The movie starred real people. According to their script, they banded together to right a wrong. The only thing in common was the carnival setting.
Sounds words get bad connotations.
If so then it is our job to define the word correctly and use it correctly. But not to delete the word from use. I think this is how Arturo saw the norms. They were so different from him that he did not like them, did not respect them, and did not want to be like them. What brought him power was that they wanted to come over to his side.