Why
can someone become a completely different person from who they once were?
This
question is always interesting to explore, especially when we see characters
who initially appear fragile, quiet, and seemingly incapable of hurting anyone.
Yet as their stories unfold, they gradually become frightening figures.
This
is the thread that connects Joker (2019) and Carrie. Although
they come from different genres, both films show how prolonged suffering can
change the way a person sees the world.
What
makes this particularly interesting is that neither film suggests that every
victim will eventually become a perpetrator. Instead, both invite us to
understand how wounds that are never addressed can develop into something far
more dangerous.
Joker (2019): When the World Keeps Telling You, "You Don't Matter"
Arthur
Fleck is not a character who is portrayed as a villain from the beginning.
He
is a lonely man living under immense pressure, struggling with mental health
issues, and repeatedly being treated in inhumane ways. He is humiliated,
ignored, and ridiculed, while gradually losing the few reasons he has left to
believe that there is still a place for him in the world.
Interestingly,
there isn't one single event that turns Arthur into the Joker.
His
transformation happens gradually.
One
humiliation.
One
rejection.
One
betrayal.
Everything
piles up until it eventually creates an explosion that changes his entire life.
In
psychology, this has similarities to cumulative stress—stress that
continues to build over time until a person loses the ability to cope with it
in healthy ways.
Carrie: When Rejection Comes from Home and the Outside World
If
Arthur loses his sense of safety in society, Carrie White doesn't even have it
at home.
She
grows up with an extremely controlling mother, lives in fear, and is bullied at
school almost every day. There is nowhere that truly makes her feel accepted.
What
makes Carrie's story so tragic is that she only wants something simple.
To
be accepted.
To
have friends.
To
be like other teenagers.
Yet
every time she allows herself to hope, reality gives her another wound instead.
Eventually,
the anger she has kept buried for so long erupts in one event that changes
everything.
The
film shows how prolonged social rejection can destroy a person's sense of trust
in the world.
What They Have in Common: Pain That Keeps Accumulating
Despite
their different backgrounds, Joker and Carrie follow a remarkably
similar pattern.
Neither
character is someone who enjoys hurting others from the beginning.
Instead,
both are victims of environments that fail to provide them with a sense of
safety.
They
both experience humiliation.
They
both feel alone.
They
both lose a place where they can express what they're going through.
In
psychology, experiences like these are related to chronic social rejection—repeated
social rejection that continues over a long period of time.
This
kind of rejection doesn't simply hurt someone's feelings. Research has shown
that the brain processes social rejection using areas that overlap with those
involved in physical pain. It's therefore understandable that someone who
experiences repeated rejection may gradually lose their trust in other people.
The Difference: How They Respond to the World
Despite
their similarities, Joker and Carrie develop in different directions.
Arthur
gradually develops the belief that society deserves retaliation for everything
it has done to him. His anger becomes a critique of a social system that he
believes has failed him.
Carrie,
meanwhile, is driven more by an eruption of emotions that have been suppressed
for years. The tragedy that unfolds isn't the result of a carefully constructed
long-term plan, but of pain that she can no longer control.
This
difference shows that there is no single pattern that explains why someone
becomes violent.
Every
person has different experiences, personalities, and ways of dealing with pain.
Understanding Doesn't Mean Justifying
One
of the things that makes both films so powerful is their ability to evoke
empathy from the audience.
Many
people understand why Arthur is angry.
Many
others feel sorry for Carrie.
But
understanding the causes of someone's behavior is not the same as justifying
that behavior.
In
psychology, we try to understand why someone acts the way they do. But an
explanation does not erase responsibility.
Trauma
can explain why someone is wounded.
Trauma does not automatically justify their decision to hurt other people.
This
distinction is important so that empathy does not turn into justification.
A
More Important Question
Perhaps
after watching these two films, the more interesting question isn't:
"Why
did they become evil?"
But
rather:
"How
many people around us are carrying wounds like Arthur or Carrie, but haven't
yet reached the point of breaking?"
Perhaps
they are children who are bullied at school every day.
Employees
who are constantly humiliated by their supervisors.
Or
someone who has spent years living in a family that never made them feel safe.
Some
of them may continue to endure.
Others
may simply be waiting for one final event that causes everything to collapse.
The World Shapes Us, But It Doesn't Define Who We Become
Ultimately,
Joker and Carrie remind us that people don't change because of a
single event. Change often happens gradually, through small wounds that
continue to accumulate without ever truly being healed.
But
both films also remind us of something equally important.
Our
environment can have a powerful influence on us, but it isn't the only thing
that determines who we become. Not every victim will become a perpetrator. Not
everyone who grows up in suffering will choose to hurt others.
Because
understanding how someone becomes capable of evil doesn't mean treating evil as
something normal or acceptable.
Instead,
that understanding reminds us that the empathy, acceptance, and care we offer
today may help prevent a much deeper wound from developing tomorrow.
— Uwie
Puspita
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