempt to merely conceive another.
Since their origin, poems, plays and later, novels and films have produced works that depict characters and project themes that may inherently be considered endemic to our subconscious appeal. Therefore, instead of supposing that art breeds emotional incontinence, it may be viable and more prudent to assume that it is the other way around -that it is in fact, man's and therefore, the artist's and subsequently the consumer's emotional incontinence that produces literary works and films and other forms of art depicting and projecting the themes and characteristics that are so abhorrent to Plato. However, the aim of this paper is not to prove or disprove Plato's premonition on morality but to merely point out that it is inherently the artists' and the readers' subconscious wish to have literary works that depict themes that induce profound emotions. Having said that, employing madness as a theme or as an embodiment by a character in a literary work, can be chosen for awareness and also, for generating empathy for those individuals afflicted with it in reality. Nevertheless, it may also be chosen as an attribute to facilitate eccentricity and the mystifying appeal of the character, as in the case of "Hamlet" in Hamlet and "Joker" in, The Dark Knight, 2008 film adaptation of the graphic story series by Christopher Nolan.

Methodology and Scope
In order to trace the history of the manifestation of characters exhibiting madness that borders on eccentricity, and find a pattern in their conception, representation and reception, the Archetypal theory of criticism under the Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung will be employed.
Particularly, the concept of 'archetypes' and the 'collective unconscious' in Jungian Psychology will shed light in understanding the connection shared by all individuals across time and space in their fascination with madness as a theme and character attribute in literature.
Besides, this also raises concerns about what this fascination reveals about our society and us as individuals and devise further scope for studies pertaining to the present situation in regards adequately explained to a sufficient degree, we may proceed to implement it to the major concern in this paper -'Madness' in literature and film, and the fascination it induces among its consumers. Madness as an eccentric character attribute has been found in numerous characters in literary works throughout history and those works are still being studied or at least remembered to some degree. Consequently, we can presume that they have had a particular appeal among both critics and the masses. There is without doubt, a reason behind recasting plays and movies and even music these days from the past. These stories and ideas are seen as formulas that have worked in their own time.
Therefore, the idea is to recreate them, as these works had an appeal when they appeared for the first time, and thus, they may have the same effect upon the next generation of consumers. Initially, Hamlet's antics seem to be part of his plans, however, as the play progresses, his behavior becomes more and more erratic and his dialogues are described as " wild and whirling" in the words of Horatio, who is in on Hamlet's plan of feigning madness. Hamlet has no reason to continue his "antic disposition" in the presence of his supporters, yet his actions say otherwise. Hence, it is this more than anything else, that informs our understanding that Hamlet is no longer pretending. He behaves exceedingly eccentric to a degree bordering on madness and it becomes impossible to ascertain if he is pretending or not. Perhaps, Shakespeare did not intend to distinguish Hamlet's madness between reality and pretense. This has led to a massive appeal and one of the most puzzling mysteries and debates in literary history among the audiences and critics alike.
It is believed that Shakespeare's idea of using Hamlet's madness as a ploy for furthering his revenge has been inspired by Hironimo's madness in Thomas Kyd's A Spanish tragedy.
Despite this, Hamlet's mental disposition in the play has remained unclear until now.
Nevertheless, it would not be far-fetched to take at face value that Hamlet had mental issues at least from today's standards. However, it is important to note that the presence of the themes of madness and the ghost in both Hamlet and A Spanish Tragedy does not qualify as an archetype, as the former is known to be inspired from the latter. It does however, support the idea purported in this paper that man has a fascination for mad and eccentric characters. In this regard, Andrew from Shutter Island can be seen as an archetype of Hamlet. Hamlet is clearly more of an antihero than a hero as his actions, a result of his mental disposition costs the lives those he loves. Likewise, it is difficult to specify whether Andrew is merely a trouble-maker in his asylum or possibly, a hero despite his insanity and delusion. Andrew's service in the war and during his time as a U S Marshal can be considered as an attribute of a hero. Moreover, Apart from tragedies, as we move toward the eighteenth century, we witness the rise of short stories and novels, many of which feature mental illness. Since the rise of the novel, the depiction of mental illness found relative variety and freshness, as authors took liberty in exploring and experimenting with their characters and themes. The appearance of characters exhibiting mental illness of various sorts became even more substantial. However, we must be careful to distinguish between works containing elements or themes of madness or psychosis that induce fear and disgust in the minds of the readers, as opposed to those that elicit a certain kind of fascination from the readers. The former, can be part of a different topic of discussion for a separate study. In this paper, we focus on the latter, i.e., on fascination with psychosis. (1817)   Finally, moving the discussion towards psychosis in film. Since, its announcement, people from around the world had been anticipating the release of Todd Phillips's Joker (2019).

Novels such as William Godwin's Mandeville
The film has attempted to recast one of the most famous villains in pop culture today -'Joker', of the DC Comic-book series, Batman. The character, though quite famous among nerds and the comic-book readers, did not quite have the same appeal until ten years ago. It was Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008) that cast the character of Joker not merely as a one-sided villain, but a character with many layers, blurred morals, and a unique perspective of our flawed modern world. Joker's 'psychosis' or his twisted and inverted way of looking at our society has awakened the viewers to a new vision. It is the vision that an 'antagonist' is not merely the diametrically opposite force used for propelling the protagonist's story to an end but, someone who can take his own place in that storya protagonist in his own making. The Joker sees himself as the hero trying to bring an awakening, and in the process, influences quite Many authors intend to change perspectives of communities, as literature and art are known to start trends and at times, even bring about revolutions. What is learnt from the reception of Joker, is that society today openly embraces madness instead of flinching away from it. While Dennis Lehane, like Shakespeare, knowingly intends to play with the readers' minds and create a sensation through confusionan unending debate regarding the madness of Andrew Laeddis, much like Hamlet. It may never be known if the conclusion of Shutter Island is a ploy to lead the readers into believing that at times, they themselves are delusional to some degrees when their own happiness is at stake.

Conclusion
Deep within, man has a fear of falling into the jaws of insanity, should calamities befall him. It is the affection for the loved ones and life itself that man refrains and pulls away from such tendencies. Yet, its pull is such that at the end of the day, there is a tendency to experience www.ijellh.com this madness through art and literature even when it comes appended with tragedy and grief.
But again, it is known that Tragedy is cathartic and therefore, good for man.
Secondly, there is the aspect of man being a social being from the beginning. But, in his attempts at conforming to social norms, maintaining normalcy and ultimately uniformity, he loses his individuality. The fact that man has a desire to stand out cannot be disregarded.
Films and literature provide an outlet for man to escape his mundane reality and release bottled up emotions. Therefore, in many ways literature and art serve as a form of therapy.
Finally, it is important to mention that the intent of this paper is not to undermine the originality, creativity and efforts of any of the authors discussed in this paper. Emergence of archetypes from time to time in the works of different authors and artists does not mean imitation. Presence of archetypal patterns merely point out the possibility of the existence of the wonderful prospect of a Collective Unconscious -that all of humanity around the world, from time past and time waiting, are mystically connected.