Introduction
This paper seeks to explore one of the themes in the Fisher King movie which is homelessness. The paper will first discuss the movie itself. It will basically dwell on the plot with the aim of getting the causes, risk factors, impact and the solution to homelessness as depicted in the movie. Thereafter, the paper will tackle homelessness as a sociological issue. It will explore the causes, the risk factors, the social impact and the solution to homelessness.
Review of the Fisher King Movie
Fisher King is a movie about a radio shock-jock who tries to salvage himself by helping a man whose life was completely traumatized. It is an American Comedy whereby it brings a lot of charm whenever the stars try to solve any chaotic occurrence. The story line is borrowed from the Arthurian Legend which is a myth on redemption in the hard times in New York; the script of the play is written by Richard LaGravanese and directed by Terry Gilliam. The film is starred by Jeff Bridges as a fallen radio star and Mercedes Ruehl as a video store owner who loves Jeff Bridges and supports him both emotionally and financially.
Robin Williams takes part as a grief stricken man who has a gentle soul but is homeless and mentally disturbed by his state to the extent that he hovers aimlessly at times naked and also causes chaos a number o times. The movie has three major themes: Romance, humor and heartbreak and it got an amazing reception. It also earned tremendous revenue; the movie is also seen to touch on homelessness a number of times. The Fisher King is rated less than 17 years and requires accompanying adult guardian or parent.
Mr. Bridges (Jack Lucas) a talk radio host who is very sarcastic and has a haughty spirit is affected to the extent of becoming suicidal after his insensitive comments result into a depressed caller committing mass murder at a Manhattan bar that is well known. Consequently, he attempts suicide three years after the depressed caller committed the mass murder and before his plot materializes he is mistaken for a homeless person by thugs and they almost set him on fire. Parry a homeless duped man comes to his rescue. Apparently Parry’s delusion is as a result of losing his wife to the mass murderer in the Manhattan bar and therefore he feels obliged to help in Parry’s search for the Holy Grail. Jack tries to get his redemption by hooking up Parry with Lydia; Unfortunately, one day while they were taking dinner, Parry gets haunted by the Red Knight and he escapes from the scene only to be badly attacked by thugs. The movie rotates around homelessness, explores a few causes of homelessness and also it explores the dangers homeless people are exposed to.
Causes of Homelessness
Homelessness is considered a global sociological issue owing to the fact there is no country that has successfully eradicated homelessness. Every country has a policy that touches on the management of homelessness, however the fight has still not been won and sociologist are still concerned about homelessness owing to the impact it has on the society. It is essential to note that as far as social stratification is concerned the homeless are a minority group; mostly found in the lower-lower class and they are therefore prejudiced against in a number of issues like accessing social amenities amongst others.
Poverty is one of the major causes for homelessness. Poverty and homelessness have a very close correlation; the poor more often than not cannot afford the basic needs like food, clothes, education and housing. However, housing is the most expensive and therefore in many instances considered the opportunity cost to enable them at least afford the other basic. The poverty index is high owing to reducing employment opportunities and the reducing value and availability of public assistance. For instance, in Fisher King Mr. Bridges the radio talk show host is introduced to the street by losing his job and the frustration that came with the lose.
Some causative issues of homelessness seem to have a cause and effect relationship that highly results to some sought of cycles. Eroding work opportunities, a trend that is now evident in most countries has also been attributed to the increasing number of homeless people. There is an ever increasing degree of disparity between the rich and the poor. Minimum wages have been seen to decline with time; the decline has been attributed to reduced bargaining power of union employees and also a reduction on the value of minimum wages. Declining wages have in return impacted on the ability of people affording housing and also an increase in the poverty index.
Decline in public assistance is also a strong contributing factor to homelessness. On average almost all countries in Africa have a non-existing or a policy that does not in essence help the poor as much. In Europe, public assistance has been on-going but in the recent past a great decline has been observed. People with disability also struggle to get and sustain housing facilities and thus, might end up on the street. In the United States most States have not changed the old welfare systems to consider current economic trends that enable people to afford housing and other basics.
Lack of affordable health also can send people packing to the street; in cases where a family is struggling to pay the house rent and then an illness that requires constant medication sets in, the family might end up on the street in order for them to manage the hospital bill. Work based insurance mostly for the unskilled employees has become very rare and therefore, considering the meager salaries health care becomes unaffordable. Marriage characterized by violence also result in the battered spouse to seek asylum on the streets. Unfortunately, this is very common in women who are unemployed and in violent relationships; majority of them have two choices only: being battered or living in the streets.
Psychological disorders are on the rise and they also contribute to homelessness. Unfortunately, most people run to the street when they become mad. Also the mentally ill run from the hospitals into the streets and there is a common perception that mad men belong to the street. For instance, both Mr. Bridges and Parry are sent to the street but some state of mental disturbance. Mr. Bridges was disturbed by the consequence of his arrogance whereas Parry was affected by the murder of his wife.
Addiction and homeless also have a controversial relationship in the sense that most addictions affect the financial power resulting to poverty and then consequently homelessness. In other state of the relationship, some people are basically addicted to the street life and however, much the Government tries to pull them out from the street, they still find themselves going back. In actual fact there are some when interviewed just state that they have homes but they like the street better. It is also essential to note that most people in the street are addicts to alcohol and drugs and the question that has always remained is whether it is addiction that causes homelessness or it is homelessness’s that causes addiction but there is a correlation between the two.
