Movie Reviews: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Is Institutionalism the Cuckoo’s Nest?
For a large chunk of my childhood, Jack Nicholson was known to me as The Joker, plain and simple. After watching The Shining and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the man knows his strengths and plays to them perfectly — almost too perfectly.
Overview:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is originally a novel by Ken Kesey. It follows the story of Randle McMurphy (Nicholson) as he is transferred from a working farm (the 60s, huh) to a mental institution because — get this — the guy convinced everyone he was insane.
At this institution (which, by the way, this movie was filmed at a working mental institution), he meets the infamous Nurse, Mildred Ratched. It becomes a battle of wits and mental strength. Randle tries to live it up under the guise of a legally mentally incapacitated person while still retaining the rights he is used to in outside society. At the same time, Mildred works hard to enforce the toxic, abusive reality that the mentally ill of the 60s had to endure.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a cerebral film about autonomy, the dangers of an uninformed and complacent society, and the inevitable abuse of absolute power.
The first thing that struck me was the premise — How could someone convince multiple doctors not only that they were insane but enough to need locking up?
It made me wonder if there was something wrong with Randle. The breezy, almost cheeky way he answers his interview questions was terrifying. You can tell he 100% believes everything he says. Was it a coincidence it was the right thing to say to be locked away? Was he mentally ill and simply able to keep a better grip on it?
OFOTCN was hard to watch because I felt so bad for the patients. I’ve seen clips of Titicut Follie and American Horror Story: Asylum. I know how far mental health has come from a medical and societal standpoint. The brutal treatment of the hospital patients represents the powers that be — governments, religion, capitalism, pick your poison. They’re all power-hungry maniacs, thriving off our pain and suffering.
Michael Schulman profile of Louise Fletcher, Vanity Fair, July 10, 2018
[When conceiving of a way to play Nurse Ratched] [s]he thought back to her childhood in Alabama, and the “paternalistic way that people treat other people there.” Moving to California had opened her eyes to how warped things had been back home. “White people actually felt that the life they were creating was good for black people,” she says — a dynamic she recognized in Nurse Ratched and her charges. “They’re in this ward, she’s looking out for them, and they have to act like they’re happy to get this medication or listen to this music. And make her feel good about the way she is.
Louise Fletcher does a haunting job as Nurse Ratched. The minute she comes on screen, your shoulders rise to your ears, defensive mode engaged. Her perfectly structured hair and wrinkle-free starched white outfit give every inclination of warmth and safety, but the cold, dead stare she casts across the screen makes you realize who the real threat is.
Her manipulation and scare tactics are alarm bells for anyone who has experienced mental and emotional abuse. No matter how much you fight them, rationalize with them, use logic against them — in the end, people like that make us look like the wrong ones. They convince us we’re the unruly ones. Maybe we’re the crazy ones.
If I sat down and thought about it, I could write a book about the character of Chief. If you read the book, Chief narrates this story, and he is the One (who flies over the Cuckoo’s nest).
Some might argue that Chief is the main character.
Regardless of how important a role you think he is, Chief is a mirror reflection of the experience of POC. Chief finds it safer and easier to spend his life pretending to be incapable of being less than something he is.
How frequently POC shrink themselves to be able to slide underneath the watchful eyes of their own Nurse Ratched. How often do we carry the burdens of generational curses crafted through racism and hatred? How heartbroken are we when we lose another friend to be a victim of the system we have tried so hard to fight and break away from?
As always, there are many ways to interpret media — this post consists of my thoughts, ideas, and conclusions. While I encourage discussion, I am not here to debate or prove my point as absolute truth. There are many ways to look at this movie, and I hope that, over time, my views and opinions change as I learn more about the world and the people in it.
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