One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 2
Randall Patrick MacMurphy's struggle against institutional authority in the 1975 Academy Award winning film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest illustrates one man's rebellion against the repressive and controlling powers of a total institution. MacMurphy is committed to a mental institution after his ejection from a prison work farm due to his belligerent attitude so that he can be evaluated - some at the prison believed him to be crazy. Within the walls of the manmade cuckoo's nest MacMurphy and his fellow inmates are placed under total control and of course very close supervision. Their information is controlled to the point where they can not even watch the current World Series on television - all personal freedoms are erased and insignificant, including pre-existing status and all semblance of personal freedom. The degradation ceremony that strips away this pre-existing status occurs as soon as MacMurphy enters the ward and all his personal belongings are collected from his holders. From that point on he is no longer a man, he is a case file, to be dealt with in a standard fashion by the powers that maintain control of his life. Power in this total institution is solely divided between the leaders of the mental hospital.
The doctors and nurses make the rules, they are the people responsible for stripping away the identity of the inmates and controlling their new one. The doctors and nurses employ a number of techniques to demonstrate their control over the inmates. Those in positions of power in the hospital have access to all parts of the ward. They are privileged to be able to walk through any doors they please. The patients however, are designated to only certain areas of the ward. They are always in rooms divided by a large observation window, and are never on the side of the glass doing the observing. At all times this division of space is a constant reminder to the patients that they are being watched, they are always aware that their controllers can see what they are doing. The patients know they are not to break the rules laid down by authority for they know the consequences are painful. The repressive Nurse Ratched knows how to exploit the mental weaknesses of the inmates and does so to keep them in line. A prime example is her actions toward Billy Bibbit towards the end of the film. Billy, a shy and virginal boy deathly afraid of his mother, is emasculated by Nurse Ratched as she threatens to tell his mother of his actions with Candy, a prostitute. Just as Billy is beginning to gain some confidence he is set straight by the powerful nurse. So plagued with the guilt of his horrible actions, Billy slits his own throat with a piece of glass. It is impossible to tell in either of these situations whether the subjects are crazy or they are making breakthroughs to the sane world. In this hospital situation both Billy and Cheswick's actions are viewed as negative. Their change is misinterpreted as a chan
Some common words found in the essay are:
Nurse Ratched, World Series, Cuckoo's Nest, Charlie Cheswick, Billy Bibbit, Billy Cheswick's, nurse ratched, Patrick MacMurphy's, Erving Goffman's, total institution, Academy Award, pressures outside world, outside world, doctors nurses, pressures outside, cuckoo's nest, actions billy, pre-existing status, mental institution,
Approximate Word count = 1160
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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