The Slaughterhouse of Conformity

The films that warned us to never fit in

Thumbnail by Skyla

One of the biggest villains in cinema and in everyday life is the dreaded “society.”

It’s become very obvious to most of us, so much so that it has basically became a joke in recent years. It’s hard to not find a meme with the Joker quoting “We live in a society” on social media lately.

Despite this, we still tend to do the devil’s bidding. The “devil” being that evil “society” in this case. People follow trends, to the point that “de-influencing” has ironically become a trend in itself.

But why? Don’t we know how much of a “villain” society truly is?

In reality, society isn’t always a bad thing. Society is meant to bring us together, but sometimes the influences that stem from societal pressures can cause major issues. From low self esteem to general anxiety and paranoia, society’s views can make people judge themselves much too harshly.

Gender norms, stereotypes, beauty standards… all things that force people into a state of negativity.

We were warned about these issues time and time again. Films have told us many times before that we don’t have to worry about fitting societal pressures in order to be perceived a certain way—and we certainly shouldn’t care about being seen a certain way either.

The Joker

Joker (2019) is a very on-the-nose film, and while I could sit here and argue about if I should really include this movie in a horror newsletter, I’m not going to. I believe Joker gets a pass in the “not really a horror movie but could be” terrority.

The film is built on the idea of society being the villain of Arthur Fleck’s story. It’s made painfully obvious, to the point that Fleck himself has multiple quotes about the concept:

“Is it just me or is it getting crazier out there?”

“You decide what’s right or wrong the same way you decide what’s funny or not.”

“Everybody is awful these days. It’s enough to make everyone crazy.”

By the end of the movie, Arthur Fleck completely transforms into his Joker alter-ego. And—excuse me for sounding like a high school English teacher here—it’s a metaphor, meant to represent him fully succumbing to the nastiness that society had handed to him.

In this case, the villain won. Society won, and as much as Fleck wants to be the rebel, he gave in to the awfulness he once hated.

The Popular Girls

High school is like a model of the classic idea of “society”: cliques, gossip, trying to be trendy. If you stand out, you’re bullied. If you fit in, nobody notices you. If you make yourself known, people might love you.

Heathers (1988) is the perfect example of all of this.

Veronica Sawyer desperately tries to fit in with the popular girls, named the “Heathers,” despite absolutely hating it. She despises the way they treat people, yet she sticks around if only to keep her social status.

It isn’t until she meets the school outcast, JD, that she starts to realize that status isn’t all that important. The film is full of teenage angst, but also full of teenage murder.

JD is convinced that Veronica would be better off without the popular kids holding her back. He takes matters into his own hands, killing off the kids one by one until he reaches the boiling point.

He wants to bomb the school and get rid of all of them. And, just like Joker, Heathers is just as obvious with its dialogue in what the movie is meant to represent.

"People will look at the ashes of Westerburg and say; ‘now there’s a school that self destructed, not because society didn’t care, but because the school was society.’ Now that’s deep.”

“The only place different social types can genuinely get along with each other is in Heaven.”

“Your society nods its head at any horror the American teenager can think to bring upon itself.”

The major difference between the Joker and Heathers is that there are no real winners of Heathers. Sure, Veronica may have broken free from the Heathers and the dangerous mindset of JD, but she did so with a trail of blood behind her. Despite finally finding herself, she’s left in the hall looking absolutely exhausted and bruised.

The Aliens

One of my favorite “warning” films when speaking about the possible dangers of conformity is John Carpenter’s They Live (1988).

You probably know of the OBEY clothing brand—did you know that was partially inspired by this movie? The iconic imagery of billboards, newspapers, and everything else with the words “OBEY” have become ingrained in pop culture.

They Live is a film that warns against many things: consumerism, conformity, and corrupt governments. The dangers presented in this movie are exaggerated, but they’re not far off.

We don’t have aliens roaming the streets (that we know of), but the message is all the same.

Without speciality sunglasses, you can’t spot the aliens from the humans. Humans and aliens blend together perfectly, because the aliens understand human culture. We follow, we fit in, we… conform.

Human see, human do, right?

The aliens took this and ran with it, pedaling ideas into our society without us ever knowing.

Advertisements hold subliminal messages of authority, making sure humans wouldn’t question the life that the aliens forced onto them. The elites are all aliens or humans with alien relationships. Some humans may not even know their coworker is an alien.

The news, the media, the ads, the companies… all of it is controlled by the aliens.

They’re everywhere, and we just allowed them to stay.

“They live. We sleep.”

“This is your god.”

“Obey and conform.”

Again, the message is obvious. It’s meant to be. “Society is bad” and what have you.

It’s a film presenting the idea of conformity not being exactly what we think it is. We never know who we’re trying to fit in with, and we should always be careful in who we follow.

The Yuppie

They Live is in my top five, but American Psycho (2000) will forever be my number one.

It has a special place in my heart, considering it was basically the first film to get me more seriously invested into horror during high school.

It’s also a perfect addition to the “society is the villain” list we have going here. Granted, there are technically two villains of the story: to the audience, Patrick Bateman is the obvious bad guy, but to Patrick, society is completely against him.

Society in this film is represented by yuppie culture, in which the movie as a whole critiques. Although our anti-hero is clearly a “pretty sick guy,” we can also recognize that his peers aren’t exactly great people either. In all, nobody in the film is really a good person other than Jean, who is meant to be the juxtaposition to Patrick.

She is the good, he is the bad. Can I make it any more obvious? (Yes, that is an Avril Lavigne reference.)

Still, Patrick is constantly struggling with “fitting in” and being “hip.” He has to follow trends, look good, and keep his reputation up. If not, he’ll be ridiculed by his coworkers, similar to what one would expect in a high school setting.

“There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman; some kind of an abstraction. But there is no real me: only an entity, something illusory.”

“I want to fit in.”

“No… I’m in touch with humanity.”

As much as he tries, Patrick is still the outcast. Nobody takes him seriously, nobody really notices him, and his nemesis Paul Allen can’t even get his name right. When he tries to fit in, he still doesn’t. When he lets the smallest bit of what personality he has left slip, he’s the laughing stock.

And, at the end of the day, Patrick doesn’t even know who he really is. He has no concept of it, considering he’s been trying to blend in with everybody for so long. How can he possibly understand himself when he’s constantly trying to please others?

And so, as the film goes, he resorts to murder to please himself. It’s the only thing he does know about himself: he likes killing people. He’s insane. In fact, he mentions that he’s insane multiple times. He’s almost self aware, but not quite.

Artwork by Skyla

While in high school, I fell in love with the message of the film. In order to love yourself, you have to be yourself. Fitting in and following trends is only going to get you nowhere on a personal level, even if it may help your status.

The End

In modern day, I’ve learned how to stick out instead of worrying about fitting in. It began with dressing how I wanted, then I started talking more and being less shy. It’s a fight with my anxiety, sure, but winning those battles are important for me.

I get to meet new people and do things I wouldn’t have ever done prior. I would’ve never cosplayed in public before now. I would’ve never even started this newsletter to share my thoughts! These films have helped in reminding me that, sometimes, it’s okay to not conform.

Just like, in other cases, it’s okay to blend in. There’s a balance in life, just as there is in all things.

So, yeah, “society is bad” is definitely cliche. Society isn’t always evil, but sometimes it is. It keeps you on your toes.

Besides, conformity is just a slaughterhouse of creativity.