Kamila Hilal Personality Journal 2 For my viewing of 12 Monkeys, I decided to incorporate what we have discussed in class about Existentialism. After watching the film, I did not necessarily feel uncomfortable but I felt a bit confused and uneasy in regards to my reaction to certain characters. The main character, Cole, meets a patient at a mental institution, Jeffrey Goines. At first, based on his sporadic behavior, verbal outbursts, and content of his speech, I understand that this man, is somehow mentally ill. The possibility of him being “crazy”, whatever one interprets that to be, is very plausible as people that I deal with on a day to day basis do not act like he does. What later made me a bit confused and uneasy was when I focused …show more content…
He goes back and forth in time a few times from the year 2035, to the year 1990 (before the outbreak of the virus), and even World War I. In addition, he himself is plagued by a dream that ends up being a memory (spoiler: his younger, child self witnessed the death of his future self in an airport). Within his journey, he forms a relationship of sorts with a fellow mental patient in 1990 (as Cole time travels into this environment) whose name is Jeffrey Goines. So at first sight, I believed, just generally, that Cole is the more clear headed character, meeting a “crazy” man. As mentioned earlier, what caused my confusion after finishing the film and watching certain scenes was how agreeable I found some of Goines’ ideas were to some of mine. Now, the character and I are far from twins, but in one scene he discusses systems within society such as consumerism: “Buy a lot of stuff, and you're a good citizen. But if you don’t buy a lot of stuff, what are you then? You’re mentally ill.” Now I don’t quite believe this relationship between consumerism, citizenship, and sanity. However, I do find that as newer technology and/or other goods are being offered, and in some cases imposed, those who fail to adapt to these new changes can sometimes be deemed as either old fashion, …show more content…
As I listened more to what he was saying was when I questioned how crazy what he actually said was. Then I questioned what part of his behavior exactly was too out-of-hand that the nurse thought that sedation was a viable option. Are the behaviors allowed by the ward those that resemble sanity, easiness, or conformity? The different ways I viewed this scene caused my existentialist approach to the film. What I learned from this about myself is that I feel more confused than ever about what sanity truly is but I suppose Existentialism would encourage me to keep posing difficult questions as there is no absolute truth, and construct values meaning from my own experiences. What I think I learned about society from my experience watching the film is that we often deem certain actions crazy when we cannot or do not understand them. It seems easier that way because it helps us keep some kind of common normalcy in our existences within a society. Though I wouldn’t consider myself a pure existentialist, I am fascinated by the idea of what ordinary people are potentially capable of doing. Could any of us become a Jeffrey Goines? What I found interesting was that the movie itself deals with the malleability of perception; what may seem crazy to one individual in one instant may actually be sane to another person
Although Susanna Kaysen’s rebellious and self-harming actions of coping with her psychosis are viewed by some critics as pushing the boundary of sanity, many people have a form of a “borderline personality” that they must accept and individually work towards understanding in order to release themselves from the confines of their disorder. Kaysen commits to a journey of self-discovery, which ultimately allows her to accept and understand herself and her psychosis.
Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest explores the dysfunctions and struggles of life for the patients in a matriarch ruled mental hospital. As told by a schizophrenic Native American named Chief Bromden, the novel focuses primarily on Randle McMurphy, a boisterous new patient introduced into the ward, and his constant war with the Big Nurse Ratched, the emasculating authoritarian ruler of the ward. Constricted by the austere ward policy and the callous Big Nurse, the patients are intimidated into passivity. Feeling less like patients and more like inmates of a prison, the men surrender themselves to a life of submissiveness-- until McMurphy arrives. With his defiant, fearless and humorous presence, he instills a certain sense of rebellion within all of the other patients. Before long, McMurphy has the majority of the Acutes on the ward following him and looking to him as though he is a hero. His reputation quickly escalates into something Christ-like as he challenges the nurse repeatedly, showing the other men through his battle and his humor that one must never be afraid to go against an authority that favors conformity and efficiency over individual people and their needs. McMurphy’s ruthless behavior and seemingly unwavering will to protest ward policy and exhaust Nurse Ratched’s placidity not only serves to inspire other characters in the novel, but also brings the Kesey’s central theme into focus: the struggle of the individual against the manipulation of authoritarian conformists. The asylum itself is but a microcosm of society in 1950’s America, therefore the patients represent the individuals within a conformist nation and the Big Nurse is a symbol of the authority and the force of the Combine she represents--all...
