Inside the Cuckoo's Nest

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Recommended: One flew over the cuckoo's nest movie analysis

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a film directed by Czech Milos Forman in 1975. Using potent elements of fiction--characters, conflict, and symbolism--Forman illustrates the counterculture of the 1960’s. This film depicts American society as an insane asylum that demands conformity from its citizens. The film begins with a conniving convict being assigned to the asylum. R. P. McMurphy is sent to the asylum to be evaluated by the doctors and to determine whether or not he is mentally ill. He is unaware that he will be supervised by an emasculating woman named Nurse Mildred Ratched who watches the patients’ every motion from her nurse’s station. R.P. McMurphy is a lively, rebellious, and rational patient that has recently been escorted into the insane asylum. Once in the bin, Randle becomes the self-proclaimed champion of the rights of the other ward patients, his adversary being Nurse Ratched (New York Times). He scrutinizes the asylum and the patients deciding that he needs to lighten the atmosphere. According to Filmsite, Movie Review McMurphy encourages the patients to participate in activities that will heighten their spirits and change their monotonous routines. McMurphy decides to challenge Nurse Ratched when he notices that the patients of the ward are overly organized and controlled through a rigid set of authoritarian rules and regulations that McMurphy questions: “God Almighty, she’s got you guys comin’ or goin’. What do you think she is, some kind of champ or somethin’?”--- “I bet in one week, I can put a bug so far up her ass, she don’t know whether to s—t or wind her wrist watch” (OFOTCN). Entertainment Weekly implies that McMurphy is unwilling to surrender to Nurse Ratched’s belittling power and rebels against corr... ... middle of paper ... ...ok place in America all have one thing in common with the film: they are filled with people who have had enough and had a leader willing to take leadership towards making that change. McMurphy represents that leader as his sacrifice made way for the others to find freedom. Works Cited Canby, Vincent. "nytimes.com." The New York Times. 20 November 1975. The New York Times Company. 5 April 2012. “Filmsite Movie Review: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”. Filmsite.org. American Movie Classics Company. 2012. Web 12 March 2012. Movie Reviews: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun-Times Media Company. Web 3 April 2012. Nashawaty, Chris. “Cuckoo’s Nest Turns 35.” Entertainment Weekly 1120/1121 (2010): 128. MAS Ultra School Edition. Web. 5 Apr. 2012 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Dir. Milos Forman. Warner Brothers, 1975 Film.

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