In the light of the Giffords shootings, John Cory reflects on US culture here:

“We are mad, mad as hatters – absolute bonkers, gone ’round the bend and back again without so much as a how-do-you-do. Don’t believe me? We’ve just witnessed a horrific mass shooting and what is our reaction? Glock sales have spiked. One Congressman says we need more people armed on the streets because we all know that nothing protects innocent life like a mob of armed citizens shooting back and forth at one another.”

Those of you who’ve had the chance to see The Insatiable Moon will know that one of the central themes is that of madness. In one central scene, our hero Arthur asks a crowd -”Who’s mad here? I’ll tell you what madness is!” – before going on to offer a litany of the craziness which is accepted as normal by society. Determining what constitutes ‘mad’ behaviour is of course a cultural decision. The film plays around this theme, not least when a reporter asks if Arthur hears voices in his head, and gets the puzzled response “Where else do you hear them?”

Much of what takes place in contemporary Western society might readily be categorised as mad, including the USA’s obsession with guns. The fascinating documentary The Corporation analysed the activities of rampant corporate life, diagnosing the behaviour as psychopathic. As Arthur points out, we who know so much are lacking a little when it comes to the wider perspective.

Of course it is easier to marginalise individuals on the edges of society and declare them crazy, than it is to classify institutions and beliefs which flow from the centres of power. Sanity, like history, is the preserve of those who exercise control.

The discussion about the shooter, Jared Loughner, has explored whether or not he was mad – perhaps suffering from schizophrenia. The deeper madness of the political situation and the climate surrounding the shooting is not so often discussed. The great film director Kurosawa once said, “In a mad world, only the mad are sane.” Precisely.

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