While controversial, this person, who could be in the middle of an average life, does not suddenly become less of a person Consider the second criteria of emotionality. Emotionality is one’s ability to feel and be affected by emotions. While all average individuals do possess emotions, it is worth mentioning that in certain cases, as with sociopaths, some may not have this capacity. These mentally ill individuals, while often able to mimic, are unable to genuinely feel a substantial proportion of the spectrum of human emotion, such as love, compassion, or remorse.... ...
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey presents a situation which is a small scale and exaggerated model of modern society and its suppressive qualities. The story deals with the inmates of a psychiatric ward who are all under the control of Nurse Ratched, ‘Big Nurse’, whose name itself signifies the oppressive nature of her authority. She rules with an iron fist so that the ward can function smoothly in order to achieve the rehabilitation of patients with a variety of mental illnesses. Big Nurse is presented to the reader through the eyes of the Chief, the story’s narrator, and much of her control is represented through the Chief’s hallucinations. One of these most recurring elements is the fog, a metaphorical haze keeping the patients befuddled and controlled “The fog: then time doesn’t mean anything. It’s lost in the fog, like everyone else” (Kesey 69). Another element of her control is the wires, though the Chief only brings this u...
When norms of society are unfair and seem set in stone, rebellion is bound to occur, ultimately bringing about change in the community. Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest demonstrates the conflict of individuals who have to survive in an environment where they are pressured to cooperate. The hospital's atmosphere suppresses the patients' individuality through authority figures that mold the patients into their visions of perfection. The ward staff's ability to overpower the patients' free will is not questioned until a man named Randal McMurphy is committed to the mental institute. He rebels against what he perceives as a rigid, dehumanizing, and uncompassionate environment. His exposure of the flaws in the hospital's perfunctory rituals permits the other patients to form opinions and consequently their personalities surface. The patient's new behavior clashes with the medical personnel's main goal-to turn them into 'perfect' robots, creating havoc on the ward.
What is the deciding factor in determining what is sane: what is natural, or what is socially acceptable? In Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and later the movie the novel inspired, this conflict is ever present in its Oregon setting of a psychiatric hospital. Throughout the novel, characters with minor quirks and disabilities are shamed and manipulated by the tyrannical Nurse Ratched in an attempt to make them “normal”—that is, conforming to her rigid standards. In fact, the only time these characters overcome their personal challenges is when they are emboldened by the confidence of an outsider, McMurphy, who encourages embracing natural instincts and rejecting conformity. In one particularly apt scene, McMurphy’s recounting
The film gives a historical overview of how the mentally ill have been treated throughout history and chronicles the advancements and missteps the medical community has made along the way. Whittaker recounts the history of psychiatric treatment in America until 1950, he then moves on to describe the use of antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia. He critically summarizes that it is doctors, rather than the patients, who have always calculated the evaluation of the merits of medical treatment, as the “mad” continue to be dismissed as unreliable witnesses. When in fact it is the patient being treated, and their subjective experience, that should be foremost in the evaluation. The film backs up this analysis with interviews of people, living viable lives in the town of Geel, Belgium. I would recommend this film to anyone interested in the history of medicine and specifically to those examining mental illness. It provides a balanced recounting of historical approaches to mental illness, along with success stories of the people of Geel, Belgium. And although I had to look away during the viewing of a lobotomy procedure, I give credit to the power of the visual impact the footage
The dominant discourse of conformity is characterised predominantly by influencing to obey rules described by Kesey’ novel ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. At the start of the novel, all the acute and the silence chronic conform to Nurse Ratched’s rules before the arrival of McMurphy. Since, she was in complete control over the ward until McMurphy arrived. After he arrived, he begins to take control of the patients. He begins to take the role of leader, a leader that was unexpected. Kesey has foregrounded the character, McMurphy to be different thus creating a binary opposite that is represented in the novel. Kesey shows the binary opposites as being good versus evil. The former represents the con man McMurphy, and the latter represents the head nurse, Nurse Ratched. An example of this would be, “She’s carrying her wicker bag…a bag shape of a tool box with a hemp handle…” (pg.4), showing that Nurse Ratched is a mechanic. McMurphy is portrayed as being a good character by revitalising the hope of the patients by strangling Nurse Ratched. This revitalise the hope for the pa...
