Elliot, lead protagonist of Mr. Robot, is crazy. Hannibal Lecter is crazy. Howling Mad Murdock is–well I don’t quite know for certain. He reminds me of Corporal Klinger. The portrayals of crazy as a protagonist go on and on, with each adding its own twist on what it means to be crazy and thus what it means to be sane. This weekend’s blockbuster brought us inside the mind of Harley Quinn, lover of the once great Joker. Quinn is played by Margot Robbie who does an excellent job sexualizing the character to the point of super-objectivity. She is a playmate with a hammer and a desire to tease every man she comes across. She is also completely insane, being driven beyond objectable reason by the Joker.
We see this story unfold in a series of disjointed flashbacks, reminding us of how she became to be who she is, and alluding to some sort of super powers discovered in the milk of an Ace Chemicals vat. A vat she dove backwards into during a moment of total surrender to purple and crazy. This chick, however, has redeeming qualities and goals and seems relatively human. I think that is how we are doing crazy different now. Crazy is fixations and voices and behaviors that belong to people who are otherwise categorized as normal. What has changed the most is that we are seeing directors work to rationalize and contextualize the crazy–at least when it comes to protagonists.
Change is good. Suicide Squad still isn’t.