Dangers the Homeless are exposed to
The homeless are exposed to various forms of dangers and some of the dangers they are exposed to affect the community. Violence is one such danger; In Fisher King both Mr. Bridges and Parry were beaten up by thugs. This is owing to the fact that they are unprotected and also thugs view them as a threat to their jobs. Since, the homeless at times engage in crime to get means of livelihood. They are also very vulnerable to rape and sodomy; the fact that they stay on the street and sleep there they have become an easy target for the rapists who do not have to put a lot of effort to have their work done.
The homeless are also exposed to various health risks. First is chest related problems that are contracted as a result of sleeping out in the cold and rains. Secondly, they also stand a risk of contracting malnutrition diseases like kwashiorkor owing to the fact that they do hardly get balanced diets and more often than not they go hungry for days. Third, they are exposed to food poison and contagious illnesses that are as a result of taking dirty food like cholera and typhoid. In the streets there is minimal hygiene and thus, the homeless people basically eat dirty food at times from the garbage. Forth, they are exposed to sexually transmitted illnesses owing to their high tendency of practicing unsafe sex and also the fact that sex is considered an active pass time activity.
They are also exposed to facing a lot of prejudice from the society. They are considered unwanted, dirty and of wrong character. They are also exposed to drug addiction; most homeless people are addicted to either alcohol or any other form of drug. This is basically because they use drugs as a strategy to forget their misfortune. They are also very vulnerable to pre-marital sex and thus, unwanted pregnancies. Most street children indulge in sex even before the age of ten owing to the fact that the adults play sex as children watch and also sex is like a game for all and sundry in the streets and thus, regardless of their tender age they all take part. Homelessness is also closely associated with crime and violence.
Social Impact of Homelessness
1. Economic Impact
Homeless support systems and programs like homeless shelters are a vital cost to the tax payer owing to their high maintenance cost that is funded by the tax payer or the donors. However, the programs at times are not comprehensively covered and therefore the homeless people engage in recycling or pan handling activities to substitute the help they receive. This consequently impacts on the economy in a number of ways: It promotes recycling and thus, it saves raw materials but also contributes to the increase of illicit trade which highly relies on cheap raw materials, this would in return affect the sales of the legal trade and therefore affecting the GDP of the country.
Homeless people are also known to be poor or are considered of low economic status. This affects the per capita income of a country. Their economic activities like pan handling always raise some social concerns resulting to adaptation of certain laws to curtail the behavior. The enforcement of the laws is a cost to the Government. They also put a cost on the jury system when they go to court for various petty issue that they are reported on. Police have to be put on patrol always partly because of them and the effect they have and this is a cost to the Government.
2. Impact on Health and Education
Homelessness has considerable effect on health and education. For instance in Canada there is only 2% of the population on the street but they are admitted to hospital up to more than five times the people with homes. This statistics are owing to issues like poor hygiene, exposing the body to weather extremes and unprotected sex. HIV and AIDs is more common in the streets than in people with homes, owing to the common practice of unprotected sex and limited access of condoms. The Government uses a lot of money for the health care of the homeless people and these impacts on the Government expenditure.
Homeless people are known to be less educated and also tend to drop out. This is owing to the fact that homeless people cannot afford schools and if the education system is free and compulsory, the children still do not go since they have to search for food. This has impact on the literacy levels of a country which also impact on the poverty index and ultimately on a country’s economy. Children are also exposed to issues like drugs, violence, and gambling, pre-marital sex and therefore, even if a child goes to school they tend to be of bad influence to the rest of the children and also they do not perform well owing to their exposure.
3. Impact on Moral Issues
The street and bad moral behavior are considered to be a similar coin. The more homeless people a city has the more likely it is likely to record crimes like: pick-pocketing, gambling, rape, fights, drug abuse, pre-marital and extra-marital sex. The street families have very vulgar language and are mostly involved in drug abuse. In the United States the highest numbers of petty law offenders are homeless people. They are the most gamblers, drug addict and also involved in street fights.
4. Impact on Personality
Homeless people have low esteem and negative self image. They are known to very brutal and very aggressive. They also have low confidence levels and are very prone to negative influence. They are not good planners and do are known to pessimistic when handling issues. They have poor negotiation skills and not very industrious.
Solution to Homelessness
Homelessness has been recognized as social concern in many societies and therefore, it is inevitable for the communities to come up with means of reducing homelessness and the impact it has on society. Some of the solutions are:
Providing affordable housing
Increasing and re-viewing the public assistance policy.
Increase employment opportunities
Provide accessible and affordable health institutions
The mental illness amenities should be cheap and reliable to ensure mentally ill people don’t loiter on the street.
Conclusion
Homelessness cannot be underscored. In a humorous way the fisher King Movie explored the theme of homelessness. This paper explored the plot of the Movie and how some characters like Mr. Bridges and Parry ended up in the streets. It also explored homelessness in depth. The paper explored the causes of homelessness like: poverty, reduction of public assistance, Lack of employment, Costly medical care and drug addiction. It also explored the risk factors that the homeless people are exposed to. Which are: rape and sodomy, drug abuse, crime and contracting various diseases. This paper also explored the impact of homelessness on the economy, health and education, moral values and also the impact on personality. Finally, the paper looked at possible solutions for homelessness.
Work Cited
Burt, M. R., Pearson, C. L., & Montgomery, A. E. (2006). Homelessness: Prevention Strategies and Effectiveness. London: Nova Publishers.
Hall, S., Powney, J., & Davidson, P. (2000). THE IMPACT OF HOMELESSNESS. NewYork: Sage publication.
Levinson, D. (2004). Encyclopedia of Homelessness, Volume 1. NewYork: SAGE.
National Coalition for the Homeless. (2011, December 15). Why Are People Homeless? Retrieved from National Coalition for the Homeless: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html