"The Monkey" is a short story written by Isak Dinesen. The story was published in 1934. "The Monkey" is a form of gothic sublime. In this story, I encountered many elements that related to magical realism as well as the sublime.
Insanity is a blurred line in the eyes of Ken Kesey. He reveals a hidden microcosm of mental illness, debauchery, and tyranny in his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The remarkable account of a con man’s ill-fated journey inside a psychiatric hospital exposes the horrors of troubling malpractices and mistreatments. Through a sane man’s time within a crazy man’s definition of a madhouse, there is exploration and insight for the consequences of submission and aberration from societal norm. While some of the novel’s concerns are now anachronous, some are more vital today than before. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a compelling tale that brings a warning of the results of an overly conformist and repressive institution.
...rphy knows the other patients are not crazy but the big nurse convinces them that they are. One student says “the book gave her insight into the mental institutions and that she liked the characters’ care free quality, even though they were ill.”(LA times) Kesey expected the same response from all of his audience, although, he received a negative response from parents. As author Upton Sinclair said about his book The Jungle, ‘I aimed my book at America’s heart, but I hit it in the stomach.” (Books Reconsidered), so did Kesey.
For my final essay, I have chosen the movie “Fatal Attraction”, and I will focus on Alex Forrest and her mental disorder. Borderline Personality was displayed in the movie and Alex had almost every symptom of this disorder. Throughout this essay, I will be discussing Alex’s characteristics, intelligence, motivation, stress, social influences and/ or personality theories, treatment, and if the depiction of the disorder and treatment is consistent with what was discussed and read in the course.
...pitals and psychiatrists were like that, although he only paints a negative picture of this, it would have been better to see a more neutral sided view of the account of hospitals and psychiatrists during that time. Similarly, the thing that I did not like about Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind was her way of relying on others so much. She was personally struggling with a disease that she needed help with, but she focused too much on herself (although this is understandable as she was in pain and depressed). She really did not care for others and had the empathy to understand the pain that her disease was putting on them as well.
The movie that I choose to watch is “The Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. In class we learned that primates have different categories. The categories include; movement, reproduction, intelligence and behavior patterns. In the movie, the main ape, Caesar, as well as the other primates in the movie shows examples of these categories. Although, like most modern day movies, some behaviors and characteristics are not true and do not relate to the material that we studied in class.
...ot simply a social analogy portraying modern society's dislike and ultimate destruction of anyone who consistently upsets the status quo. It is this, but it also is exactly what the story line indicates. It is a graphic story clearly showing the lack of humanity, oppression, coercion, brute force and destructiveness of the modern "mental health" field. Without the firm denial of Man and his mind, they're largely the same thing in the end, none of these things could ever occur. The movie contains many situations where the status quo attempts to control those who choose to walk outside the system and force them back into line. Modern psychiatry and psychology primarily serve that function of control seemingly required by society and civilization. It is not about help and betterment. It has never been about help or betterment.